Bakri Adil for the days
Totalitarian governments are the main reason for the emergence of regional entities
Sudan must be formed to the level that eliminates injustice and injustices and achieves unity
These entities will offer the parties to adopt their programs or disappear
Dialogue by Jaafar Al-Subki Ibrahim
In continuation of our dialogue about the reasons and motives that led to the formation of regional blocs and entities that cross parties and sometimes bring together leaders from national parties, we met with Mr. Bakri Adeel, the well-known pole of the Umma Party and one of the signatories of the Sons of Kordofan Memorandum, and we initiated him with a question.
* Regional entities such as the Northern Entity and the Kordofan Entity have recently emerged, and you were among the signatories to the Sons of Kordofan Memorandum. What are the reasons for the establishment of these entities despite the presence of political parties? Recently, the West and North entities appeared and the Kordofan Memorandum was presented. What are the motives and reasons for the establishment of such entities?
I find reason to describe this endeavor of the West as regional because if any citizen feels that he is oppressed, he has the right to express his injustice. It is not surprising that he demands the restoration of his right. We in Kordofan do not deny our brothers in the North to exercise their right to devise a means that will help them obtain their rights as citizens through peaceful means that take into account all democratic foundations and standards and adherence to the spirit of the desire to create a unified, balanced society in which no one oppresses anyone.
Now a process is underway to reshape Sudan at a level that eliminates the injustice that led to the emergence of military movements in the south, east and west. It is natural that the door will be opened for the peaceful expression of demands.
Kordofan is one of the largest regions in Sudan in terms of area and wealth and the least in services and development. The people of Kordofan had to participate in seeking to remedy the imbalance, and it is a fortiori that the peaceful participation be through a special memorandum in light of the conditions of life in which they live. The problems must be clarified to the officials who are now distributing wealth on what is said to be new foundations. The truth is that Kordofan was affected more than other parts of Sudan by the scourges of the security unrest that occurred, and Kordofan paid a heavy price, especially in its areas adjacent to areas of military operations. Add to this the participation of the people of Kordofan in defending Sudan’s security and territorial integrity in all the affected locations now. The talks that took place between the South and representatives of the SPLM took into account many aspects of imbalance, but unfortunately they did not address the bad situation that has beset the major Kordofan states since the outbreak of the conflict, and even before the outbreak of the conflict, until this moment. The memorandum that we submitted was to draw the attention of those responsible for the country to this major failure against Kordofan - and writing this memorandum is a sufficient obligation. If some people do it, it will be waived for the rest. The field is still open to everyone who wishes to adopt the Kordofan issue... the issue of water, electricity, health, education, development and other services.
All of these issues still need defenders. When we wrote the memorandum and presented it, we aimed for nothing more than to draw the attention of the people of Kordofan, inside and outside, to wake up from their deep slumber and join hands in search of a way out for Kordofan, which has been crushed by the truth. We were not seeking fame or bragging, but we were seeking to awaken the sleeping people of Kordofan to study the matter of this memorandum, to adopt its issues, and to think about the means that will help them obtain what they need within the framework of a system, constitution, and unity that everyone seeks to build - and what prompted us to the memorandum are the current endeavors. As a solution to Sudan's crises is being sought in Naivasha, we had to strive for solutions to be comprehensive for all the grievances of the people of Sudan and to be characterized by nationalism without favoring one party at the expense of another. Abyei, for example, is a symbol of tribal coexistence for us, and it must remain so, and it should not be harmed without the advice of its Misseriya and Dinka people. With the oil that is now extracted from the lands of Kordofan, Kordofan must get its fair share when distributing the revenues from it and creating opportunities for the people of Kordofan to work in all petroleum activities. Just as the south lost much of its infrastructure due to the war, Kordofan lost the most and must be compensated in an estimated proportion as it is a region directly affected by the war. It is enough to know that the city of El Obeid is now suffering from complete darkness and thirst that other cities do not suffer from. So what would be the harm if studies were conducted to supply the entire West with electricity and from the Meroe reservoir?
In the memorandum, we demanded that Kordofan take its natural right to elect its rulers in confirmation of the principle of federal government and enabling citizens to govern themselves and to achieve unity by mutual consent and participation based on justice and equality. Our call to achieve what is right for Kordofan and to call on its people to rally around their just and legitimate demands was supposed to be met with satisfaction. We expected that no one would denounce what we did and that some people would not rush to blame the citizens of Kordofan. Every person who is concerned about a problem that is bothering him has the right to express it and is not prevented from seeking to solve it within the framework of the law. This is what we seek and we do not condemn those who seek it.
* Don’t you see that the emergence of these entities and groupings contributes to the rise in regionalization?
I believe that these entities that people talked about are (fragmentation) movements. These entities had previously existed during periods of totalitarian governments, but as soon as those totalitarian governments ended and disappeared, the parties appeared and each person returned to his party and raised the banner of his party. If we review the totalitarianism of Abboud, Nimeiry, and the Salvation Army now, all of these totalitarianisms ended and were followed by a severe rush in the direction of the parties, which some believe have disappeared.
* Will these entities be an alternative to the parties or will they contribute to changing the political map?
If the parties do not improve their performance, neglect the regions, and limit their activity to urban areas and densely populated areas, they will undoubtedly disappear or face strong opposition from within them until things are set right and the party becomes the title of the apparatus that seeks to remove injustice through possible democratic means. Certainly, the level of awareness is still low. It is not surprising that we find the performance of the democratic institutions of the parties and the press at a low level in the outings of the masses and does not achieve development, which is the basis of life in the country. Add to that the weakness of services such as education, health, and others, as all these services are urgently needed. The demands will remain ink on paper if the parties’ performance does not rise to the required level compared to global levels in many parts of the world.
Therefore, the parties are forced to seek the affection of these civil society groups and work to adopt their slogans and implement the programs that they put forward. Rather, I go further than that and say that these entities may turn over, place banners in front of their role, and participate in the elections under the names of parties, and the cycle will turn again if the parties do not pay attention and raise their level to become better and more comprehensive parties capable of implementing the programs of these entities.