Sudan’s regime commits a selective predetermined massacre on peaceful protestors in Nyala
By Mahmoud A. Suleiman
August 6, 2012 — One feels very angry, ireful and deeply saddened by this monstrous crime committed by the National Congress Party (NCP) regime against the people of Sudan in the City of Nyala in South Darfur on Tuesday the 31st July 2012, 12th of Ramadan 1433. During that brutal killing spree more than a dozen people have lost their lives, the majority were young school children and more than a hundred others were seriously injured. One emphasises the important fact that continuation of struggle by all means, including Armed Resistance to overthrow the NCP entity led by the ICC indicted fugitive Omer Hassan Ahmed al-Bashir with the view to bring about “Regime Change” and achieve the aspirations of our people and fair retribution against anyone who has been responsible for transgression of the basic citizenship rights of justice, equality, freedoms, democracy, rule of law, transparency and good governance. The massacre carried out by the Security and Intelligence services and the militias of the NCP regime on the people of Sudan in Nyala who were engaged in peaceful protests was the result of deliberate and calculated intention to kill. It is an extension to the method of genocide previously practiced by Omer al-Bashir in the Darfur region. It warrants the call for an urgent international investigation.
The National Congress Party (NCP) regime’s systematic racial discrimination against the marginalised Sudanese in general and the people of Darfur in particular is evident in the use of the extraordinarily excessive force to quell the peaceful demonstrations in the South Darfur City of Nyala by its Security apparatus targeting school children and unarmed civilians who were brutally attacked with live ammunition with intent of “shoot-to-kill”. This policy has been implemented against any suspected Darfuris wherever and whenever they are allegedly identified as implicated in an offence. The principle of ‘shoot to kill’ was adopted and applied by National Islamic Front (NIF) at the peak of the genocidal spree in Darfur and by its successor the (NCP) against the Darfurians before on several occasions. Similar targeting of innocent Darfuri citizens in Khartoum had happened on Saturday 10th May 2008 when the gallant forces of the rebel Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) carried out the Operation Long Arm (OLA) and attacked the Sudan’s National Capital Khartoum, with the view to take the war to the enemy’s backyard away from Darfur and weaken and/or ousting the government led by the ICC indicted Fugitive Marshal Omer Hassan Ahmed al-Bashir. At the time, scores of innocent citizens from Darfur region living in Khartoum became NCP regime’s military/ National Intelligence Security Forces (NISS) targets. They had been arrested in the streets, in their homes, and taken to unknown places of detention where they were brutally tortured. The arrests in public places had been mostly based on the individuals’ physical appearance, age, accent, and the colour of their skin.
The NCP regime’s callous and heinous criminal act of massacre in Nyala were carefully planned and carried out in cold blood. The majority of those martyred were children. Moreover, and among the seriously injured were children, women and elderly, some in a critical condition. The hospital in Nyala has no resources to provide live-saving medical care. The violence used by the Security Forces in Nyala against the peaceful demonstration is unprecedented and has not happened anywhere else in Sudan since the outbreak of the protests on Saturday the 16th of June 2012 against the austerity measures imposed by the regime in its desperate attempt to salvage the ‘corruption-led bankruptcy’. The problems facing the ‘north Sudan’ after the departure of the “South” with one third of beloved land and dearly compatriots still remain Complex and Compound. The root causes of the Crises are deeply rooted in history and have not been addressed. On top of the causes are racism and exclusion which have been practiced by the successive political regimes led by minority elites who came to rule the country without exception. It was Unfortunately for the people of Sudan that the elites to whom the British Colonial Power handed over the Office were unprepared at best and inept at worst to rule a country such as Sudan with multi-ethnic, multi-faith and multi-linguistic population living in a continent-sized State of sprawling area of million square miles. The forgoing minority elites continued struggling in floundering to run the country but abject failure had been the outcome ; driving Sudan into a dark tunnel which provided a fertile soil for ambitious army generals to seize power through Coup d’états and impose totalitarian autocratic regimes. Furthermore, Sudan is plagued by endless Civil wars, usually waged by the very governments against the peoples of the country, to cover up the defects of their governance style. And worse of all mortal sins of the successive governments led by those elites have been their arrogance, racism, nepotism, exclusion of others and corruption. Obviously this has left cumulative feelings of bitterness, wounds and sores which have not healed yet.
The reprehensible crime and the extreme violence against the unarmed civilians in Nyala cannot be explained by anything other than being an act stemming out from a deeply seated eternal hatred, historical animosity and dislike of the elements in the National Islamic Front (NIF/NCP) for the people of Darfur. During the popular demonstrations in the Sudanese cities and throughout the period of Arab Spring-styled protests, which began in Khartoum on Saturday the 16th June 2012, the National Congress Party (NCP) regime’s Security Forces have used violence and sweeping arrests to prevent and break up demonstrations but never managed to kill in such brutality before the Nyala protest. While we condemn in the strongest terms all the crimes that the NCP regime’s Security Apparatus continues to commit across the Sudan against the people who demonstrate peacefully to protest against the denial of their legitimate rights that are guaranteed by the constitution, one finds the doctrine of double standards and negative preferential treatment of the NCP regime for the peaceful protesters in Darfur is deplorable and more appalling. This does not mean necessarily that one is condoning harsher treatment by the NCP regime for the fellow citizens demonstrating in regions other than Darfur. Selective targeting of the so-called National Intelligence and Security services (NISS) and police and the militias of the NCP for the people originally from Darfur participating in demonstrations with other Sudanese in Khartoum and other cities was crystal clear and can only be denied by the ingratitude folks like the bigot El-Tayeb Mustafa, the maternal uncle of the formally ICC indicted fugitive Omar Hassan Ahmed al-Bashir.
The magnanimity of the people of the Darfur City of Nyala – nicknamed al-Bihair- have proved beyond any thread of doubt that the NCP regime will fall soon and would be thrown into the dustbin of history.
We extend our greetings and appreciation to the brave masses of the City of Nyala in their opposition to injustice and tyranny of the despotic government of the NCP in the face of unprecedented repression. We pray for mercy on the souls of the righteous martyrs. We wish a speedy recovery for the brave steadfast wounded people. And greetings are due for the survivors of the ordeal of the massacre.
Down with the ruling regime in Khartoum, led by ICC indicted fugitive from international justice Omar Hassan Ahmad al-Bashir whose regime is destined to fall apart and doomed to disintegrate.
Omer al-Bashir and his militias believe that by doing what they did in Nyala would necessarily deter the chivalry people of Darfur from claiming their usurped rights. The cowardly liar Omer Hassan Ahmed al-Bashir needs to understand that the brave ferocious lions of Darfur will act decisively and retaliate swiftly for the innocent Darfuri blood spilled. That pure blood shed for freedom in Nyala will not be lost in vain without the punishment of the perpetrators nor will the legitimate rights of the people of Darfur which have been robbed or denied be forgotten without their restitution. The NCP regime should be aware that the response to this massacre will be crucial and qualitatively precise soon; without specifying the time though the target has been identified. The massacre of peaceful demonstrators in Nyala will not go unpunished.
Now it is time for those calling themselves the National Consensus Forces (NCF), which many consider that they are just “Old Wine in New Bottles”, the Attar “supplier of perfumes” has no ability to repair and fix what is marred by Time. The National Consensus Forces (NCF), who have presented their signed document dubbed the “Democratic Alternative Charter” as an alternative to the ousted genocidal NCP regime in Khartoum must change their “Die Hard Old habits” and adopt the values of the rule of law, equality and justice. The marginalised people in the peripheries’ Cause for which they strive is not for mere toppling the NCP regime; it is beyond that. The people are yearning for a real ‘Democratic Alternative’ that calls for ‘How ‘New ‘Sudan to be Ruled rather than Who should Govern it. The alternative to the current hateful regime should be the one who respects the Human Rights, possesses the values of Tolerance and capable to spread justice and equality all over the country regardless of ethnicity, colour, creed, language, age, gender or regional affiliation.
One deplores with the strongest words of condemnation and denunciation the brutal, barbarous and savage unjustified attacks against peaceful demonstrators and the killing of school children and secondary school students and defenseless civilians among whom there were women and the elderly and others at random. The massacre of peaceful demonstrators in Nyala will not go unpunished.
The people of Nyala knew that their acts were proper and good. They died defending their lands and towns. They were not afraid of death or pain, but they were afraid that someone could name them cowards. Their ancestors, Khalifa Abdullah al-Taaishi, Sultan Ali Dinar, Sheikh Madibbo, Faki al-Husseini and many others, walked these paths with pride and courage marking them by the blood. Gods
were pleased with their victories, took their sacrifices and protected them and showed the mysterious paths of life and death, destiny and victory. (These modified Extracts are from the Graveland – Drakens Comment to Following the Voice of Blood – Lyrics). www.stlyrics.com/…/graveland8949/… – United States.
Dr. Mahmoud A. Suleiman is the Deputy Chairman of the General Congress for Justice and Equality Movement (JEM). He can be reached at [email protected]