The International Community is not the Answer
By Salah Shuaib
The miserable general situations in which we live didn’t leave us with a much confidence in the ability of the Great Powers, which are allegedly leading the international community, to help resolve the issues of coexistence the peoples of the third world suffer from for centuries. The world order itself is dominated by imperial will of these globally influential realms, which historically have acquired logistical impacts to alone interpret what is politically suitable for us.
Hence, this superpower domination over the weak states in our planet contributes to the costly continuing crises of underdeveloped nations. There can be no settlement of these deep-seated crises unless such powerful states stop interfering in regional conflicts to attain their interests, or reform the narrow ways they follow in the absence of the entire peoples’ societal will.
What is happening in Sudan and South Sudan is evidence of the failure of the United Nations to help resolve the dilemma of the historic coexistence the two nations try to overcome. Rather, such so-called helpful interventions of the superpower countries taken place now made the situations in the two countries worse to an extent no one can exactly describe.
The two camps of the globally dominating political forces are now using the fanatic Islamism as a tool to disintegrate the local situations of Sudan and South Sudan’s societies, where Khartoum’s Islamic government is serving for the United States’ security priorities and in the meantime cooperating with China and Russia for gaining their regional objectives.
Realising all the international contradictions accompanying the period after the end of the Cold War, the Sudanese Islamists were very smart in using their deceptive mind to employ such two superpower camps to build and consolidate their terrorising state. Thus, Sudanese Islamists became able to devastate Sudanese unity so that they could maintain a corrupt regime, which has been for nearly three decades an entity suppressing Sudanese democratic dreams as well as sustaining global terrorism.
This Islamist deceptive mind has succeeded in splitting Sudan to dominate its northern part with political aggression. Concerning the southern part, they succeeded in putting obstacles in the way of building South Sudan by supporting those engaging in a military opposition against Juba. Alas, throughout the years following the secession of the south, the so-called international community has watched how Khartoum’s Islamists have defied all steps taken by some Western countries to stabilise the two nations.
The Obama administration, which came under the banner of change in US policy, played a negative role in embracing the Islamists of Sudan and their partners in the region. At the end of his term, Obama helped Khartoum achieve a partial lifting of economic sanctions on the country and urged his successor to completely lift the remaining sanctions. At another level, Sudan’s Islamists have found an opportunity to cooperate with Europe in security issues, although they support terrorism in Africa and sympathise with global one.
Now, since Khartoum has achieved its international goals, which helped it tear down the unity of southern Sudan, suppress political opposition, violate human rights, destroy the social fabric in the conflicted zones and tighten the grip on the country’s wealth, it engages to be an active member of a US-led anti-ISIS alliance. Moreover, Khartoum threatens through its leaders’ statements that it will not seek to create a national political environment that may attract the armed opposition battling in Darfur, South Kordofan and Blue Nile.
Frankly, the only way to address the issues of co-existence in our developing nations is to capture all opportunities for political enlightenment, as a single, unifying avenue in raising political awareness for the nationalities that form our states. The elites, who rely entirely on the so-called international community, forgetting the popular capabilities at home, are themselves part of the crisis, not the solution.
As for the history of Sudan and South Sudan’s efforts to resolve our societal crises, the dependence on the external factor was a great illusion, which is proved by the critical situations in both countries. Political enlightenment is difficult to achieve and needs time, sacrifice and patience. But, there is no other way to reform nation-building processes other than that enlightenment. Whatever we rely on the outside factor alone, the harvest will be only mirage.
*The writer is a Sudanese journalist, he can be reached at [email protected]