Towards a radical solution to the Darfur crisis
Al-Sadiq Al-Siddiq Al-Mahdi
- Quoted from Al-Rai Al-Aam newspaper -
In recent years, there have been many serious studies of the situation in Darfur, listing the facts, analyzing them, and proposing solutions. The Umma Party and national and foreign educational platforms participated in this effort, and the sons and daughters of the region, inside and outside the country, carried out extensive enlightenment and mobilization activities. Last April 2003, the situation exploded sharply due to armed political forces that declared political goals and carried out military activities. The position of the ruling regime in Sudan was confused between considering these acts as mere criminal acts and recognizing their political nature and working to suppress them militarily and contain them through political negotiation.
On December 8, 2003, after studying the situation in all its aspects, the Political Bureau of the Umma Party issued a document that revealed the truth about what is happening in Darfur and analyzed the problems and reasons that led to the situation erupting in the current severe manner.
The document called on the government to declare a unilateral ceasefire for a period of three months and hold a national conference in which all the political forces represented in the 1986 Constituent Assembly, the People’s Movement, the Sudan Liberation Army, the Justice and Equality Movement, relevant civil society organizations, tribal leaders, and personalities from the sons and daughters of the region from inside and outside who are recognized for their political, economic, and academic qualifications... on the same day as the announcement. Regarding that document (February 9, 2004 AD), the President of the Republic issued a decision to form a committee called a national committee and was charged with studying the situation and making recommendations to call for a forum to fix what stuck to the social fabric in the region and to call for a national development conference. The powers of this committee indicate its limitations, and its membership indicates its lack of nationalism. Its total number is 94 people, of whom seventy-three (73) belong to the National Conference, including twenty-one (21) of the total constitutional positions and fifteen (15) deputies in the National Council. Among the members of the committee, the number of people in the region is thirty-seven (37). This committee is merely an advisory mechanism for the regime. During the past year, the following facts emerged: - * The escalation of military confrontations in Greater Darfur and the armed resistance’s occupation of some cities and their evacuation from them, but without Security was restored because the armed resistance continued activities that threatened the main roads and areas surrounding some cities. * A large number of citizens, regardless of their size - tens of thousands - have taken refuge from the sites of the events, to the large cities of the region, to the state of Chad, and recently to the national capital, Khartoum. * The international community has paid great attention to Darfur for a period of time, an interest that increased last year. Amnesty International issued a report detailing the events and explaining the humanitarian tragedies that accompanied them. Another report was issued by the United Nations Development Programme. The interest of Western countries was related to the humanitarian tragedy in the region and the required humanitarian relief. The real situation now is: A. The forces with political and social weight in Darfur are reluctant to take a polarizing position, are aware of the seriousness of developments, and are looking forward to a decisive national solution. This position is supported by the majority of public opinion in the country B. The regime considers the security measures it has taken to have settled the matter militarily, and measures are required to remove the effects of the fighting, and to focus on development and service programs. C. The armed resistance denies that the issue has been resolved militarily and is carrying out activities to prove this, and rejects the framework for the solution as accepted by the regime. D. Powerful parties in the international community see that conditions are deteriorating, doubt the Sudanese’s ability to contain them, and offer advice that includes degrees of internationalization. We applaud the University of Khartoum Students Union for calling for this important forum for a radical solution to the Darfur crisis and we say: First: A national conference should be held representing the above-mentioned forces and authorized to discuss the Darfur agenda consisting of six files: political - development - service - administrative - tribal - security. The region's three neighbors should be invited to attend as observers, and a time limit of three months should be set, but it should complete its work before the fall season. Second: Organizing a national effort to inspect the conditions of citizens affected by events wherever they are and organizing humanitarian aid in a truly national manner. Third: Calling on all parties to renounce violence, renounce internationalization, and turn to the National Conference as the only path to a radical solution to the crisis, and to discuss the following issues and make decisions regarding them. The political file: What is required in this regard is to achieve democratic transformation and balance through the following measures: A. Guaranteeing human rights and public freedoms b. Achieving the nationalism of state institutions. Commitment to true political pluralism d. Developing mechanisms for the participation of qualified sons and daughters of the region who are not affiliated with specific political forces c. Commitment to federal entitlements, the development file: A. Focus on the importance of the traditional sector b. Rehabilitation of investment projects T. Paying attention to infrastructure projects. Revitalizing the private sector c. Fair distribution of national wealth and investment activities. The service file: - Rehabilitating educational institutions, health care, water and electricity services, and working to bridge the service gap, achieving food security, addressing the situation of the poor segments, a program to absorb educational loss, programs to contain unemployment. The administrative file: - A - Neutralization of the civil service, B - Rehabilitation of the native administration, C - Democracy of local administration, D - Election Until then, the governors must be nationalists. C - Independence of the judiciary. The security file: - A - Focusing the police on their legal tasks. B - Separating security from partisan servitude so that it can fulfill its national role. C - Participation of the people of the region in the national armed forces at nationally determined rates. D - Dissolving all militias, disarmament, and organizing alternative livelihoods for their members. C - Organizing the return of refugees and displaced persons in a voluntary and permanent manner. For their fears. The tribal file: A. Respecting traditional traditions and paths b. Regulating the rights of farmers and herders in a manner sponsored by tribal administrations. Encouraging tribal leaders to take a nationalist approach and refrain from recruiting them for the benefit of the ruling party. There are external aspects that should be taken into account in the country’s foreign policy to achieve good neighborliness with Sudan’s neighbors in terms of its western borders. Conclusion: This approach is an alternative to the polarization imposed by the regime’s continuation of totalitarian partisan policies, and the armed resistance’s demand for a position it occupies by force. He achieves a radical solution that establishes democracy, balance, stability and peace through a national Sudanese effort. This or the flood of polarization, fragmentation, and internationalization, all of which are possible risks if we do not achieve a decisive national solution. And God is the Grantor of success. This paper was presented at the University of Khartoum Student Union symposium last Thursday in Sharjah Hall under the title: Towards a Radical Solution to the Darfur Crisis.