09-December-2024

Weekly Press Columns Digest

Weekly Press Columns Digest

KHARTOUM (Sudanow) - The issues that loomed very large in the week’s press commentaries was the horrendous  breaking of the North Darfur Fatabarno area sit-in strike, the desire by some political parties for participation in the government and the real size of the rebel groups and whom do they represent.

About the sit-in breaking, wrote sarcastic writer Alfatih Jabra:

The celestial creatures have returned all anew this time riding camels and mules and a number of four wheel drive vehicles loaded with machine guns and their riders clad in military fatigues to kill innocent citizens in the Fatabarno massacre. All the military had hastened to deny any role.

This is not the first time for these celestial beings to attack the Earth, targeting the good and innocent citizen of this peaceful country in a rampage of killing and burning. Thousands of these creatures had visited our planet before and committed the massacre of the sit-in before the Army General Command, killing hundreds before they would return to their planets without even one celestial being of them getting caught. All our military forces had, then, denied any role or responsibility for the (massacre). This had posed the question: Where is the Sudanese Army (that guards our money and our blood). Where is the Army while these heavenly creatures commit these repeated massacres within the areas of its responsibility and in broad day light?

We were optimistic about the peaceful transition and the use of sit-ins to draw the authorities attention towards the citizens demands. That was when our citizens in Fatabarno and Nerteti in West and North Darfur staged their peaceful sit-ins as effective civilian weapons that conform with the democratic atmospheres that should have prevailed after the despotic regime was ousted.

But those who are determined to spoil the peace and security of this country, who were not accustomed to this civilized language, seem to be determined to kill our democracy in its infancy: They very quickly planned to break the Fatabarno sit-in in this cruel way, bringing all the peace dossiers to a halt and rendered the scene very dim.

Still the question: who has caused this grave incident that can bring the area to a state of lawlessness once again? What criminal hands had ignited this fire and who is trying to benefit from undermining the endeavors for just peace?

Until the answers to (the above questions) come through we (again) call upon our brothers and sons in the Armed Forces to put an end to the practices of these celestial beings. Security of all parts of the country is the responsibility of the Army. If I am wrong, tell me so!

*****

About the decision by some political parties to take government portfolios, wrote Dr. Abdellatf Albooni in the daily newspaper Alsudani:

May be the collective decision by the political parties not to take part in the transitional government and leave government posts to be filled by technocrats was reasonable, objective and logical for many reasons, the most important of which is that the transitional government’s main duty is to hold elections and hand over the government to an elected authority. This can guarantee the neutrality of the transitional government. To complement this idea it was also agreed that anyone who takes part in the transitional government would not be allowed to run in the coming elections.

Second, the presence of the political parties in the government would necessarily entail opposition. The transitional government is one for specific tasks that do not tolerate opposition. Third, the political parties were away from their constituencies for thirty years and need to exploit the transitional period to rebuild and repair their ranks and write down their programs. That is because the successful partisan government requires carefully built political parties.

Then Dr. Booni said the Sudanese Congress Party (the last party to seek portfolios in the interim government) had contributed a good deal in the revolution, with its leaders paying a high price for this role. More important this party was committed to stay away from the transitional government. But unfortunately the others did not commit to this agreement and inserted their elements into the government and the sovereignty council.

This will require amendment of the Constitutional Document and another amendment is expected to allow those who take part in the transitional government to also run in the elections. All this means the Constitutional Document will be subjected to amendments now and then.

*****

Writer Ramzi Almasry in the Altahreer electronic publication has questioned the popularity of the Darfur rebel groups:

It is now clear for all who can see that Darfur’s armed groups do not represent but themselves. I insist to call them armed groups and do not give them the honor of being called ‘the movement of the armed struggle’, because if they were really so, they should have laid their arms on 11 April last year when the Bashir regime was besieged by the masses, to finally fall down. They should have come to join the components of the revolution in building the new Sudan without any negotiations or power sharing.

While most of the leaders of those armed groups are present in Khartoum to complete the peace agreements (as they claim), a number of Darfuris stage sit-ins, ignoring the terms of the proposed peace agreements that give Darfur sizeable shares in national wealth, power in addition to other benefits.

So, what can we call these protests and sit-ins in Darfur? Are they because those protesters want to register a rejection of those agreements, beforehand? Or they are afraid the central government in Khartoum would not honor the would-be agreements. Or are they because the protesters do not recognize that the armed movements have a power base in the Darfur states and that they do not represent but their leaders and their fighters?

And also the question: Why didn’t the leaders of those movements travel to Nertiti and address the protesters in the sit-in?

If they are sure they have supporters there, they should have travelled to Nertiti and addressed the protesters as did the government officials.

The leaders of those movements should have been present there with the masses to explain to them the agreements they are negotiating. This did not happen and there is no explanation for this other than that they know thoroughly well that they represent only themselves.

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YH/AS

Sudanow is the longest serving English speaking magazine in the Sudan. It is chartarized by its high quality professional journalism, focusing on political, social, economic, cultural and sport developments in the Sudan. Sudanow provides in depth analysis of these developments by academia, highly ...

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