Weekly Press Columns Digest
07 June, 2020
KHARTOUM (Sudanow) - The week’s columns have this time touched upon a lot of current issues of interest to both the government and the public.
The issues discussed were the current political state of affairs and the apparent division in the ranks of the government power base (FFC), the controversial call by the Professionals Association for the country to go secular, the unstable positions of Darfuri rebel leader Mini Minawi and the first anniversary of the break up of the sit-in around the Army General Command.
Writing in the Alsudani Alldawliyya, veteran journalist Mahjoub Mohammad Salih has warned against what he called the disarray on the country’s political scene, calling for a unity of ranks and a revision of positions:
“Although the Sudanese are busy with the deadly coronavirus pandemic and the ensuing atmospheres of economic crises caused by the complete lock down, the political scene is witnessing new threats and attempts to divide the national ranks and mix the papers and set the stage for more discord through the building of new alliances. Such alliances are approached by some in good faith and a desire for reform. But some others are approaching them to achieve other purposes, all of them seeking to abort the revolution or divert it from its course, simply to achieve personal or partisan gains.
This situation has caused serious confusion on the political scene, prompting a lot of anxiety among many. This political polarization on the political scene, these conflicting political projects and this unguarded movement can lead the people of Sudan into miscalculated adventures or voluntary upheavals that serve the enemies of the revolution who seek to undermine it.
Nobody can claim to have a magic prescription that can solve this critical situation. The conventional wisdom says that reform should begin from where one has started. We have to return to where we have started, have a careful look at the scene and come out with a comprehensive look at what should be done. Such a vision should materialize an agreed upon strategy for attaining the basic and immediate requirements, foremost the achievement of peace and the planning of emergency solutions that take us out of the crisis.
The forces that led the revolution were united under one target: regime downfall. But after the regime fall down those powers could not crystallize a project for national renaissance that unites the people and their loyalties. That is why those forces were disintegrated due to personal and partisan ambitions. This is the cause of the disintegration and the poor performance we see today. That is due to the absence of a comprehensive outlook that guides the performance.
Part of this outlook was embodied in the matrix adopted recently by the Council of Ministers. Part of that vision was also embodied in the memos put forward by the National Umma Party and the Sudanese Congress parties and writings here and there in the press. Part of that vision had also emerged due to the recent developments. Once we agree on this vision, we can reunite the government power base, the Forces for Freedom and Change (FFC), reconsider these forces structures and the roles they should shoulder. In this case the FFC would not just be a power base of the Government, but, further, its guide and its protector.
*****
Writer Yousif Alsondi has lashed against the recent call by the new secretariat of the Sudanese Professionals Association (SPA) for the separation of the state from religion.
Writing Monday in the Altahreer electronic publication, Alsondi has said:
“The issue of the state and religion is not one for cameras’ flashes and joint statements. It is not a media issue to be idly discussed by the elite. It is a complex and serious issue the entire world is paying for it heavy prices. The world that tried to impose from above its political orientations (taking the religion out of the society) had faced fierce wars and incessant seditions. Nobody could escape that. Do these activists who hijacked the Professionals Association want to use that same style in tackling this problem? Where did these people come from?
Do they want to skip the overwhelming identity of the people and take it out of its history that a century and quarter ago saw a national religious revolution that freed the country from colonization and restored the independence and dignity of the nation?
This group that hijacked the professionals secretariat does not have any legitimacy that qualifies it to speak about the issue of the relation between the state and religion. This is a serious issue whose place is national dialogues, the constitution and a plebiscite.
As a professional, I must ask:
Where did these thieves find the courage to speak for me?
Did they consult the rest of the professionals about this serious matter?
Did they hold meetings or workshops to discuss this issue?
*****
On the mercurial behavior of Mini Minawi, leader of the Darfuri Sudan Liberation Front, wrote Khalid Fadl in the Altaghyeer electronic publication, likening Minawi’s positions to those of the Sadiq Almahdi, leader of the National Umma Party, whom he said was addicted to causing refits in any alliance he is part of.
Mr. Fadl was commenting on Minawi’s recent breakaway from the rebel Revolutionary Front and before that from the Abuja Peace Agreement.
He also made a reminder of the repeated divisions in the ranks of Minawi’s movement.
“Minawi had quit the Abuja agreement leaving behind a group of his fellow leaders behind in Khartoum, including Mustfa Tairab.
He then fell out with his comrades in Haskaneeta and joined the Revolutionary Front. Once he joined it the Front became two fronts.
Now the conditions have changed: The power had come to the people, through their glorious revolution. Now the negotiations are not with cunning foes, like those of the defunct regime. It is with glorious comrades in the struggle. Peace is no longer a merchandise touted by the brokers of tyranny in exchange for a government post or the sound of a few pennies. Peace is now a requirement of correct nation building. Minawi here is not an assistant foreman now. He is a big foreman. So why is this restlessness? Did he contract this disease from Imam Alsadiq Almahdi who spent all his life in politics in breakaways? Even the revolutionaries did not escape Mahdi’s malice.
There are differences between the two men’s years in politics. But this could not guard Minnawi against having the infection from Mahdi.
These rifts will materialize nothing other than more dwarfing of the national cause, a cause everybody should work and make sacrifices for, in self-denial and in honour of the martyrs. Comrade…come back to the fold of comrades. This is the time for us to stand up for the Sudan. And as Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok had put it: “We will stand fast and we will cross and triumph!”
*****
Writing Thursday in Altayyar daily newspaper on the occasion of the first anniversary of the bloody break up of the popular sit-in at the gates of the Army General Command (3rd June 2019), Ms. Shamae’l Alnour made an account of the local and international reactions to this anniversary:
“Some audio recordings circulated on the social media carrying new testimonies on the sit-in breaking. Some of those recordings carried the names of their recorders, which may exonerate some persons formerly tipped for having a role in the massacre.
More testimonies are expected to come through.
It now looks as if the closer we come to the announcement of the findings of the investigation committee, the more testimonies and information will come forth, possibly clear video footages.
It is also interesting that international reactions on this anniversary were also present, in earnest, whether in media coverage, statements or positions urging the government to present the culprits to justice. The global rights watchdog Human Rights International said in a lengthy statement that justice is mandatory.
A group of UN experts expressed the same sentiment. The UK Embassy in Khartoum, Amnesty International and others also called for immediate justice.
This international reaction is not just a moral obligation on the part of the international community towards issues related to human rights and justice. They are an indication that the issue can be globalized in case the local authorities might fail in reaching the culprits and achieving justice.
The ghost of the International Criminal Court that haunted Omar Albashir because he looked the other way when the Darfur atrocities occurred, is now present in the sit-in break up case, until justice is done by the trying of all those responsible for the massacre and for the country not to return once again to the ICC.
The authorities have no way out other than going forward in this case.
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YH/AS
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