UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA - AFRICAN STUDIES CENTER
SUDAN NEWS & VIEWS - 25 yasin@dircon.co.uk

In this issue:

EDITOR'S NOTE

Our guest writer for this issue is Alkhatim Adlan, who is a political activist and thinker, who studied philosophy at the University of Khartoum. He spent 8 years in prison during Numairi's 16 years rule. Alkhatim emerged after the Intifada in 1984 as one the prominent spokesmen of the Sudanese Communist Party (SCP). He practiced journalism in Almidan and became editor-in-chief of the youth paper, Alshabiba. He went underground immediately after the NIF takeover on June 1989, and worked clandestinely against the regime for more than four years. At the time, he was described as the 'most wanted' politician by Sudanese security forces. He left Sudan incognito in October 1993. He resigned from the SCP in October 1994, denouncing the party for its bankruptcy and the obsolescence of Marxism. He formed, with others, the New Forces Democratic Movement (NFDM), of which he is now president. He authored numerous political and analysis articles.
Please note that articles by guest writers express the writer's views which do not necessarily coincide with the editor's.

TWO EVENTS OF LASTING SIGNIFICANCE
By Alkhatim Adlan

During the last three months, the Sudanese political scene has been dominated by two events:
  1. The sudden arrival of Sadig Almahdi in Asmara, Eritrea in December 96.
  2. The escalation of military confrontation between the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) and government forces along the eastern borders with Eritrea and Ethiopia in January this year.
Both events may prove to be of lasting significance for the future of Sudan, and that was why they gained very wide coverage in Sudanese and Arabic media.
Some points may still be relevant:

A warm welcome and some questions for Sadig
Having been subjected to continual harassment by the regime for more than seven years; detained five times; held hostage and seriously threatened; the arrival of Sadig was met with universal jubilation from Sudanese across the whole political spectrum. His unwavering defiance of the government; his outspoken and earnest call for the restoration of democracy; his readiness for military confrontation to guard his uncharted route out of Sudan; helped him regain some of the support he had lost through the despicable failure of his previous five governments.
Despite the euphoria inspired by his arrival, however, some important questions lingered in the air, and still do. Some of them are the following:

It might still be too early to provide any definitive answers to these and other questions. It is possible, however, to mention some indicators.
In a public statement to the Sudanese community in Cairo, Sadig expressed his full support for the Nairobi Declaration 93, in which NDA parties agreed to base civil rights on citizenship, regardless of race or religion and declared that international conventions on human rights would be part and parcel of the future Sudanese constitution. This, of course, is a secular position, but nobody is inclined to call it by that name, because the S word has fallen into disrepute due to the heavy bombardment of the fundamentalists who have succeeded in equating secularism with atheism, thanks to the lowly ceiling of political and philosophical discourse in the area.
But Sadig never tires of simultaneously repeating that the NIF government has deformed the 'Islamic slogan' through dogmatism and short sightedness; implying that an enlightened Islamic alternative is still possible in Sudan.
He vaguely hinted, of late, in an interview with the Gezira Satellite Channel (GSC), that the Moslem majority in Sudan can satisfy its 'aspirations', i.e.: implementing Islam, democratically, without jeopardizing the 'rights' of non-Moslems - (Those rights presumably fall short of implementing Christianity).
These are familiar themes. They represent the basic flaw in Sadig's thought and deed. They are a trade mark for his tendency to have his cake and eat it. Sudanese have always expressed a tendency to look at the luminous side of things and a readiness to engage in wishful thinking. Whether they would rest, content with these contradictions, or whether they would demand of Sadig to spell out very clearly his position on the relation between religion and politics, depends largely on the extent to which they have drawn the right conclusions from their previous experience with him.

Asked about his relationship to the NDA, in the first press conference he held in Asmara, Sadig said he would confer with (them) and seek their advice. The impression he left was that the NDA wan not an 'institution' into which he would fit; but an 'organisation' with which he would deal. Further practice would shed more light on this issue.

Taking his son, Abdulrahman, to Asmara with him, Sadig seems to have left behind, with his other siblings, his seven-year old brain child 'Aljihad Almadani' (Civil Resistance). He significantly asked the armed forces to violently overthrow the government, reminding them that he happened to be the elected Prime Minister and representative of constitutional legitimacy.
He coupled that with a national call for 'hijra' in which he summoned all Sudanese youth to join the fight immediately. This is viewed by all as an extremely positive attitude, putting Sadig in the heart of the on-going military confrontation with the regime. His wide ranging diplomatic initiatives have gained enormous weight to the opposition and has put Sudan in the spotlight again.

There is a danger, however, that Sadig may become the victim of his own success and try to achieve a consensus around his person instead of being part of a national consensus on principles and issues. His not-too-distant history makes that danger real. It is in the best interests of Sudan, and of Sadig himself, if he would treat the NDA as an institution and try to fit into it. This will be highly welcome for all the parties of the opposition. A co-presidentship of the NDA with his friend and long-time ally, Mohamed Osman Almirghani, is something to think about.

Confrontation on the Eastern Border: Has the knell tolled?
The importance of the NDA's military victories on the eastern border can hardly be exaggerated. In a sweeping movement across the border, Kurmuk, Gissan, Menza, Yagora, Yabacher, Gadamayeb and others have been captured. The death toll among the government forces exceeded one thousand, others were arrested and almost a thousand of the People's Defence Forces (PDF), suddenly awakening to the real connotations of their name, joined the ranks of the opposition.
The Five-Stars-Hotel's opposition proved to be at home in the rough terrain of eastern Sudan; the appointment of Dr. John Garang as military leader proved to be anything else but an empty gesture; and the assistance from sisterly countries was shown to have gone to the right people.
On the other side, and from the southern-most part of Sudan, the SPLA has been on the move. The capture of Kaya and Yei is actually opening all the gates for Juba.
The government characteristically alleged that a foreign invasion, led by Ethiopia, Eritrea and Uganda, encouraged by the US and Israel, was taking place. Nobody believed the flagrant lie. Many, however, were mystified and confused. The government has previously boasted of divine support; armies of angels were said to fight side by side with the government forces. The flora and fauna of the south were declared government-friendly; trees shouting Allahu Akbar in unison; monkeys self-sacrificially treading on land mines and detonating them. Isn't it strange of such a government to complain and become hysterical when her enemies seek 'human' assistance from their neighbours?!

These developments have made two points clear:
1. The viability of the 'military alternative' has been confirmed beyond doubt.
2. Waging war on two fronts will progressively prove too enormous a burden for the government to pursue for a long time.

Still, important questions loom very large.

The space available can only allow of a few remarks.
The aims of the war should be the destruction of the enemy. Any ambiguity about this might prove disastrous to the opposition. The government with its crystal clear aim of destroying the opposition will have the whole advantage. The Intifada is nothing else but what is happening all over Sudan taken together. The fighters in the south and the east are not preparing for the Intifada; they are making it. Urban masses will follow later.
The destruction of Sudan has been going on, by an unprecedented pace, since June 1989. Tens of thousands have been killed; hundreds of thousands injured, forcefully removed; turned in refugees, their homes destroyed; their means of livelihood wiped out. Million others are subjected to a cruel process of gradual death through hunger, poverty, epidemics, insanity and depression. Infant mortality is one of the highest in the world.
How can we afford to ignore real destruction to talk about a hypothetical one. If such logic were to prevail, the Hitlers, Chouchescos, Mengistos of the world would have been allowed to have their way. Fortunately it didn't. The Turabis and Bashirs should never be allowed to fair better than their predecessors. As forces of pure negativity, they are destroying our people and country. Standing up to them will, at least, provide some chances for it to rise from the ruins.
The acceptance of a peaceful settlement by the NIF can only be dealt with as a highly hypothetical issue. Their past attitudes do not indicate such an inclination. Dealing with the miraculous and waiting for the improbable, the moment of truth is sure to elude them. If they choose, however, and contrary to all expectations, to dismantle their regime, and hand power over to the NDA, and face a fair trial, nobody will refuse the offer. The priority, however, is for the army officers to disengage themselves from the NIF regime and join the opposition, to preserve the reputation of the armed forces and their own personal dignity.

Although the opposition is now living one of its best moments, and has enormous chances before it, it is equally faced with serious challenges: the restructuring of the NDA and opening it to non-partisan and professional participation; the reformulation of previous party documents and positions in the light of what has been agreed upon in Asmara; the devising of proper tactics to facilitate disengagement between the NIF and the armed forces. Is the NDA capable and willing to exert efforts required for the solution of those problems and others?.
That is the question.

MAJOR SPLA OFFENSIVE IN SOUTHERN SUDAN

After several weeks of relative calm on the war fronts in eastern and southern Sudan, renewed fighting had erupted along the Sudanese-Ugandan-Zairean borders in recent days.
The Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) led by John Garang, had launched an attack against government forces in southern Sudan, thus opening yet another front, as part of the opposition's overall strategy of its wide-scale offensive, started on Jan. 12 , against Khartoum.
The attacks across the southern border came as no surprise, as it had been widely anticipated in light of NDA statements and promise of opening other fronts in southern and western Sudan, and the government media repeated outcries of a massive military build-up on the southern border and of an impending Ugandan invasion.
The SPLA forces of about 12,000 fighters, backed by tanks and heavy artillery, launched a simultaneous attack, which started at 5 am on Sunday March 9, on Kaya and the Yei-Juba road. In three days of fierce fighting, the SPLA managed to capture the key army garrisons of Kaya, 30 km from the border, Basi, Morobo and Gumuni on the Yei-Juba road, Loka, Lainya and five other military outposts. The headquarters of the National Tobacco Company near Gumuni is also now in SPLA hands.
Yei, the second largest town on Bahr el-Jebel state and a strategically-important garrison town, fell to the SPLA after 2 days of siege. The government tried to parachute supplies to the besieged forces at Yei, but most of it landed into SPLA hands.
With the capture of Yei and Morobo, the SPLA is in control of most of Bahr el-Jebel state, except for Juba, the capital, and Kajo Kaji, in the west bank of the Nile. This leaves Juba in a vulnerable situation as the 100 km stretch of road, from Yei to Juba, is now open to the advancing SPLA forces.
The SPLA said it had destroyed in Kaya, Basi, Morobo and Yei, an army division of about 5 to 6 thousand soldiers, including a Major General and nine Colonels.
More than 2,000 government soldiers who were fleeing to Juba, were ordered by their HQ in Khartoum and Juba to go to Yei (although the HQ knew it had already been captured by the SPLA) to help the situation there. They ran into SPLA hands and half of them were captured or surrendered and the other half killed or fled. This incident is bound to create a lot of discontent within the army.
The SPLA also said it had captured a huge amount of arms including 15 T-55 tanks, six long-range artillery pieces, anti-aircraft guns and anti-tank cannons.

Sudan immediately accused Uganda of launching the attack. The Minister of Culture and Information, al-Tayeb Ibram Khair, however, told state television that the rebels used sophisticated weaponry which indicated foreign involvement. 'Uganda does not posses these sophisticated weapons, nor does it have the ability to launch the attack.' he said. The army spokesman, Lt. Gen. Mohamed al-Sanousi, on the other hand, said 'the military equipment used is definitely America's, so are the rations'.

Although Khartoum denied it had lost any towns to the SPLA and said the army had crushed an attack by Uganda, destroying tanks and causing a large number of casualties, the army spokesman said 'our fighters are courageously fighting the aggressors on all the battle fronts'.
Information Minister, El-Tayeb Mohamed Khair denied that Yei fell to the SPLA, but said they had lost contact with its units. President Bashir, on the other hand, told a meeting of retired army officers in Khartoum that the two commanders of Kaya and Lainya were killed defending the towns and that six other senior officers were also killed at Lainya, Loka and Yei. He vowed to recapture 'in the next few days' all areas held by the SPLA and foreign forces.

Uganda denied the charge by Khartoum and in return accused it of violating its air space and bombing northern Uganda. However, Uganda said its troops had sealed the border with Sudan and its senior army commander is in the area to monitor the situation. There are also reports that Ugandan and Sudanese forces had exchanged artillery fire across the tense border on Monday March 10. The loud crossfires were heard in the northeastern Ugandan city of Arua, 80 km south of the border.
Despite the heightened tension and hostilities, Iran's Foreign Minister, Ali Akbar Valayati, visited Khartoum to follow up on the Iranian mediation between the two countries. While Sudan's foreign minister, Ali Osman Taha, said that the aggression by Uganda have rendered the talks, due to start in Kampala March 13, impossible, the meeting did take place with Sudan represented by First Under-Secretary at the Foreign Ministry, Ali Abdel Rahman al-Numeiri. The meeting ended into a deadlock, with both parties trading accusations.

ECONOMIC POINTERS

[] Sudan has signed a $7.6 million contract with the British firm Balfour Kilpatrick to supply raw materials to build four bridges. The bridges are part of the 1,205 km Western Salvation Highway which will run southwards from Khartoum and also connect Sudan with its neighbour Chad.
The cost of the highway is estimated at $120 million; most of the funds would be contributions by the six states in the Kordofan and Darfur states.
It was reported that workers at the Ministry of Roads and Communications pledged they would donate more than $17,000 from their salaries for the project.

[] Sudatel, the privatised Sudanese telecommunication company, had announced that it had introduced mobile telephone service. The service will only cover Khartoum area, and the equipment cost, annual connection fees and call costs will be paid for in US dollars.
The marketing manager of the company advised customers not to use their mobile phones in public places and mosques, so as not to provoke jealously from those who cannot afford it.

SHORT NEWS ITEMS

Editor: Ali B. Ali-Dinar

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