How can the Sudanese be helped?

By Ngor Arol Garang

July 26, 2008 — While I was and I’am ever listening to the BBC as one of my favorite International radio Station, I’am glad to share the public what I heard over this radio station back in 2000.

And of course my friend Paul Dut in US, was keenly listening to the BBC that day too, as he once reminded me in one of the discussion board where I holds membership.

.In 2000, an Englishman in London, went to the BBC radio station and asked an interesting question that comes to his mind whenever he reads and hears something with the conflict in Sudan between the North and South.

There was no Darfur issue that year. And that the so called Janjeewed in Darfur were the Murrhallen which used to escort Sudan’s military trains delivering ammunitions and other military equipments to the government held town in the South.

This story is good for public to fully understand it for their consumption so that we all understand and reason properly to understand reasons why there are still individuals defending Bashir from facing justice for the war crimes he committed in the whole country.

I bring you back to real story and it is, an Englishman as mentioned above, got on the radio and asked, “How can the people of Sudan be helped?

Whenever you run into one of their educated people and asked him/her what is happening in the Sudan, he tells you the opposite.

And when I consult books to read and hear from the media I get that there are big problems which needs immediate international community attentions than what I get from Sudanese people who are suppose to be telling the truth than books and media. How can the people be helped?” The guys whose voice sounded like an old man kept asking this same question until his given time finished with no proper answer given by those who had tried giving answers. He was not satisfied and so do I while listening to the radio on BBC channel that year.

Indeed my friend Paul Dut and I still ask this the same question that how can we be helped? Although God seems to have touched hearts of some people to be answer our question by ensuring that the guy causing all these troubles is brought to books, still individuals are not realizing this touch.

And that the International Criminal Court’s chief prosecutor Luis Moreno Ocampo who does not know who are the real victims but feels the need to bring peace in Sudan by applying justice, tries to bring the man, Bashir, to justice, but still we, the same Sudanese seeking for some helps, stands in the way.

How can we be helped? What will it take for us to stand up for our cause?

Paul asked in response to Bona Malual’s article defending Bashir that does Bona thinks Pagan Amum, among others, is a fool for being outspoken against the regime that killed so many of our people, and still bent on killing more in Abyei despite the CPA?

What happened to our sense of nationalism, he posed.

To support my friend, I will not hesitate to say that since the ICC made the public announcement indicting al-Bashir for the crimes he committed through his allies such as the ruthless and crown Janjaweed and SAF who are killing with full impunity in Darfur, self centered individuals and even respectable folks in the arena of high-grade world politics have come out openly against Mr. Ocampo, saying that the indictments would impede the implementation of the CPA and efforts to bring peace to Darfur.
These are confusing and misleading statements.

However, I would ask that could anyone please be specific and tell me how al- Bashirs’ indictment might impede the implementation of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement, or any settlement of the Darfur conflict?

Has al-Beshir become so important that without him, the country would not move forward?

Does Heaven forbid what if he dies today from some illness, or like John Garang? And by the way, it was Taha who had signed the CPA with the late Dr. Garang and not al-Bashir.

Some, like Al Mahdi or members of the DUP, have said there would be a “constitutional collapse”, if the indictments take effect. These are still some misleading and inaccurate statements, because Sudan’s constitution has taken care of any absence of the president.

On the other hand, is this irrational fear of a constitutional collapse born out of the fact that if al-Bashir were to abdicate, a southern Sudanese (Salva Kiir) and not Taha would be at the helm?

Did the SPLM/SPLA collapse because Dr. John Garang is no more? Yes, the style of leadership may have changed, but the SPLM/SPLA still exists.

To me, it is like we have already forgotten that the implementation of the CPA has been impeded by the NCP since its inception, and that the situation in Darfur is more precarious than a year or so before.

How many times have you people who are not in Sudan have heard and read that the NCP is not serious about implementing the CPA?

Why did we have the recent Abyei violence, which the South Sudan President called a crime against humanity committed by the SAF Brigade 31 commander in Abyei?

When will the inhabitants of Abyei return to their demolished homes?

It looks like Sudanese have a very short memory, and this is why some outsiders have little grasps of the country’s dynamics and political problems because we the people from the affected regions do not tell the truth.

Knowing and telling the truth is part of the problem solving. Sudan is bigger than any one person. If al Bashir or the NCP were serious about peace, they would have implemented the CPA nearly 95 or even 100 % if they are sincere by now, and the UN-AU force would have been in full control of the humanitarian situation in Darfur. However, that has not been the case.

Abyei still has no administration; the SAF Brigade 31 with its entire sophisticated military arsenal is still in Abyei, allegedly because they have logistical problems.

The boundary between the northern and southern Sudan is not yet determined and elections are already scheduled for early next year. Why passed the election act?

To do what with it when areas to demarcated and represented during those elections are not yet demarcated?

This is another NCP tactics to buy time so that referendum which will determine future of the south is pushed to allow them loot our resources to still develop North especially the military so that they can face the South when the South may decide to say no for unity. Enough is enough.

Of course this is definite; nothing will stop it even if it means what to bring what to do more destruction in the South. We are ready to face it since this is no new to us. We are used to.

Not only these but also the so called 5th National Census of which I was not accounted was badly organized and executed, marked by an acrimonious dispute over a host of factors.

Besides the fact that southern Sudan still doesn’t receive its supposed share of proceeds from the oilfields in Abyei and heglig in Unity State, The same al-Bashir and the NCP have stifled the supposed “freedom of expression” in the country.

The living example is that, his circles have recently accused the SPLM’s Pagan Amum of slipping from responsibility and that the SPLM too accused the NCP of having formed a commission of inquiry to look into Amum’s statements, without consulting it (the SPLM) or include SPLM members in the commission.

Not only are these the accounts I can give but there are many things to add which includes the facts that his sponsored militia groups and the Popular Defense Forces are still actively marauding innocent civilians with complete impunity in Darfur.

I wonder what else needs to happen for the implementation of the CPA and Darfur peace agreement so that people say Bashir needs not to be supported against ICC charges for possible indictment!

If the NCP impedes the CPA by any means, including war, more of its members would be sorted by the ICC, as Mr. Ocampo already stated that; if the NCP decides to disregard any peaceful settlement of the Darfur conflict by attacking more civilians and UN-AU peacekeepers, the ICC would open new investigations into these as additional war crimes. See how the world and God touched individuals are with us?

To me there is no way the NCP is going to paint itself into an even tinier corner. That is why they are involving the SPLM in the politics of convenience by bringing in Salva Kiir to head the recently formed commmittee called crisis committee to deal with the ICC indictments.

Funny that the NCP and al-Bashir have now come around to say they would re-establish diplomatic relations with Chad, after the entire gobbledygook about not giving in to agents and countries that are plotting against the “sovereignty” of the state, Debby must be laughing in his Palace.

The only reason why some leaders in Africa and in the Arab World are fretting about the ICC indictment of al-Bashir is panic and trepidation that one day, they too might be in the dock if they did not respect the lives of their own citizens while they clung on to power.

Clinging on to power at “all costs” should have a high price for each leader that chose to go down that road.

SPLM cadres are just wasting their time which is the interest of Bashir and his circles. The waste of time is being proved by the SPLM’s sitting of today in Juba to discuss how to help Bashir and not the implementation of the standing issues outlined above.

When are they going to push for full implementation of CPA?

Is this not the end of the CPA implementation push since we are left with months to enter a year which will enjoy this unorganized election? Oh God !why haven’t you allowed John Garang to cross us out?

The author is the Juba Post journalist. He can be reached at [email protected]