When the US goes the wrong way in Sudan

Ibrahim Ali Ibrahim

May 28, 2010 — Sudanese opposition parties and democrats have been totally shocked by the US administration’s stance during the Sudanese elections. They also regret that US did not do more as promised to prevent and address such irregularities, manipulation of the process by the NCP, intimidation of candidates and voters, and unjust practices accompanied the election. The U.S. was expected to use this rare opportunity to help in the democratic transformation process of the country after twenty-one years under the authoritarian rule.

Unfortunately, the US administration views the elections mandated by the CPA as a prerequisite for the referendum in the South to be held in January 2011. Despite the international demands for free elections in Sudan, the US seemed to have gone the wrong way. The US did not only ignore the mass fraud, manipulation, and intimidation that characterized the elections, but also helped in making this scheme possible. The Sudanese opposition had hoped that these elections would have led to a considerable step towards a democratic transformation. However, the US has decided to accept this sham election and abandon the struggle of the Sudanese democrats who suffered many atrocities under the current Islamic regime.

The fear of Bashir aborting the referendum has been the driving force behind the U.S policy towards Sudan. Ironically, this policy seems to have helped him in aborting the democratic transformation process promised by the CPA agreement.

While we understand the U.S. approach in implementing the CPA, we are bothered to see that Washington did not play the role of the honest broker between the government and the opposition parties. This policy will definitely put greater risk on the implementation of the referendum, and hinder the administration ability to play a notable role in it.

This contradicting role will send the wrong message to President Bashir and encourage the regime to abrogate the last chapter of the CPA, and the referendum for the South. After rigging the elections, Bashir is tempted to alter the Southerners’ will by defrauding the outcome of the people’s of the South votes in the referendum. Bashir was quoted saying “the US is on our side”, so he fears nothing. Indeed, he was right and the US has always been on his side against all Sudanese democratic forces. The irony of this policy is that US has achieved none of its goals in Sudan.

Although President Obama made it clear that he believes in democratizing the Muslim and the third world, his administration has clearly opted for a policy of “sleeping with the devil” in Sudan, favoring an indicted president over the mass of Sudanese democrats. By taking such stance, Sudanese democrats lost faith on the American principles of democracy, civil rights, and freedoms.

The author is a Sudanese writer he can be reached at [email protected]