خطاب حركة تحرير كوش فى اجتماع قوى الهامش اليوم فى امريكا

Quote: SPEECH DELIVERED BY THE REPRESENTATIVE OF KUSH LIBERATION MOVEMENT IN THE OPENING SESSION OF THE MEETINGS HELD BY THE SUDANESE MARGINALIZED FORCES AND MOVEMENTS IN USA – 30th MARCH 2009 Ladies and Gentlemen: On behalf of the General Leadership of Sudanese KUSH Liberation Movement (KLM), I would like to salute you all. Let me begin by thanking the friends of the Sudanese people and the American supporters of their relentless struggle. Special thanks and appreciation are particularly due to Amanda of MacFarlane and Associates and Tom Prichard of Sudan Sunrise for their continued support of KLM in their endeavour to convene this meeting. We also thank the American people and institutions who have supported the Sudanese people in their struggle to maintain peace and unity particularly in the marginalized regions such as Darfur and Southern Sudan. Ladies, Gentlemen and the Friends of Sudan: This meeting of the marginalized movements of Sudan is held today to discuss the question of unifying these forces and movements who are struggling to achieve one major objective, namely the establishment of the new Sudan state; the Sudan of freedom, democracy, justice and equality. We are referring here to the new Sudan in which all Sudanese enjoy their political, economic, social and cultural rights and where every one recognizes each other and where no particular culture is imposed on other cultures and where all people feel equal in the enjoyment of their rights and meeting their share of commitments. We are all working towards a secular, democratic and pluralistic Sudan where there is no place for religious, tribal or regional intolerance. Ladies and Gentlemen: No doubt, you all know very well about the crimes against humanity which have been and still are committed by the fascist regime of the Sudan National Islamic Front since they came to power in June 1989. This includes their policies of racial genocide and mass destruction which started first in the South, Nuba Mountains and the Blue Nile and continued today in Darfur. The regime also went on to kill innocent citizens in Port Sudan, Manaseer region, Kajbar and Al- Oja in the White Nile, innocent students in Al-Aylaffon in April 1998 and army officers massacre in April 1990. This is not to mention the inhumane killings and torture in the reputable Ghost Houses in Khartoum. The crime lists continues to include the regime’s iron fist policy of imposing their will on students and work force both in the public and private sectors whenever they engage in any process of electing their trade unions. The regime routinely tends to policies of fraud and blackmailing in order to win any elections by their members. Opposition members and groups are usually subjected to torture and imprisonment, confiscation of press freedom and freedom of organization and expression, freedom of organizing peaceful demonstrations, unfair dismissal from public service and military forces, monopoly of commercial businesses which are exclusively confined to the regime’s puppets, imposition of their will on the work of the judiciary which is by no means independent as all neutral and independent-minded judges have been dismissed and replaced by those who openly support the regime; confiscation of properties from citizens and civil society organizations, confiscation of private lands and houses by force from ordinary citizens in the states of Darfur, Kurdofan, Aljazeera, Khartoum, Northern and White Nile without any compensations; spreading racial hatred among different tribes and creation of atmosphere of racial discrimination and tribal conflicts in Darfur, Kordofan and The Eastern regions, not to mention the discrimination among citizens particularly in Darfur by classifying them into Arabs and Africans (Arab and Zurga) in a clear manifestation of colour discrimination. The Arab Islamist regime of Khartoum has included among its evil policies the objective of abolishing the Nubian elements in the Northern Sudan, Nuba Mountain and Darfur. In the implementation of such policy the regime is strongly supported by Egypt which has a historic enmity towards the Nubians both in Egypt and Sudan as well as towards the Sudanese people in general and their African civilization and culture in particular. This is a major concern to the Sudanese people in particular and to the black man and humanity in general. With full support from Egypt which historically has its colonial ambitions and expansionistic intention to dominate Sudan, the Sudan regime has embarked on a programme of building water dams in the Nubian region of Northern Sudan. They already started the implementation of this programme by building Hamadab Dam, named Merowe Dam with the intention of inundating the Nubian area of Almanaseer and the historic archaeological sites which have not been yet fully discovered. It also started initial steps to build two more dams in Kajbar and Dal in the heart of the Nubian region. It also plans to build a fourth dam in Shriek (again a Nubian area). The ultimate objective of building these dams is to inundate the entire region extending from North of Khartoum to Halfa city at the Northern border with Egypt. These dams are being built under the pretext of development and provision of electric power. In fact the actual objective is to put their hands on the wealth of the Sudanese people through signing lucrative contracts with foreign companies. Another major objective is to rescue the ailing Egyptian High Dam which is just about to collapse as it generates only 15% of its planned electric capacity. The ultimate goal is for these dams to act as water reservoirs for Egypt and certainly not to build agricultural projects for the people of Sudan. Moreover, Egypt has been awarded agricultural lands both in the Northern and Nile States in the region of 1.8 million Feddans (acres). This area extends Northwards to Karma East, the historic capital of the Great KUSH Kingdom of Northern Nubia. Also, some Muslim fundamentalists from the Arabian gulf States such as Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, UAE, Qatar as well as Syria, Jordon, Iraq, Libya, Tunisia, Turkey and Iran are granted agricultural lands totalling hundreds of thousands acres in the same Nubian region ( Northern and Nile State). Furthermore, a contract was signed with Qatar early February of this year authorising this gulf State to explore the archaeological sites of this region and transfer whatever it can put its hands on to furnish its newly established museum which was specifically built for this particular purpose. The Arabian Republic of Egypt, backed and protected by Sudan Security Apparatus has embarked on a policy of ridding Sudan from the Nubian Gold resources in the regions of Robatab, Gaalieen, Merafab, Ababda and particularly in the regions of Al-abeidia, Bahora, Wadi Shingair, Sheriek, Bawga and Dhahai. Egypt also continues to steal along with Saudi Arabia the Nubian cement of Al-gaalieen east of Atbara city while non of its proceeds goes back to the region or even to the Public Treasury which has no share of the cake whatsoever as this commodity ( cement) is directly exported both to Egypt and Saudi Arabia. This happens at the same time when Egypt does exports its low quality cement to Sudan via the Nile port of Argeen in the Northern Sudan. We would also like to draw everybody’s attention to the fact that China and Russia have been granted the right of oil exploration in the region of Maydoob Nuba and West Dongola where Field 12 is known to be an oil-rich region. This is of course in line with the regime’s policy of tingling with Sudan resources in collaboration with the new imperialistic China in Africa. We would also like to draw your attention to the so-called Four Freedom’s Agreement signed between Egypt and Sudan in 2004 whereby the valley of Argeen which is part of the Nubian Basin was granted to Egypt as first step towards enabling Egypt to dominate the entire area of the Nubian Basin which is known for its high fertility and availability of abandon water resources. This is in a bid to exploit the entire area and to ensure the realization of the so-called food security of Egypt and the Arab world at the expense of the Nubian and the Sudanese people. KLM believes that Sudan crisis has been further acerbated by the fact that it has been forced to join the so-called Nile Valley and the Arabian Middle Eastern axis as Sudan was taken away from its wider Sudanese parameter extending from the Red Sea to the Atlantic Ocean. This Middle Eastern orientation has little concern about Sudan’s stability and its progress and welfare. It was rather concerned about its natural resources, lands, water and expansionistic programmes. Egypt and the Arab world imposed educational and cultural policies on the people of Sudan starting from R. Altahtawi’s educational mission in mid-nineteenth century which aimed at Arabisation of Sudan and ridding its people of their Kushian and African identity. This in turn was followed by an imposed Egyptian educational system through the establishment of Egyptian schools and colleges in different Sudanese regions as well as the establishment of religious institutes linked to Azhar University. All these policies began to be implemented during the Egyptian colonial era prior to Al-mahdi revolution and continued during the Condominium period when Sudan was under British-Egyptian rule and again in the aftermath of independence in 1956. It is in fact strange and indeed illegal to see a country (Egypt) trying it’s utmost to resolve its own problems emanating from its population explosion by adopting expansionist strategies against or at the expense of a neighbouring country (Sudan). According to this strategy, Egypt in fact works to maintain its food security at the expense of another country with full sovereignty on the pretext that the lands of this neighbouring country (Sudan) constitute its strategic depth!! Another pretext is that Egypt needs a secured share of the River Nile’s water while everybody fully recognises that the use of river waters is clearly governed by international agreements which generally prevent deprivation of any country from its fair share of this water. Ladies and Gentlemen: We in (KLM) believe that this meeting should reassert the necessity of convening a comprehensive conference for all marginalised forces and movements. This conference is to be attended by the leaders of these movements who reside inside Sudan and in the Diaspora as well as political organisations and independent nationalist personalities who are known to be advocates of the causes of New Sudan together with other international organisations and friendly states known for their support of the new and secular Sudan and its just causes. KLM suggests that the proposed conference tackles the basis and objectives of unifying these movements and forces as well as all forces of new and secular Sudan with the ultimate target of reaching an agreement based on common grounds. Such agreement may incorporate the following agenda and causes: 1. Mechanism to topple the present fundamentalist and racist regime in Khartoum and assertion of the revolutionary and democratic alternative. 2. Historic roots of political, economic, social and cultural marginalisation in the Sudan. 3. Current identity crisis and Sudan identity under a new democratic, secular regime as a way out of the present crisis. 4. The federal regime, peace and development 5. Regional and international relations of the new Sudan. The unification of our movements does not necessarily mean the abolition of current organisational structures. However, we are bound to reach an agreement on the best way of working together within a framework based on some agreed on common grounds. This will eventually lead us to a complete amalgamation aided and supported by common work and struggle to achieve our objectives which can be summarised as follows: A. Settle power conflict in favour of the marginalised forces. This is realised by conquering the Centre’s forces represented by the regime of the National Islamic Front and its subordinates and allies which do not believe in the radical changes in the structure of the political, economic, social and cultural powers and the international and regional relations leading to complete abolition of the political, economic, social and cultural marginalisation. B. Establishment of regional and international relations which will serve the interests of social classes and strata with real interests in the revolutionary and radical changes in the structure of political power, economic relations, social structure and cultural sovereignty in Sudan. C. Establishment of fair peace and development in all backward regions of Sudan and fair distribution of wealth in such a way as to ensure that the population of each region enjoy complete control over their wealth, water, and lands within an agreed on framework of a federal rule. D. Firm confrontation against any regional ambitions which have in the past or will attempt in future to intermingle with the sovereignty of Sudan and/or its lands, waters, resources, cultures, civilisation and historic heritage or attempt to establish any regional organisation with a view to export certain culture to impose it on the people of Africa under the name of Islam or Arabism aided by the Arab petro-dollars as a means to impose such policies which aim to achieve historic, fanciful dreams and ambitions. KLM also suggests that the conference considers an organisational structure to govern the work and activities of our movements. Details are to be agreed on following full discussions among our movements. In this respect consideration may include the following structures: 1. Supreme leadership council: composed of the leaders of perspective movements 2. Joint political committee: This will be in charge of drafting political statements and initiating and administering policy debates. This committee works towards unifying and coordinating efforts in the areas of other civil societies such as students and teacher’ associations as well as workers and professional trade unions. It can also supervise any work as may be suggested, recommended or instructed by the supreme leadership council. 3. Committee on foreign affairs and communication: this will be in charge of foreign communication and consolidation of moral and financial support to the marginalised forces, and among countries and regional and international organisations. 4. Media office: composed of media representatives of each movement. Its major work revolves around reaching a common, unified media strategy. This office is to assume the role of real participation during the coming presidential election. It will of course support the election of whoever is nominated as the presidential representative of the new Sudan as well as supporting and highlighting his/her political programme. Lastly, may I thank you on behalf of the general leadership of (KLM) for your attendance and let me once again repeat my special thanks to our American friends who have full-heartedly supported our movement in their endeavour to convene this meeting and to make it a success. Thanks again for listening. Long live our movements in their tireless efforts to establish a new secular Sudan. Long live the great ideas of our martyr Dr John Garang De Mapior, the pioneering architect of the new Sudan. GENERAL LEADERSHIP OF KLM MARCH 2009