Russian Ambassador’s Article: A Diplomatic Faux Pas
by: Eng. Omar Al-Digair – Chairman of the Sudanese Congress Party
The article penned by the Russian Ambassador to Sudan, Mr Andrei Chernovol, excerpts of which were published by Al-Sharq on its website, lacks the minimum standards of professionalism and diplomatic norms. It is rife with blatant interference in Sudanese affairs and contains numerous authoritarian slippages, insults, and affronts to national forces.
Referring to the Democratic Transition Project, he mockingly refers to it, as “the so-called” democratic transition project in Sudan, he either deliberately or ignorantly overlooks the fact that this project, which he attributes to an unknown entity, is the dream of the Sudanese people. They have been striving for it since independence, making significant sacrifices along the way. They are well aware that democracy is the best governance system humanity has devised, recognizing it as the most effective means to build a state of citizenship based on the acknowledgement of diversity, wise management, acceptance of legitimate differentiation and disagreement, and balanced development. From experience, they understand that totalitarian authoritarianism brings nothing but evils and calamities, violating freedom and human dignity, corrupting public life, destroying the noble essence of state institutions, and preventing them from performing efficiently and justly. The result is a dead-end and a relentless series of crises in every aspect of reality.
His reference to the Sudanese army being the significant obstacle to the democratic transition project creates another unacceptable and blatant interference. This crafty remark subtly encourages the army to remain an obstacle to democratic transition, just as it did when, with its current adversary, the Rapid Support Forces, it overthrew the constitution and ousted the transitional government on October 25, 2021. In any case, it is up to the Sudanese people, not outsiders, to evaluate and resolve this issue.
The Ambassador reached the height of crankiness by describing a broad spectrum of democratic civil forces, represented by the “Progressive Coordination” group, as the cause of the current armed conflict and labelling them as paid agents of the West aiming to bring them to power. This accusation crosses all boundaries and attacks the truth, which he undoubtedly knows. He must have witnessed who beat the war drums and who sought to avoid it until the last moments. A review of the Sudanese democratic forces’ stances reveals that in all their joint charters, they call for a balanced foreign policy based on national interests and fostering regional and international cooperation in all fields. They have always opposed external interference, regardless of the country involved, that seeks to protect authoritarian and totalitarian regimes against people’s rights to democratic transition. They rejected the previous regime’s plans to offer national land and waters for foreign military bases in exchange for protecting the regime. In this context, we have always called for and continue to call on all countries to refrain from any actions or statements that could further ignite the war in our country or expand its scope.
We welcome every international and regional effort aimed at helping to end the war and address the humanitarian disaster, knowing that our people’s urgent desire is to stop the war and escape its horrors. The people’s will, expressed through a remarkable and historic revolution, is to break free from tyranny and authoritarian rule and establish a sovereign, independent, democratic civil state that builds its foreign relations based on serving its people’s interests and cooperating with the regional and international community without guardianship or dictation.
The Ambassador concluded his article with a call for comprehensive dialogue within Sudan and announced his country’s readiness to contribute to restoring peace and stability to Sudan. This is the only positive aspect of his article, which would have had meaning and credibility if it had not been accompanied by an implicit call to obstruct the path to democratic transition, as sustainable peace and real stability cannot be achieved in the absence of democracy.