Weekly Press Columns Digest
23 May, 2021
KHARTOUM (Sudanow) - Three of the last week’s events had attracted much of the press comments.
The first was the death of hard line writer, relative of ousted President Omar Albashir, Mr. Altayeb Mustafa, which was received with varying sentiments from rejoice to sadness, according to the concerned writer’s attitude towards the deceased.
The second was the dismissal of Chief Justice Ms. Neimat Abdallah Mohammad Khair and the resignation of Attorney General Taj Alsir Alhibir.
The third issue was the recent international conference in Paris, France, that discussed Sudan’s debt relief and Sudan’s development plans, both issues thought by Sudan’s friends crucial for the building of democracy in the country.
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Outspoken Writer Ms. Suhair Abdelrahim, was very critical of some writers who seemed to gloat over the passing of politician, writer, and relative of ousted President Omar Albashir, Mr. Altayeb Mustafa.
Many Sudanese, writers included, blame the Mustafa for the secession of Southern Sudan from the mother country, due to the harsh language in which he used to write about Southern Sudanese and their political leaders. In addition, the late Mustafa had always been at loggerheads with nearly all the political spectrum, save the Islamists to whom he belonged. Here he also used to employ harsh language, often diatribe.
Writing in the daily journal Alentibaha (the attentiveness), a paper launched by Mr. Mustafa himself in the late 1990s and then sold it to other buyers, Ms. Suhair charged that: All along history no one could dare to glee at the death of another person. For the death situation, if it is not one for grief, it is indeed one for wise thinking. Death is always the best of preachers.
I was gripped with a condition of bewilderment while watching the celebrations and ululations aired in parallel with the pavilions of mourning erected for the death of journalist, my fellow in this paper, Altayeb Mustafa, God have mercy on him and rest his soul in eternal peace.
I was very astonished for this despite my thorough knowledge that the man had tens of foes and haters who do not agree politically with him and who blame him for the breakaway of our beloved Southern Sudan, who consider him one of the pillars of the Islamic movement and who consider him one of the causes that the Bashir had stayed so long in office.
Yes, we know all that and more. But what has actually happened is that the man has died. That means one thing: Full stop..New line.
The man is now within the hands of Allah, the most able, the clement, the merciful, the all-knowing and the most capable of giving the man a comfortable sitting place in paradise or a place in hell. It is Him alone Who has the final judgment.
We as humans have nothing to do about death other than take wisdom from it. Wisdom is death’s message, not glee. How stupid it is to have a feeling of glee on something that will inflict you after one year, a month or while you are reading these lines. You may have a stroke, a clot or a sudden drop in the blood circulation. The result is one: Death.
As a matter of fact, the man had previously attacked me in more than one article. He had also set the condition that he would not write in the newspaper if I would write in it. But God is witness that I have pardoned him from the depth of my heart. This has not happened now, after his death. No. But even since I knew about that condition of his, and I skipped the issue and did not discuss it with him.
Now, we have nothing to say other than to pray for God to include him in His mercy and His forgiveness, and make of his grave a garden of heaven. We are all the creation of God and we will all of us return to Him.
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The Sovereignty Council (the head of state) early last week dismissed Chef Justice Neimat Abdallah Mohammad Khair and accepted the resignation of Attorney General Taj Alsir Alhibir. On this big development wrote Mr. Alfatih Jabra in the daily journal Aljarreda (the Newspaper):
The dismissal of the Chief Justice and the resignation of the Attorney General were received with wide public satisfaction. The citizens have received these two developments with joy because it was for these two decisions that they (the citizens) staged massive processions, but the authorities did not respond. But in a surprise move, General Hemaidti (the deputy chair of the Sovereignty Council) issued these two decrees in one go and without any previous hint or justifications. We say this because it is impossible that these decisions were taken in response to public calls. That is because everybody knows the ruling authority (at the moment) has nothing to do with what the public wants. That means there is something under the sleeve, we know nothing about (but sure they know them very well).
But let us take this unexpected opportunity and correct the wrong path that brought these two weak persons to the helms of the judicial system. This correction can be attained by the formation of the Council of the Judiciary and the Higher Council of the Attorney. These, two in turn, will nominate a chief justice and an attorney general for us to get out of the cloak of the military’s domination and their interference in the works of the judiciary, one of the three authorities of the country. This will restore the status of the judicial system as watchman of the law and the effecting of justice without any influence from anybody.
There is no justice without an independent judiciary. And I don’t think correcting the path of the judiciary is difficult or impossible. The Minister of Justice can simply draft a law for establishing these two councils and table them for endorsement by the existing legislative council (the joint meeting of the Council of Ministers and the Sovereignty Council), now responsible for legislation in the absence of the legislative council proper which is yet to be launched. By that we could have taken the powers of the judiciary and the attorney general from the hands of the military in the Sovereignty Council who are encroaching on all the three authorities: The legislative, the executive and the judicial. This situation has turned the Sovereignty Council from a ceremonial council into a despotic council.
A brief look shows that that the most to benefit from the absence of the observatory authorities: the Legislative Council, the High Judiciary Council, The High Attorney Council and the Constitutional Court is one sole entity. That is the military in the Sovereignty Council who rule the country at the moment. The public knows thoroughly well the aims of the military from the absence of these authorities. That is to pass their agendas and compromise justice in order to protect (their lords) – the criminals of the defunct regime, and destroy evidences of the crimes these military members have committed ever since when the glorious December revolution broke out.
If we had had a legislative council and an independent judiciary these criminals would not escape justice, for nobody is above the law.
We are now before a golden opportunity to restore those powers and correct that dysfunction. If they accept this matter, we would have won one of the slogans of the revolution. That is justice. But if they (the military) refuse to, they would be exposed and their argument in not allowing the legislative council to be launched will be falsified. So let the council (the joint meeting of the Council of Ministers and the Sovereignty Council) you made by your own hands do something good for the first time in its history. Is it a difficult thing to do?!
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Editor of the daily newspaper Altayyar (The Current), Mr. Osman Merghani, was upbeat about the outcome of the recent Paris (France) international conference, called to consider Sudan’s big foreign debt and seek ways of investing the country’s economic potential.
Wrote Mr. Osman:
The Paris conference was a real feat for Sudan, a strong beginning and an unprecedented international interest in Sudan’s return to the family of World countries. Promises of sorts were made from all the Sudan’s debtors to write off the debts that burdened the people of Sudan and undermined its ability to go forward.
The most beautiful face of this image is that the country’s standing behind Sudan are the most economically and politically powerful: The USA, Great Britain, France, Sweden, Ireland and Norway, all of whom had volunteered to pay bridge loans for Sudan’s arrears with the World Bank, The IMF and the African Development Bank. And before these also came the group of Gulf countries: Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt.
But before that, we have to pay attention. Optimistic and bright as it is, this situation is no more than a stepping stone for the future. For the wisdom says: You can take the horse to the stream, but you cannot make it drink. The international community did not save any effort to quickly and effectively repair Sudan’s seat. But for Sudan to exploit this in the creation of a renaissance depends totally on us, the Sudanese-in all the geography of Sudan.
What is domestically required is big, quick and would not wait. The road is now open for us to go with all force and speed. But the approach the country is following at the moment stops short of achieving the hopes of the Sudanese people in a flourishing county as quickly as possible. The international community is a helping factor, but the real work should be shouldered by the state and the people of Sudan, now.
A roadmap has to be designed for a bright future of the country, specifically a nationalistic vision that materializes a major strategy around which all Sudanese converge, no matter their differences. We can differ on everything, except on what is needed for achieving the Sudanese renaissance. There is need to create a national unity, an agreement on interests. Under a plain strategic plan, the relation between the government and the people becomes governed by performance and achievement alone. No Sudanese will have to ask about the ID of the ruler, his party, his tribe or his religion, for the contractual relationship is built on the agreed upon interests within that strategic plan.
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