New Dawn for the Sudanese People/By Mahmoud A. Suleiman

This article comes on the backdrop of the signing of the New Dawn Charter by all the Sudanese Opposition, both peaceful civil and the Armed Movements. One says this while feeling submerged in glee and pleasure. After twenty-odd years, Thank Almight God y, Finally loomed in the tunnel the light of the new dawn, the timely coming of the New Dawn Charter, which was signed by the Sudan Revolutionary Front (SRF) members formed of Chairman of the Sudan Peoples Liberation Movement/ Army (SPLA/M –North, Mr. Malik Agar WIRE, Chairman of the Sudan Liberation Movement (SLA-AW), Abdel Wahid Mohamed Ahmed al-Nur, Chairman of the Sudan Liberation Movement (SLA-MM), Moinni Arko Minawi, Chairman of the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM), Dr. Gibril Ibrahim Mohamed, Naseeruddin Hadi Mahdi of the National Umma Party (NUP), al-Toum al-Sheikh Haju of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), Head of Delegation of the National Consensus Forces (NCF), Siddiq Youssef Ibrahim Nur, Salah al-Manna of the National Umma Party (NUP), Tarig Mahjoub of the Popular Congress Party (PCP), Dr. Abul Hassan Farah of the Unionist Movement (UM), the president of the New Forces Movement (HAG) Hala Mohamed Abdelhalim Mr. / Mubarak al-Fadil al-Mahdi, Youth Movements that included : Grifna Movement, Change Now Movement; Women’s Groups that included: Najla Said Ahmed Sheikh – of the “ No for the Oppression of women” Initiative, Civil society Organisations; Abdelmoniem al-Jack representing the Sudanese Group for Democracy First, Shams al-Ameen Daw al-Beit as a representative of National Figures; Parties and entities in the National Consensus Forces including their Chairman Farouk Abu Issa in addition to the Sudanese Communist Party, National Unionist, Sudanese Congress Party, Sudanese National Alliance, Sudanese National Party, Nationalist Baath Party, Sudanese Baath Party, Arab Socialist Baath Party original, Arab Baath Socialist Party, Nasserite Unionist Party, Sudanese Front for Change, Alliance of women politicians, Trade Union Solidarity, the Preparatory Committee for the dismissed from Work, the Executive Committee for the Dismissed from Work and Movement for Change in Sudan. It has been reported that Nafie Ali Nafie, Assistant of the Sudanese President described the signatories of the political and military opposition to the Charter of the New Dawn to topple the regime of al-Bashir as “traitors”, and announced his government’s readiness in the year 2013 to resolve the armed movements and the opposition.
The Charter of the New Dawn included, inter alia, the decisions to overthrow and uproot the regime of the National Congress Party (NCP) of its bilgy roots and replacing it with a broad-based Transitional Government to accommodate the entire political spectrum, for a four-year term. Of the priorities of this Democratic Government is restoring what has been destroyed by the never-ending National Islamic Front (NIF) waged civil wars in Darfur, South Kordofan (Nuba Mountains), Blue Nile, Eastern Sudan Beja region and the establishment of democratic institutions and basic services of education/ health/ water etc and achieve justice for the victims of the war of the displaced and refugees, reform the economy and return the stolen money from the public purse by the elements of Omer Hassan Ahmed al-Bashir’s genocidal regime.
And according to the Charter of the New Dawn an interim constitution which governs the country will establish a transitional government made up of the forces of change with the participation of civil forces, youth and women and Independent national figures, in addition to the armed movements that fall under the Sudan Revolutionary Front (SRF). The signatories to the Charter agreed on the immediate cessation of wars taking place in Darfur, South Kordofan and the Blue Nile and lifting the state of emergency along with the disolution of the notorious Popular Defence Forces (PDF) and other militias created by the regime and disarm immediately and along with the removal of all the remaining malignant effects left by the regime of the (NCP).
The Charter calls for the rebuilding of the army and the police force in order to achieve its national and professional goals, and limiting the work of the National Intelligence and security services (NISS) in its field, along with dissolution of the national ntelligence and security apparatus currently under the (NCP) regime and to take quick action and the necessary steps to build a replacement device which will be based on the protection of the security of the homeland and the citizens through the collection of information and classifying and to be placed in front of competent authorities in the external security unit. Homeland Security is the task of police jurisdiction.
The experiences of people who have struggled to achieve their goals tell that Revolutions do not break out because of injustice and poverty alone; in fact, what really drives people to come out in revolution, is their confidence that there is an honest credible body working to achieve their ambitions and dreams for which they revolted and sacrificed lives, and that their efforts and sacrifices would not go in vain into the unknown. That political body or group into the confidence of the masses is considered the cornerstone for the success of revolutions. Therefore, in the case of the Sudanese people, The categories under the umbrella of the New Dawn represent the Trustee of the Sudanese revolution for the Overthrow of the corrupt despotic regime of the (NCP) led by the criminal fugitive from the international justice, Omer Hassan Ahmed al-Bashir.
Political observers and analysts agreed that the Chater of the New Dawn is as a quantum leap for the Sudanese in general and for the people in the marginalised regions in particular. They considered that the political component of the entities represented all segments of the Sudanese people as well as political parties and armed movements; the step that was long awaited by every citizen. Obviously, it iwould be absurd and not in the best interest of the people to flare-up a Revolution Without leadership. And now that such a leadership in place, the masses of the Sudanese people has set out their organizational objectives with success. The presence of the SPLM/A – North and the Darfur armed movements within this organization (the New Dawn), will be a key factor to ensure stopping wars on their own soon after the fall and the removal of the hateful regime of the (NCP).
While the signatories to the Charter of the New Dawn call on the International Community to support the Will of the Sudanese people, some of them seem biased in favour of the (NCP) regime and do not budge from that position.This attitude stems from the positions of some Western Political circles that tended to strike and play on the wrong chord and saying that Overthrowing the ruling (NCP) by force will lead to anarchy; accordingly, they call for allowing the regime to reform itself.The message of the people of Sudan, at this particular juncture, is that the regime led by the dictator Omer al-Bashir is too deformed to be reformed. Therefore, it is incumbent upon the International Community to either support the Will of the masses in Sudan or at least remain neutral ‘standing on the fence between the Will of the Sudanese public and that of the fundamentalist genocidal regime of the (NCP).
Long live the struggle of the people of Sudan for a New Dawn and shame upon the perpetrators of the crime of genocide!
Dr. Mahmoud A. Suleiman is the Deputy Chairman of the General Congress for Justice and Equality Movement (JEM).
He can be reached at [email protected]