Comments on: The Sudan People’s Initiative–A Flicker of Optimism

By: Mandino

Mandino — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 01:24:13 +0000

I really do hope that the crisis will end soon. I really look forward to the development of the region. A development that I have in mind is education. Education should also flourish there too. I visited Emma Academy Project, which is the very first support that I happen to be part of. They will be building a school there. The school will be a shlelter as well as a center for learning for the children of Sudan.

By: Khalid AlMubarak

Khalid AlMubarak — Thu, 27 Nov 2008 13:42:29 +0000

I was in Khartoum for the last part of the Peoples’Forum for peace in Darfur. It was more than a glimmer of hope .Alex de Waal is usually well informed.:but his claim that the government was responsible for the majority of ceasefire violations is simply not true.After all, the government signed the DPA when the rebels refused and vowed to fight on. They continued to fight until JEM made its suicidal attack on 10 May 08 .Remember too that the rebels started the crisis in the first place. What was the government expected to do? Compare the reaction of the WEST when its states were targeted by terror.Even the bedrocks of democratic liberties were compromised in order to fight terror .
The real danger is the fact that the rebels have been emboldened by the ICC.The most adventurous among them expect the ICC to hand them over the whole of Sudan.They are that naive .They and others would like to abort the road map which will lead to elections; because they know that they have no constituences to win an election. They also seem unaware of the real motives of some of those who sponsor them and finance them(directly and indirectly).There is no free lunch.Those who think that they can use the High and Mighty in their internal Sudanese strategies will soon discover that the tail never directs the head and body.
The moderates and wise ( and there are some among the rebels) will hopefully agree to negotiate ;and see a reasonable window of opportunity in the Qatari Initiative which is supported by all the main players and (at least openly)by some western democracies.
The result of refusing the DPA in 06 was catastrophic for the people of Darfur(if not for the armchair rebels living in peace abroad). There is now a second chance . Let us hope they will not waste it.

By: Aymen Elsheikh

Aymen Elsheikh — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 02:07:27 +0000

Thank you Dr. Yousif for your reply to my entry. My quick answer to your question is that colonialism in the literature has been attributed to these bombardments and displacement issues you referred to. The long answer is to read postcolonial literature (e.g. Edward Said, Frantz Fanon, Albert Memmi, Homi Bhabha, etc). However, I do not attribute everything to colonialism. In fact, my last sentence is a testimony to that.

By: Dr.Khalid Yousif

Dr.Khalid Yousif — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 13:44:36 +0000

Well said Mr. Aymen but do you think the aerial bomardment in Darfur and displacing Darfuri is one of (the problems in Africa (and other ex-colonies) that is made by (colonialism). When you stop blaming others for your own faults then you will find solutions to them.

By: Aymen Elsheikh

Aymen Elsheikh — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 23:53:43 +0000

I write this response from the position of an academic that is critical of the West and its ideologies. Many scholars, especially western, celebrate the notion that the ICC will indict Al-Bashir. This feeds into the hegemonic relation of the West over the rest. While we can’t ignore the existence of the Other, we need not be dominated by him. That being said, I agree with what came in the beginning of De Waal’s post that a solution needs to come from within, and that the Peoples’ Initiative gives us an unyielding hope to solve the crisis. Thus, I believe we should all support this Initiative to make it translate into a tangible reality of peace on the ground. Whether Al-Bashir is buying time or not, or whether he “wishes to head off the ICC”, needs not be a reason nor a promulgation for rejecting the Initiative.

I hope that all Sudanese support this Initiative because it is a product of the people of Sudan represented by over 30 active political parties, including different Darfuri rebel groups. More importantly, and in line with what I argue for, the participants of the Peoples’ Initiative rejected the politically motivated interference of foreign forces. These kinds of unjust and colonizing interferences usually instill a great sense of nationalism and unity. The Sudanese history (modern and ancient) is replete with such examples.

I conclude this entry by reminding myself and everybody that many postcolonial scholars contend that one of the root causes of the problems in Africa (and other ex-colonies) is colonialism. Thus, I would like to draw our attention to this pernicious notion that existed and continues to exist in different forms in our countries. At the same time, I do not exclude ourselves from causing our own problems.

By: Dr. El-tahir El-faki

Dr. El-tahir El-faki — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 11:18:09 +0000

While Bashir was annaouncing an unconditional ceasefire he followed it with conditions. He wanted the disclosure of locations of the warring parties. This condition will never be accepted by the movements. A ceasefire without an agreed framework of agreement is an empty call. Sudan Government is a master of breaching its own ceasefires. The last violation of its unilateral ceasefire in Sirte was on the same day when the Sudan Air Forces bombed areas belonging to JEM in Jebel Moon. When JEM suspects the honesty of Al-Bashir’s call for peace it is based on so many dishonoured commitments. Al-Bashir was soft on his speech to gain sympathy for his case with ICC.
The All Sudan Initiative has unleached a question about the DPA which the NCP still believes is a model. The DPA was considered by non-signatories as dead and burried at birth and that will pose a threat to future negotiations since the GOS will go to Doha with the package already formulated by the Forum in Kennana.
One more crucial point was the failure of the Forum to discuss the national dimentions of the Darfur crisis- mainly marginalisation of other regions and concentration of power and wealth among certain Riverain minorities. Concentrating discussions on Darfur alone and deffering a holisitic approach will not diffuse future eruption of the problem somewhere else and Kordofan is already in waiting.

By: Khalid Yousif

Khalid Yousif — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 11:12:35 +0000

Pres. Bashir vowed to disarm “the militia”, and no one knows which one. He used a general term that could be applied to the armed groups themselves. While Darfuris were waiting for him to announce formation of an integrated region in Darfur the audience were baffled when he said they agreed to increase the number of regions and the final report quoted that some members of the forum suggested the creation of two more states. Generally speaking, NCP is implementing the French conditions for the deferral of the ICC indictment. NCP will do its best to reach a solution to Darfur crisis or at least to show its seriouness and its keeness in that respect before the end of the year to evade Pres. indictment. With the recent newspapers’ protests against governmental censorship one can easily conclude SPI is a maneuver to gain some time. NCP is not willing to make any concessions.