Bashir’s prohibitive Red Lines crossed all political boundaries in Sudan
By Mahmoud A. Suleiman
June 28, 2014 – This article comes against the backdrop of the ultimatum made by the National Congress Party (NCP) President Omer al-Bashir in which he warned the opposition parties from any attempt to rapprochement with the rebel alliance Sudanese Revolutionary Front (SRF). Al-Bashir sounded more tyrannical after his return to the limelight following weeks of disappearance allegedly due to illness he has suffered. This announcement of the (NCP) president topples his false claim about national dialogue he called on the opposition political forces to participate and that his regime has provided a suitable ground for political freedoms. Al-Bashir after the recovery from his alleged illness aimed at imposing more restrictions on freedoms and application of further repressive laws against opposition parties. This indicates al-Bashir’s declaration for putting an end to the planned national dialogue he submitted to the Sudanese political opposition in both its peaceful civil and military armed in January 2014.
Omar al-Bashir threatened any contact with the (SRF) is a red line punishable harshly. He addressed that message to the Sudanese opposition forces. He said that while addressing the NCP Consultative Council meeting on Thursday 26 June 2014. Al-Bashir labelled the (SRF) as foreign agents and traitors against the Sudanese state. The truth of the matter is that, Omer al-Bashir is the most Sudanese ruler who served Western policy and interests in the modern history of Sudan. By the way, the former assassin and commander of the notorious Popular Defence Forces (PDF) cement trader and now plays the role of a Foreign Minister for the regime Ali Ahmed Karti has been visiting Western countries without interruption, begging them for lifting the sanctions against his regime in exchange for intelligence on terrorism perpetuated by his fellow Muslims Brotherhoods and other fundamentalist jihadists around the world. However, Omer al-Bashir continuously accuses the armed opposition in the (SRF), his archenemy, as agents for the Western countries; nothing else than the psychological defense mechanism of Projection! The case of Sudan under the failed regime of the (NCP) Political Islamism embodies the title of a book by Dr. Mansour Khalid (Sudan a proliferation of destabilizations and shortage of pickets/pegs)!
Political analysts indicated that the furor and the ballyhoo of the NCP president came as a pretext to reprimand and disapprove the signs of possible rapprochement between the National Umma Party (NUP) and the rebel alliance (SRF). It followed the reported statements attributed to Sayed al-Sadiq al-Mahdi that his party would coordinate its efforts with that of the (SRF) for attaining countrywide peace.
Al-Bashir accused political opponents as abusing the freedoms his regime has offered and that some opportunists have abused and “crossed the red line” he has set limit to it. It seems that Omer al-Bashir’s anger and furor was in response to the speech of the Chairman (Imam) of the Ansar Sect and the leader of the National Umma Party (NUP) Sayed al-Sadiq al-Mahdi’s Speech at the political Seminar in the Omdurman suburb of Umbadda on Thursday evening June 26, 2014. This was when al-Mahdi stated the following:
First: we say that the process that existed in the Sudan where there are defects that we must rethink and say these flaws need correction.
Second: reconciliation with all political forces, which there were problems between them, “we have”, to agree on a unified position.
Third: to talk with all those who carry arms and say: Come with us to a word between us to unite our position in order to establish a new system. Furthermore, our capital is our political initiative which gets us out of the impasse; control under this procedure will enable us, God willing, to deal with all the political forces on the basis of the unification of the word, as well as reach an understanding with our brothers in the Sudan Revolutionary Front (SRF) on the basis that we are all betting on a comprehensive political solution in which there is just and comprehensive peace and entire democratic transformation.
Of the kind of wishful- thinking for the Khartoum government is the occurrence of disputes between the components of the Sudanese opposition forces. Moreover, the press and the media loyal to the NCP regime sought the creation of falsehoods and rhetoricians lies to stirrup sedition based on the doctrine “the end justifies the means”.
The Sudanese people want comprehensive sustainable just peace besides full democratic transformation. These noble aspirations of the Sudanese people could not be achieved in the reign of terror of al-Bashir and his despotic regime exist at the helm of power , monopolizing wealth of the country and committing the reprehensible heinous crimes with impunity.
All the fuss and shouting of the angry Omar al-Bashir intended as a Letter of Warning to Mr. Sadiq al-Mahdi and the rest of the components of the Sudanese opposition that the issue of national dialogue has ended and negated its purpose and now we have elections which we decided its date in April 2015 without delay.
All the foregoing fuss and angry shouting of Omar al-Bashir intended to pass the message that the authority of the NCP will continue to its goals in spite of the desire of the opposition for change supported by international community. Political observers said that al-Bashir understands well that change of his regime means he will be faced by transitional justice, retribution and punishment as a war criminal before the International Criminal court (ICC) at The Hague. Therefore, those who claim to reform the regime of the NCP must understand and get convinced that Omar al-Bashir will not allow any change in his system of governance and the use of proxy wars in Darfur, Nuba Mountains, and Blue Nile State and elsewhere in Sudan unabatedly. Moreover, that those who believe that democracy is possible to be reached in the presence of Omar al-Bashir in power their hopes will be built in Mirage and suffer disappointment and heartbreak.
Given the past marathon numbers of negotiations and the lack of commitment of the NCP regime to the peace agreements reached with the parties to the conflict in Darfur and elsewhere over the decades, there is no point for further so-called peace processes except for humanitarian relief that the regime has denied reaching the war displaced victims and using food as a weapon. Sudan lives in a conflict of Self-actualization under the political Islamism of NCP. Genocide by attrition continues with impunity in Darfur. There is nothing much In favour of the components of the Sudanese opposition remains, both civil peaceful and armed movements, other than ousting the regime by all the possible means. The serious and the effective opposition accompanied by components of the Sudanese people, young people, women and civil society organizations and activists and trade unions and professional unions and the Allied armed movements (SRF) and patriots of the Sudanese armed forces (SAF) loyal to the Sudanese people’s choice together are capable to overthrow the (NCP) regime and establish the “Democratic Alternative” followed by an inclusive broad-based ‘Transitional Government’. This is followed by:
Constitutional Conference of the regions of Sudan to agree on a permanent constitution for Sudan and then conduct a census of the population and a fair distribution of constituencies according to population density and then make the general elections free, fair and transparent control globally by global institutions credible then configure the elected government and the regime of real federation, which is given powers to regions to govern itself and curtail the historic central authority in Khartoum and then repair what was destroyed by the war and the application of transitional justice to hold war criminals accountable and compensate those affected by war, and the return of the refugees and the displaced people to Hawakeer and the eviction of those groups who unlawfully and unjustly occupied the land of others. This would be coincided with the tribal groups trial to reweave, sew and repair the social fabric after the deliberate fragmentation caused by the sedition and discord planted by the NCP regime between the tribal ethnic groups, which had been living in harmony and peace and love before the fateful coming of the war criminal despotic Omar al-Bashir to power through military coup d’état in 1989. The NIF/NCP regime has exploited religion to justify corruption through Jurisprudence of the so-called Doctrine of Necessity.
The Current harsh conditions under which the Sudanese people are languishing is unbearable to say the least. It is truly a sorry state and a matter of to be or not to be for Sudan under the political Islamism of NCP. The pressing issues that affect the country are corruption, tyranny, fundamentalist minority rule, marginalisation, poverty and denial of human rights and the never-ending genocidal wars. A religiously neutral model of governance may be the only way for a multi ethnic, multi faith, multicultural and metalinguistic country like Sudan to prosper. Political scientists refer to that the type of governance as the civil state. The components of the Sudanese people must collectively struggle relentlessly against the confiscation of democracy and freedoms, systematic oppression, totalitarianism, dictatorship and biased for the defence of human rights and work together to overthrow the axis of evil regime of the NCP and the remnants of the former Head of the poisonous serpent, the National Islamic Front (NIF).
When the Darfuri Movements in Sudan first took up arms against the tyrannical regime of the NCP, they aimed to fight for democracy, Justice, equality, and freedom. They took up arms mainly against marginalisation. Moreover, the struggle was to create a democratic nation-state in Sudan for all its inhabitants whereby the rule of law, good governance, sustainable lasting peace, prosperity and freedom to be paramount sets for the peoples. Now is the occasion more than at any other time fight the hypocrite corrupt blood thirsty and dictatorial regime of the (NCP) that has determined to kill and deprive the citizens of Sudan in Darfur and elsewhere their freedoms to reduce their dignity to nothing at the expense of power greed, and personal interests for twenty-five years.
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] and he is also is an author, columnist and a blogger. His blog is http://thussudan.wordpress.com