By Mahmoud A. Suleiman
Jan. 01, 2017
The reader shouldn’t believe that we are in this window in an attempt to cite the poetry of the famous English poet and novelist William Shakespeare in any way. Nevertheless, some racing thoughts occurred from the position where they have been trapped making me taking this approach in the opening of this article. There seems to be something in the air as we near the turn of the year 2016, which the winter chill can’t quite dispel!
The NCP regime President Omer Hassan Ahmed al-Bashir threatened and made an ultimatum of putting an end to rebellion by the end of December 2016 by force unless the rebels came endorsing and signing the outcomes of the National Dialogue; the rebel groups continue demanding justice and equality in power and wealth sharing in Sudan without marginalising any Sudanese community while the International Community keeps lip service based on intersecting interests of respective countries with the despotic entity in Khartoum. But the real question is what will move Sudan closer to lasting peace?! The answer abstains tight lipped! In other words, the answer to those questions remains under wraps of the eternal oblivion! Since that is that, who would put the bell around the Lion’s Neck, borrowing from the folklore Wisdom gleaned from traditional animal stories.
The ruler of the NCP regime Omar Hassan Ahmed al-Bashir has continued to threaten the armed rebel movements with doom and gloom and annihilating them by the time he tended calling ’the hot summer’ unless .they give up armed rebellion, surrender and enter into a peace process he prescribed without any concessions. It is worth noting that the rebel factions took up arms more than a decade ago regarding the issue of the people of Sudan in Darfur.
Moreover, the regime of the NCP-led by the genocidal criminal Omer Hassan Ahmed al-Bashir decided to take the Janjaweed militias who have already carried out the crimes of genocide in Darfur, as new notorious proxy war tools and renamed for camouflage the Rapid Support Force (RSF) led by a former criminal mugger and armed robber, now being promoted to the rank of a Major General, similarly to the Major General in the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF). However, the loyalty of this militia falls under the National Intelligence and Security Services (NISS) and has nothing to do with the (SAF). It is a known fact that NISS, which is the Intelligence and Security Services, its first and last allegiance is to Omar al-Bashir who generously bestows unlimited amounts of money from the Sudanese public purse. The reported figure amounts to four times the budget allocated for Education both Public and higher education and about six times the health budget. The total budget allocated for the (RSF) amounted to 3 billion and 220 million Sudanese pounds to support the Janjaweed militia forces. The RSF operates throughout Sudan including the Far Nilotic regions besides Darfur, Nuba Mountains, Blue Nile Ingessana and Sudanese-Libyan borders. Furthermore, and as it is well known that the European Union (EU) had paid a large sum of money to the regime of the NCP to fight illegal immigration coming from the Horn of Africa through Sudan and then to Libya to EU countries. The money paid by the European Union was estimated as 100 million Euros. That amount of money has been transferred to the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), led by former Janjaweed militia commander Mohammed Hamdan, better known as “Hamitti”. Moreover, the ruling regime of the NCP suffered from institutionalized corruption which led to bankruptcy and the accumulated foreign debt which made Omer al-Bashir survive on begging and engage in mercenary warfare in which Sudan participated in the Saudi Arabia led war in Yemen, code-named Operation Decisive Storm. What was referred to above indicates without doubt that the genocidal criminal fugitive from international justice and the global pariah , Omar Hassan Ahmad al-Bashir has taken wars as tools for survival, and as well as his character of advocating warlike policies becoming a warmonger par excellence. Omer al-Bashir remains responsible for waging civil wars of attrition against the Sudanese civilian population in the region of Darfur since February 2003 and followed by warfare in the two territories of South Kordofan or Nuba Mountains along with his never-ending war in Ingessana of South Blue Nile State. Worse to come is that Omer al-Bashir and his regime besides warmongering, he is famous for reneging covenants he concluded and signed with parties in dispute. This trait of revoking peace agreements signed caused prolongation of the civil wars in Sudan. Ndjamena and Abeche in Chad, Abuja in Nigeria and Doha in the Gulf State of Qatar where peace agreements signed but reneged by the NCP regime, remain witnesses. Other obstacles to peace in Sudan include the NCP delegation to Addis Ababa. In spite of the acceptance of the armed opposition to go to the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa shuttling the round trip to attend the meetings, which the former South African president Thabo Mbeki, the pro-Bashir regime, calls for did not succeed because the National Congress Party (NCP) delegation did neither has the desire nor the authority or mandate to enter into real serious negotiations leading to sustainable peace to resolve the intractable issues of Sudan.
Besides igniting the senseless civil wars of attrition ruling regime of Omar al-Bashir imposes repressive draconian laws against all kinds of freedoms in the country, such as freedoms of speech, press and assembly and peaceful protest where the security services – NISS- arbitrarily arrests opposition members in the political parties and activists and placing in prisons and subject them to the oppression and torture. The massacre of September 2013 when the NCP riot forces killed in cold blood more than 200 peaceful protestors in Sudan stands vividly as a witness to the insistence of Omar al-Bashir adherent to the principle of shoot to kill using live ammunition anyone who dares to oppose the arbitrary and failed policies of his regime. The Sudanese people who famed for initiating uprising and ousting dictatorial regimes in 1964 and 1985 are capable to bring about political change again. The three-day public political event planned from 27 to 29 November 2016 under the banner of ‘Civil Disobedience’ proved success. It was followed by another similar event on Monday December 19, 2016 to coincide with the 61st Anniversary of the Declaration of the Independence of Sudan from within the Parliament on Monday 19 December 1955. It is noteworthy that Abdulrahman Mohamed Ibrahim Dabaka, Member of the Parliament and Deputy for the Nyala Baggara Electoral Constituency was the first who proposed Sudan’s independence from the Anglo-Egyptian Condominium from inside the Parliament.
Omar al-Bashir and his regime are in the belief that the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) would ensure the survival of his ruling of Sudan and continue in power forever protecting him from apprehension by the International Criminal Court (ICC) and subjects him to trial at The Hague on the background of the heinous crimes his regime committed against the people of Sudan in Darfur. It is worth mentioning that Marshal Omer Hassan Ahmed al-Bashir admitted that he only killed ten thousand and not three hundred thousand citizens as claimed by the enemies of Sudan.
The Sudanese people represented in their various components and in their political affiliations and segments need to acknowledge the fact that the genocidal criminal Omar Hassan Ahmed al-Bashir will not give up power in Sudan as long as the ghost of the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague continues haunting him. Furthermore, of the tricks and plots that Omar al-Bashir woven to distract the Sudanese people from the important issues that concern them, preoccupy their minds and prolong his stay in office ruling Sudan forever. In order to achieve that end, al-Bashir announced the so-called national dialogue or Wathba, at the beginning of 2014. Wathba turned out to be a series that has no end. The outputs of the ‘National Dialogue’ proved devoid of the dialogue liabilities longed to by the Sudanese people. Worse, the final conference of the Wathba at the Friendship Palace in Khartoum in October 2016 renewed the term of office for Omer al-Bashir to rule Sudan until the year 2020! And thereby the elephant generated a rat, as the saying goes!
Mehmet Murat ildan (MMI), the Contemporary Turkish Novelist & Playwright, Thinker), Member of the International PEN Writers was quoted as saying “There is no difference between a rabid dog and a warmonger!” http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/3164882.Mehmet_Murat_ildan
Dr. Mahmoud A. Suleiman is an author, columnist and a blogger. His blog is http://thussudan.wordpress.com/