A call to memory and reason
Salah Al-Aghbash
- Quoted from Al-Rai Al-Aam newspaper -
Was the Darfur problem a surprise?! Was the issue of eastern Sudan expected to escalate in the future a coincidence?!! These are questions that are not intended to go back into the depths of the reasons that led to and are leading to the exacerbation of these problems. That was not the intention, as they have been made public in all media outlets and pens with different views and interpretations of those reasons... But the question is intended to remind us that we underestimate matters in their beginnings, as all successive governments did not plan in a serious, scientific, and thoughtful way to address them at the time until the situations exploded in a shocking way. We live it now after the world has established itself and has not stopped yet..!! We say that everyone will not extinguish the flash of fire until it rages and its flame spreads to expose us to the ordeal that we are all living through and being burned by its fire for an indefinite period, at least until now..!!
The Darfur problem was not a surprise.. but it was a surprise in its beginnings in timing and style. It was the beginning of a storm like an electric shock. Rather, its impact was severe and affected everyone due to the security and political complications it produced and the humanitarian tragedy in its speed and communication and the accompanying destruction, death and human suffering..!!
The Darfur issue began at the beginning of the sixties, when it came to the surface under the name of the Sony Regional Secret Ethnic Movement, which adopted the idea of raising problems specific to the region in its north, that is, the non-Arab element, and it was the beginning of a siren call for the future. But that secret movement quickly stopped and became a declared political action after the October Revolution, as it changed from a secret movement in its content to a regional political party under the name of the Darfur Front. It ran in the elections at that time and won some seats in Parliament, and it was possible to some extent to contain it. It expanded and spread at that time under the cloak of democracy. We believe that the space for movement and political awareness that democracy provides to resolve these issues was not directed to that purpose, even though the stage did not witness open activity of that organization, but it was stuck in the hearts and minds of its leaders and its base. Then the period of democracy followed the authority of May, and restlessness began again in a different way, reaching its extent when the objection to the appointment of Brigadier General (M) Al-Tayeb Al-Mardi as governor of the Darfur region, and the May authorities thought that this was their opportunity. To stop this restlessness, Mr. Muhammad Ibrahim Derej, leader of the Darfur Renaissance Party, was appointed governor of the region to reduce any clashes and conflicts against the authority. Mr. Derej was one of the leaders of the Fur tribe, that is, the representative of all the non-Arab tribes, but soon disagreements arose between him and the authority and he stepped down from the position and left the country as a political opponent until now, and at that time the call for the Great Zaghawa state was launched..!! Then the uprising wins and the third democracy returns under the leadership of the Umma Party, headed by Mr. Sadiq al-Mahdi. But unfortunately, problems have piled up in the Darfur region as a result of the remnants of the Chadian conflict, including the influx of fighters and therefore weapons, and the emergence of security disturbances, including armed confrontations, armed looting, conflicts between shepherds and farmers, etc. The government of Mr. Sadiq al-Mahdi appointed Mr. Al-Tijani al-Sisi, a tribesman from North Darfur, as governor of the region, in the belief that the government, as usual, is co-opting it. Perhaps non-Arab elements will help alleviate the feeling of injustice in power and development...?! The National Salvation Authority was dissolved and Mr. Al-Tijani Al-Sisi and others from the region left abroad as political refugees opposed to the regime. The Salvation Authority, which was unified at the time, tried to win over the people of non-Arab tribes, with the planning of Mr. Dr. Ali Al-Hajj, then Vice President of the Popular Congress Party..! At the same time that the rescue works to gain the trust of the people of North Darfur, the Popular Movement embraces some of the people of Darfur and organizes a campaign led by Bolad Al-Mansalkh from the Popular Front, who was able to penetrate the South Darfur region and infiltrate some of its depths, so that the government confronted him by mobilizing and arming the Arab tribes in that region to fight with the armed forces and defeat the rebels and defeat them. These tribes possess the weapons and power to cooperate in the future with the armed forces, meaning they have acquired the legality to carry weapons.
The state is planning to implement important projects in the region, the most important of which was the Western Road, which later became a scourge due to the failure that befell it and the loss of its money, which it is not yet known who squandered it? Then the project suffocated and stopped without the citizen of Darfur finding reasons to convince him to do so..?! Then a historic split occurs in the Islamic movement to become two parties: a national conference and a popular party opposing the government. Then some of its leaders, under the chairmanship of Dr. Ali al-Hajj, take political asylum and work regularly against the government. There are also active figures from the people of North Darfur who chose to seek refuge in some countries and work against the regime. Then the Black Book was issued, which is a clear indication of the escalation of ethnic and regional hostility, even if it was directed against the state, but it affects the entire Sudanese entity, and the matter ends with the Congress of the Marginalized in Germany, which is involved in regional and semi-regional demands. Ethnicity.. It is also a sufficient indicator and warning device of what the situation may entail. Then armed military action is launched on the ground in North Darfur with violence, defiance and ferocity that turns the region into a destructive and deadly volcano, bringing us to this tragic circumstance in which we all live with pain and a lump in our throats..!!
This was one of some indicators of the Darfur problem, and to some extent it applies to the reality of the issues in eastern Sudan and their beginnings, which have lasted forty years since their beginnings..?! It was also neither a coincidence nor a surprise, as the secret Beja organization appeared in the late fifties and early sixties as a regional and ethnic demand movement, and although it did not have clear military or subversive activity, it was able to continue for a long period without breaking. Like its predecessor, the Sony movement, it formed a political party when democracy allowed it to do so and was called the Union of Beja Sons, which received a significant share of representatives in the Constituent Assembly, and then the Salvation Government was established. The party froze, and groups of it joined the National Rally and formed a fighting faction under the name of the Black Panthers. It played a role in some operations in the eastern region, and some of them chose political asylum without engaging in military action against the authority, but they practiced escalating demands for the region. Now the fighting faction from within Eritrea is allying itself with the Darfur rebel movements to coordinate political and military efforts between them, and the organization’s voice is rising, calling for armed confrontations and escalation of its operations. In reality, this movement, whose natural size and capabilities we do not know, is finding, of course. Support from the state of Eritrea, which is hostile to the Salvation Government. This faction also finds support from the United States and some European countries, aiming to weaken the current regime temporarily and threaten national unity strategically and in the future. The danger of this movement is that it operates in the eastern region, where most of our important strategic facilities are located, starting with the port of Port Sudan and the Suakin oil port, then the oil pipeline, railway lines, the national land road, the Khashm al-Girba reservoir, the important and rich agricultural areas in the region, etc..!!
I say that what is happening in Darfur, with all its evils, and what is reacting to an escalation in the East, was not a coincidence or a surprise for us. What we mentioned above confirms the fact that governments, regardless of whether they were democratic, totalitarian or military, were unable to put their finger on the spot of pain... and were unable to solve these problems or the intention to solve them with proper planning, careful visions, and excessive attention to the matter. The indicators of those crises were clearly defined, despite their lack of severity at the time, until we reached this nadir. The depth of the catastrophe, we say that it is the depth of the earth because we were bragging about Greater Sudan..! Sudan is multi-cultural, multi-ethnic, and multi-religious... Sudan is rich in its peaceful coexistence and the cohesion of its social fabric that preserves its national unity, and Sudan is promising civilizationally despite its diversity, and which we considered an oasis and access to the entire region, both African and Arab. We are now in fear of the fracture of our entity and in fear of the future of our national unity. Our country and the future of our generations will remain under the weight of regional and ethnic division.
We are now facing the weight of the problems that are besetting us and that have not found a solution. We are in the midst of a powerful storm that remains a severe setback for all of us, with all those hardships that will come upon us and destroy the future of the country and the people. If we were different governments, we would not achieve success or would not attempt it at all in the face of those ancient and modern challenges. We are facing these internal, regional and international attacks. If nothing remains for us now but to try a national government from all those governmental and partisan groups, whether combined or different, to establish Radical solutions that we could not achieve separately. The voice of all parties and patriots has declared that the way out of these crises is a national government that can solve the problems comprehensively. Will we realize that before it is too late..?
We say to the rebels, wherever they are heading, that it is possible to be alone in waging war, and we say to the government that it is possible to be alone in besieging that war, but to be alone in making peace is not possible, and then circumstances will call for the assistance of all political forces in the arena. We are now in this exact situation that needs the government of the National Union alone, and solving these problems requires a magic wand that is not possessed by the Inqaz alone, but is possessed by all the Sudanese people, with all their political parties and civil society organizations. Do you realize that?