The Road to democratic change in Sudan

By Chuar Juet Jock*

November 19, 2008 — Yes, Barak Obama victory in the United States presidential elections does inspires, invokes the feelings and the dreams for positive change not only in the situation of so dominated black people of the world but also in a peaceful reconciliation in the so deteriorated racial relations and ethnics tensions among the diverse human races and ethnic groups of the world. This century will always be marked as the century where race, tribe, and ethnic backgrounds were and still the leading factors for civil wars as well as regional conflicts and that has resulted in a grave and mass human lost as ethnics cleansing, genocide and crimes against humanity became the tools of quest for power and control.

Unfortunately, our country, Sudan, deeply fall within the troubled countries and states where policymakers, lawmakers and their enforcers has used ever since the race or religion factors to create and engineer constitutional and political systems as well as socio-economic systems based on racial, tribal, religion or even gender profiling factors, systems that, glorify and enrich some humans while marginalizing and humiliating other in the same time, resulting at the process end in a society that is divided to itself and that’s engulfed in social ills, violent and hate crimes as the man made economically disadvantages tries in vain to catch up with the man made economically empowered.

As Sudanese, we definitely do agree that a fundamental change in the way things were and still are in our country is not just a mere wish but a must have requirement, the vast majority of Sudanese do agree that this country is not in their hands, neither its rich resources are used for the benefit of the Sudanese people and that this country has been and still being ruled by powerful minority that has been installed during the transition period given this wrong name as independence day.

It is also well known that the racist minority rulers in Khartoum has always seized the opportunity of being the heirs of power from the Anglo-Egyptian colonists in 1956 and from that point of time, Sudan was run by minority that claims themselves as Sudanese, while their deeds, from actions to policies in all the history of their successive regimes denounces this such claim. Yes we are in dare need for change in Sudan, changing the brutal bloody regime in Khartoum with all its racist constitution, political and socio-economic systems, that means defeating the racist National Congress Party (NCP) originally known as National Islamic Front(NIF) in the upcoming projected elections in 2009.

As Sudanese from various walks of life, different political colors and religious and ethnic backgrounds who have fought, opposed, and resisted this regime policies and brutal deeds in its twenty something bloody years. We do consciously acknowledge that bringing about regime change in Khartoum through popular uprising or other democratic means has proved to be too risky and unsuccessful as the dictator system has installed itself firmly through harsh means and have transformed the whole country capabilities and institutions such as the then national Sudan Arms Forces (SAF) and various security forces to just forces for its protection and survival.

Change will not happen if this minority powerful ruling class in Khartoum is not removed from power, we have been hoping for a relative change in their conceptual world , in how do they view themselves and Sudan as country as well as its indigenous people, simply because these concepts and visions are what divide us, held us prisoners within ourselves, it is also the same concepts that driving this minority to carryout all these brutal ethnics cleansing, genocides and crime against humanity, against their brothers and sisters.

Therefore, the only golden moment for real change in Sudan , all Sudanese are intelligently asked to seize is the 2009 projected elections, it is the moment where all the Sudanese should unite and make this democratic change possible and prevent their country from breakup, a moment for real defeat for the long time exploiters of our country and its resources and a moment for a glorious victory for the longtime agents of the real desired change who love this country and don’t want to split on the bases of race and religion, these are tools that the ruling minority has used even since to rule the vast majority of Sudanese and keep them divided.

It is never easy to defeat this powerful racist minority that has been ruling the country through military coups or exploiting Islam to form a religious state, simply because throughout times of their successive dictatorship rules, they have accumulated financial and political power that is behind any description leave alone their strong backers here and there around the racist countries and systems of the world. Our problem in Sudan is not a religion neither it is race, but our problem is this racist regime itself.

For twenty something years Omer Al-Bashir and company did has an absolute control on country resources and wealth, they have controlled every single power base, owning and directing the full Sudanese economy, all the major companies, financial banks businesses as well as oil companies, they have formed a strong military and Para military that is ready to intervene to prevent any possible change that will overhaul their racist system, in addition to a bloody secret police and security organs equipped with the best tools and technology that has made it possible for them to conduct this systematic genocide and massing uprooting throughout the country.

We do deeply acknowledge that none of us did democratically elected Omer Al Bashir as president of Sudan, neither his racist party the National Congress party (NCP) formerly known as the National Islamic Front (NIF) to be the ruling party of our country, in fact we all do remember clearly when the NIF was defeated at last democratic elections in 1985 and how they went to work underground to toppled the last democratic government of Sadiq Al Mahdi on Friday, June 30th, 1989 by a military coup d’état.

Though this is how this racist group did seized the power, most apparently the NIF was secretly sabotaged and penetrated and though its Islamic agenda was used by a group of racist Arabs nationalists that has ties to other Arabs Nationalists Movements in the neighboring countries or others like Iraq or Syria , which might be the cause of the serious rift and divide within the NIF movement between the Islamists and Arabs Nationalists resulting in the formation of NCP of Omer Al-Bashir and the Popular National Congress (PNC) of Hassan Al Turabi and therefore the imprisonment of the most senior leaders from African ethnic groups and hence the mass uprooting and ethnic cleansing of African people of Sudan, in South, Nuba Mountains, Ingasna and Darfur.

This group has used Islam extensively as a pretext to pursue its racial agenda, downplayed with the fears of the innocent Sudanese Muslims that Islam is being targeted by western world through South or Darfur, a devilish tactics and cheap lies that sooner were proven to be mere cover up. When the Islamic Sharia laws was introduced in Sudan in 1983, most victims that were put to death or their rights hands and legs got imputed were African Sudanese, Muslims and Christians, from the marginalized areas, from Darfur, Nuba Mountains and Ingasna and South of country, it is the racist system in Khartoum that marginalized them and it is the same racist system laws that is punishing them at the other end, what a controversy, additionally, the racial, ethnics cleansing, genocide of African Sudanese Muslims of Darfur that is keeping the heart of humanity in aches and pains on daily bases is a clear prove to that.

We in Sudan do know and very well that there is no most devoted, true Muslims then the Darfur people in all Muslim world, it is Darfur that did make it possible for Islam and Arabization to reach South and other parts of Sudan leave alone Africa and the world. Unfortunately the worst systematic mass killings, rape, ethnics cleansing, genocide and all the ugliest crime against humanity that happen in Darfur didn’t happen but by the racist regime in Khartoum that has claimed ever since Islam as their constitution and political Ideology.

All these fall in the attempt to change the demographics and dynamics realities of Sudan, to reduce, weaken the mechanical and majority of African Sudanese(Muslims and Christians) and hence preventing it from any formation that will led into its unity and accordingly its empowerment.

We do firmly acknowledge that in a real and true democratic state and system like the one we want to have, a political majority can be attained through various political means and agendas, it is though acknowledged that even though the African are 69% or the Muslims are 60% that doesn’t mean always that a racial or religious majority will always be the winner of any democratic elections, in fact, the well being of Sudan and its all people should be what constitute our political visions and agendas.

In the democratic country and system that we wish to have and where majority rules and minority rights are protected and guaranteed, the fears of minority will have no place whether it is a racial, religion, tribal or any kind of minority base simply because any form of power abuse will be firmly prevented as well as the balance in constitutional, legislature or executive powers will be guaranteed by the supreme national constitution of the land and the people of Sudan.

The present state of our country which does tell us that more work is needed in order for Sudan to change, Sudan must be restored by its people from the this racist minority grief control, the 2009 project elections will be the best and the golden chance in just doing that, to make it happen , we as Sudanese people will need to critically think about the past, present and the future of our country, each of us will need to think seriously about the 2009 elections ,what this elections means, what it could change, how it can be made more secure, effective and successful with a trusted results.

The 2009 elections will impact the future of our country in a great deal , it could mean an end to a brutal bloody regime that has been our nightmare for twenty something years, and that has made our country but the worse place ever by all terms of insecurity. In 2009 elections we the Sudanese people, (southerners and northerners) will meet head on with the longtime exploiters in Khartoum and their stooges every where in Sudan, it is each of us vote that will make the change possible, it is each of us vote that will make the long awaited freedom and liberation to prevails.

Hence , we ought to know which political party does represent the change we need and define clearly what actually need to be changed in Sudan, and who have the keys, the capabilities and abilities, leave alone the will to make that change possible in other words who are the major forces that drives and moves this change process forward, what are the forces of resistances that are preventing this change from taking place and how they can be overcome, defeated or changed, is this change the desired one for our country, how this change can be realized, , and how it can be protected if realized.

Dr. John Garang de Mabior, was the first Sudanese from south of country who ever thought big about changing the whole Sudan through South and by South, something that was seen as unrealistic by Southerners themselves resulting in fierce internal rifts within the liberation Movement at its early ages and hence dividing the forces of liberation into unionists who fight for major change in the racist system that run the country, and the separatists who does think the problem is a southern Sudan problem and its Christian majority therefore see the total solution in separating the South from the whole country.

Dr. John Garang de Mabior and his colleagues founded the Sudan People liberation Movement, Sudan people liberation Army (SPLM/SPLA), a political movement as well as a people Armed Force, with one clear and distinct objective in mind, liberation of Sudan and the Sudanese people. A critical look at the objective of SPLM/SPLA will definitely lead us always to the question that will define clearly our collective and common enemy, Liberating Sudan and its people from whom? Since Sudan was already considered as independent and liberated as well in 1956.

Though the vision of the SPLA/SPLM does sees Sudan and its people as a colonized, robbed, stolen country in one hand and colonized, enslaved, dominated, bandaged people in other. The other parts of this question will then follow in one mind consecutively, who is colonizing, enslaving the land of Sudan and its people as well as how the Sudan and the Sudanese people will be liberated, answering this questions also will define the path the great leader and his gallant colleagues has chosen to liberate Sudan and its people.

The SPLM/SPLA has waged a lengthy bitter armed struggle as well as an effective political campaign against the racist minority rulers based in Khartoum for twenty two consecutive years, In 2005, it did signed the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) with the de facto government of Omer Al-Bashir of National Congress Party (NCP) which was formed as a result of serious divide and rift in the National Islamic Front(NIF) between African Muslims and a group of Racist Arabs Nationalists resulting in jail and exclusion of the main effective figures in the NIF Party from African Ethnic groups , a turning point that has unearthed the real face of the racist movement that has been ruling Sudan for along time by proxy and under the slogan and pretext of Islam.

However the CPA has created a one country two systems as a temporary accommodation for this troubled country until the fate of the union is decided in 2011 when southerners will decide to secede from the rest of the country or remain in the union, with the projected 2009 elections that is seen as the golden chance that can save the country from real breakup in 2011, The SPLM share in national power doesn’t give it a any mechanical majority, neither constitutional power to make the desired change happen, the SPLM will need to gain new political grounds and more constitutional powers to furthers its agenda of democratic change and transformation.

If the SPLM is the agent of change and the change advocate here in this stolen and exploited country, then the SPLM has to be effective and efficient enough to be able to make that change happen, by being a true democratic movement that cherish democracy in its institutions as well as in its already controlled southern part of the country, its performance, successes or failures in this testing time will impact its future and competitive edge in coming elections.

The voices of change in Northern Sudan need to embrace the SPLM, in fact the core debate about change in Sudan is meant to wake up the conscience of our brothers in north of the country, liberate their mind set from the dangerous concepts the minority rulers has been planting, no single Sudanese is really benefiting from this man made disaster in Sudan except its makers and that is definitely the deformed ruling class in Khartoum.

For the SPLM, as a people movement for the desired change, rendering the masses of Sudanese people into powerful one nation, fully aware, politically conscious in socio-economic causes of the problems of this country will be an effective part of its strategy to win the upcoming elections, you can’t defeat a powerful masses that are well informed about what is going on in the country neither you can make choices against their own future, interest and well being. In fact they are one that is paying a huge price for all what Khartoum has been cooking from wars caused by racial, tribal and religious hate policies.

SPLM can not rely on luck and chance in this final battle, they are not an option, the SPLM need to strategize and very well in order to win, by opening up the whole bitter struggle history of Sudanese people since 1955 and beyond, it must teach the Sudanese masses about the lengthy unjust and inequitable political, socio-economic systems and situation of our country, these masses are not well informed enough, they were mislead for more then fifty years, they are confused and their religious fears are what the NCP always downplays particularly in northern part of the country, In southern part and other marginalized areas of the country, tribalism is sickening their minds and is preventing them from thinking big, standing in their ways to come together to give a final death certificate to the racial system in Khartoum. For the SPLM, indeed it is time to liberate people minds, change concepts and old ways that the old minority system have been preaching throughout its long ugly present.

The Sudanese masses can come together, work together to achieve the desired change but that is not an easy thing to achieve without a viable leader and organizer and this is the first main task that the SPLM should be really doing, bringing the masses together, put them to work together, empower them with the necessary information about what has been and still going on in Khartoum and the important of their vote to make that change possible in Khartoum, equip them with the necessary communications and media tools that increase their awareness and strengthen their faith in the upcoming change, The SPLM will have to be the all good party, a true honest agent for the desired change that Sudanese masses have to trust. It is most likely that internal power thirst and competition, tribalism, corruption and other ills will always try to stray the SPLM from its glorious objective and course, which is the total liberation of Sudan and its entire people.

A conceptual change campaign will be a necessary strategic tool for SPLM to change Sudan peacefully and from within, it could save Sudan millions of wasted souls and financial resources as well, because any relative change in conceptual world of this racist minority will greatly mean a lot, the way they sees themselves as a unique race that is here to rule but not to integrate with the locals, that sees Sudan as a land, rich of resources that have to be exploited and used to empower their international political cause.

It is these concepts that is keeping our people in Darfur in misery and hell as it does before to the African people in South as well as in Nuba Mountains, Ingasna and the East, it is these concepts that sees Sudan as land that have to be empted from its vast majority of its indigenous people through uprooting, marginalization, domination, and even committing mass killing, genocides and grave crimes against humanity, they want this land empty , and that is the big project that Omer Al-Bashir and his gangs were all about for twenty something years.

Any change in these inhuman concepts of this minority and its powerful backers around the world is a saving for Sudan, is a peace for its so exploited people, is a stability and prosperity for this rich country, is a beauty for so diverse and colorful land, any change in these inhuman concepts is a peace for the whole world.

But how a change can be achieved and accepted in so deformed society, where preachers of this inhuman concepts holds the daily breads of the rest, where the inventors of this lies and inhuman concepts have surrounded themselves with all kinds of powers and where just saying no to these wrong concepts generate a condemnation to death .

In fact, it is not just only a society that is so deformed but it is a society where change is the only thing made impossible. Something that Southerners had clearly in mind that even if they decided for unity in 2011 what are the guarantees that another Omer Al-Bashir will not emerge after all the golden chances are missed and put us back to square one.

It is fundamentally true that it is not just a regime change that will change Sudan it is also the change in concepts of how Northerners view themselves in part and how do they view the rest of country in other, especially its indigenous people, this country won’t come together if we didn’t erase the dangerous racial, tribal or the religious intolerance concepts that the racist system in Khartoum has built its house on, no human being, in any time and space, no matter what his/her color, race, tribe or religion will ever accept being looked down or rated as second. A homogenous society that is in peace with itself can not be realized without a peaceful conceptual realm being created by the government and other social, religious and educational institutions, in fact our government in Khartoum is just putting more oil on the fire by teaching all kind of hostile concepts and teachings, which does just benefit its racist agenda and survival.

Even though we have strong belief that the majority of Sudanese will vote for change in 2009 upcoming elections, we can’t guaranteed that, a clean smooth elections will take place and accordingly will produce a trusted outcomes and results, as elections fraud to prevent a real legitimate change from happening through a popular vote are always known in countries being controlled by brutal dictatorships like the one we have, therefore an international supervision and monitoring system will be a must have requirement in order to make this elections achieve a trusted results and outcomes.

There are major problems that need to be solved first In order for 2009 projected elections to be inclusive, legitimate and successful, first will be the problem of Darfur. Without a final solution for the Darfur problem and other insecurity problems around the country, the 2009 projected elections will be incomplete and hence its results will be illegitimate and waste of resources and efforts. In other hand, the NCP will try to keep the fire in Darfur aflame in order to prevent, or at least delay the 2009 projected election something that it will apparently put the blame to fragmented Darfur movements. A critical thinking and a wise move is expected from these shattered movements, to unite, negotiate, and rally its bases to joint the SPLM and other democratic forces to make it possible.

Eventually, Election system will need to be inclusive, effective and secure, that won’t happen without the help of international community. We still have hundreds thousands of Sudanese in diasporas, other millions are displaced internally, an election system that will include every citizen no matter where they are will be the system that will achieve the desired change.

For you as a Sudanese, northerner or southerner, wherever you and if you are really keen enough for a peaceful democratic change in our country then 2009 elections is the chance to overhaul the whole racist and deteriorated system in Khartoum and bring about a responsible national government that is keen enough to make the change happen, it is not just change of a constitution, political, socio-economic systems but it is a campaign of change in the wrong concepts and opinions that are keeping this great Sudanese nation apart, please mark your calendar, 2009 elections day is the day for change.

The writer is a Sudanese based in USA, to read more for the writer click, http://chuarjuetonline.blogspot.com any comment or suggestion, email [email protected]