Young Man Wisdom

Sudan and the Arab league

2011-12-03T17:07:00.001+03:00

LiveJournal Tags: Sudan,Arab League,Justice,Egypt,Tunis,Morocco,Islamist

To be honest I so surprised by the stand of the Arab league evolving in such way towards the situation in Syria! The last time such actions were taken against an Arab nation was when Egypt reached a peace deal with Israel.

There are many contradictions within the current situation. Many of members of the Arab league themselves do not hold high regards toward human rights in the first place while trying to hide their own abuses. I guess Syria is unlucky it is just really bad timing. Because of its alliance with Iran all gulf nations were against Assad. Egypt, Tunis, and Libya can not support him anymore. Even Sudan voted against Assad.

Sudan vote really confused me. Is Bashir not worried that he might be in the same shoes of Assad sooner or later? Oh wait, Bashir already did the same in Darfur and south Kordofan. Instead the Arab league got behind him. But time has changed, if revolutions continue Bashir should expect change of heart by Arab League and Arab people. He should not fool himself by the wining of Islamist in Tunisia, Morocco, and Egypt. They are not like his old party, they are more progressive and they may not be of support for him. on the contrary he may become more isolated.

if Bashir still continues to be supported by countries of revolutions then these revolutions are fake a full of hypocrites.

Diaries of Sudanese Ep two

2011-11-11T20:37:00.001+03:00

Sudanese in Europe

2011-11-08T20:40:00.001+03:00

GoAnimate.com: Sudanese in Europe by msbahari

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No Comment!

2011-09-17T23:33:00.001+03:00

LiveJournal Tags: Sudan,NCP,South,Darfur,BlueNile,East,Kordofan

Eid

2011-09-11T13:38:00.001+03:00

LiveJournal Tags: Eid,Muslims,Friday,Prayer,Sudan

One of the experience I gained from living abroad is learning what does it mean to be a minority. Now that I am in Europe I become an ethnic and a religious minority! Friday is not a holiday here, people do not stop to do Friday prayers And usually it is very hard to be accommodate if you are working in a hospital.

I always asked the question why Friday prayer has to be in Arabic when most of the audience in fact do not understand Arabic?! The custom in most UK and Ireland Friday prayer is the first speech is in Arabic, while the second one is in English. The all the Audience understand English but few understand Arabic.

There is perception among Arabs because the Quran is in Arabic they have to lead when it come to Islam, forgetting the fact that majority of Muslims do not speak Arabic.

This Eid I lost my way and instead of going to my regular mosque I ended up in a Nigerians one (I think)! it is new because as far as I remember there is was only one mosque in this area and the number of Muslims in Dublin does not justify two mosques with only 500 meter apart. I think what happened is that they felt alienated by speeches in Arabic and regular reference to the Middle East Culture.

First everyone was looking at me with suspicion, of curse I was dressed differently, but I sat and did the usually ritual for Eid Takbber. After Prayer, The speech was in their own language, but i am sure it was about Gaddafi! I heard the following words “Gaddafi”, “40years”, “Tunisia”,Egypt”,”Iraq”,”Saddam”, and ”Justice”. so at least I knew what they were talking about! The strange thing I observed is the traditional dressing of the ladies which almost identical to the traditional dressing for women in Sudan.

It was a great experience for me, but is really sad to see those of similar religious background get fragmented on the bases of ethnicity and language.

People & Power - Sudan: War and independence

2011-07-17T12:31:00.000+03:00

Congratulation South Sudan

2011-07-16T14:42:00.001+03:00

LiveJournal Tags: Sudan,Khartoum,NCP,South Sudan,Bashir,Independence

Yes it is for real! the Sudan we know is no longer there. it is another country now. For me it is quite strange sad feeling mixed with anger that this happened. I totally understand where southern coming from and their motives to seek independence. who ever denies that they were treated as second class citizens is just blind to the truth. If I were in there shoes I would fight for independence no matter what the cost is. If I am not in a position of equal I would not agree to live in the same country, would you?

My anger as North Sudanese is directed toward the Sudanese elite, who totally destroyed this country! who had no understanding of power sharing, they were divided into ideologies and each of them tried to force it down the throat of the other party.

The NCP has never been weaker than now. Everyone is blaming it for losing one third of the country. NCP will face huge loss of revenue, for sure NCP would not cut spending on army or security forces but instead it will cut spending on basic needs and public services such as education and health. food prices and services prices will increase in addition to tax hikes.

NCP to stay in power it has play the religion card, Sudan is being targeted because we are Muslims. NCP state it will fully apply Sharia law now they got rid of South, hoping this will help rally Islamisit and radicals around NCP rather than having them against it. But when it come to Blue Nile, South Kordofan, and Darfur NCP is playing a dirty game buy presenting it as Arabs against these minorities. NCP is trying to present Arabs ( to be accurate people from north and Central Sudan) as victims and wrongly accused of things they did not do. it is true that Sudanese living outside Khartoum and Gazera lack basic services and suffer of marginalization but nothing compared to the rest of Sudan. Now these three regions see that there is no change in Khartoum behaviour toward them and they still have no say on power and wealth, so most likely they will follow on in south of Sudan steps.

Things will play out in the next two to three years, hope north Sudan will stay as one country! I know we can do it, we can live together without killing each other.

With love from Sudan

The Fate of the North

2011-07-02T23:04:00.001+03:00

LiveJournal Tags: Sudan,NCP,Turabi,Bashir,KSA,Sufism,Salafi,Salafism

most people are paying attention to the birth of the world newest state, South Sudan. While Southern know exactly who they are but we in the north still trying figuring this out!

In recent years specially after the famous divide of the Islamic Front between Bashir and Turabi, The NCP sought support in radical Islamic group to confront the spiritual leader Mr. Turabi. The problem will be the rest of the Sudanese people in the north. Do they support such Salafism? I do not think so. Sudan for long time was dominated buy Sufism which is a very peaceful in nature, more inclusive rather than exclusive. Salafism was brought mainly buy Sudanese expat who worked and lived in KSA and the gulf. The Niqab is a stranger to Sudanese custom and tradition.

The NCP is in very critical situation. loss of hard currency income will lead to spending cuts and tax increases to maintain its Military spending. The narrative will always be put in terms of Islam against the West/Christian and national pride to justify hardship average northern will face in the coming few months.

Is Sudan becoming Iran? I hope not.

This well researched documentary by Aljazeer English, the second half is more alarming.

The Poor Kids in Sudan

2011-05-29T14:39:00.000+03:00

it is quite sad the situation of children in my country Sudan! i found this airplaine toy which state clearly "UN air force". UN involvement has become a part of childhood in Sudan. when I was a kid, these toys usually would hold lables such as "US airforce" or other kids shows name on it (after all all the toys come from the west).
I hope things would not get worse

No time to speak of diversity of culture and ethnicity in Sudan

2010-12-20T04:20:00.001+03:00

LiveJournal Tags: Sudan,South Sudan,NCP,Sharia law,Bashir,SPLM,Khartoum,referendum.

My worst fears are materialising! The above sentence belong to president Bashir in a speech broadcast on the national TV on Sunday (related links)

Bashir believes that after the separation of south Sudan the issues of cultural and ethnical diversity become irrelevant. The official language of the country is going to be Arabic and state religion is, and only, Islam. similar statements were made by second man and hard liner Dr. Nafi.

These kind of statements just show what are the real objectives of the NCP from the beginning, NCP was not aiming for peace and unity of Sudan as a state but rather the implementation of its ideological agendas in the first place and everything else come second to that even if this lead to the fragmentation of the country.

The conflict in Darfur has nothing to do with religion (both sides are Muslims)but has everything to do with marginalization, power sharing, and ethnicity. In addition to that there are many minorities within the north society, for e.g. Christian orthodox and southern who decided to stay in the north post the referendum, plus other tribes within the north who speaks Arabic as a second language.

These recent development paint a very pessimistic future for the north as well as for the newly emerging country in the south. without doubt the Darfur conflict will continue specially with the increasing isolation of president Bashir the decreasing number of countries who would object to the idea of seeing him in person. This will lead him to become more radical and to take more aggressive policies against Darfur groups and against northern opposition parties.

The next two years are going to be vital to the stability of the whole region, but it will depends on how the NCP will run the country after the cessation of the south.

Sudan is not on the list!!!

2010-11-08T04:05:00.001+03:00

Technorati Tags: USA,Khartoum,NCP,National Congress Party,SPLM

it has been emerged that the USA is offering the government in Sudan to be taken off the states supporting terrorist list if it facilitate a smooth referendum for south Sudan. The question is what Obama administration is really offering the Sudanese people? to specific what is the offer for the northern?

In simple term the USA is offering a life extension for a dictator radical party in north of Sudan in an exchange for, hopefully, a free democratic south Sudan with no major conflicts.

The USA could not care less about the situation in the north as long as the NCP distant it self from radical groups and keeps its cooperation with CIA on fighting terrorist groups. This will only hurt the opposition movements and weaken them and make them think that the only way to make the NCP respond to their demand is by drawing the USA attention, and the best way to do this is by starting an armed conflict. so Darfur conflict will continue, and only God know which region is next, is it Kordofan, the east, or the Nubba?

Sudan & Rami Khouri !!!!

2010-11-02T03:18:00.001+03:00

Technorati Tags: abyei,africa,civil war,darfur,independence,khartoum,ncp,splm,south sudan,southern sudan,sudan

A recent article regarding Sudan referendum by Rami Khouri showed how little knowledge the Arab elite knows about Sudan. I have to be honest and declare that i have not read the whole article.

This is remarkable because it may be the only explicit and credible case of Arab people exercising the opportunity to define their country’s shape and its ideological orientation.

It is after this part when I stopped reading, it was clear to me that the author has no clue about Sudan.

First of all, the people who are going to decide if they want to remain within Sudan or have their own country are not Arab! the majority of them are of African ethnicity which played a big role in the north-south civil war and the war in Darfur now.

I agree with him in regard to the idea that none of the Arab states chosen their boarders, it was made by France and Great Britain. The best example is Africa rather than the Arab world. I do not see other minorities in the Arab world having demands for their own country, may be Kurds in Iraq or Syria, or Bidon in Kuwait but the geopolitical balance at present would not allow for such thing.

I can understand the strive of Arabs for any kind democracy exercise, specially after the failed one in Iraq (Lebanon is not a democracy) but the one in Sudan does not involve Arabs.

Sudan Post referendum part two

2010-10-01T15:34:00.002+03:00

one of the important issue need to be sorted before the independence of the south ( which is just a mater of time) is the fate of southern in the north mainly in Khartoum. during the civil war many southern were forced by the war to move to the north. they live in displaced camps scattered around the capital. the last censes estimate their population to be around 500,000 but many observers regard this figure as underestimation and they estimate their population to reach around 2 to millions at least.

Sadly, in the last few days couple of statements came from NCP members including
members in government, painted a dark picture for the fate of southern in the north. for example they would become foreigner instantly if the southern voted for independence. Recent roamers from khartoum is that southern in the north are apply for nationality and sudanese passport while in the same time there is instructions in the ministry of home affairs to delay the process if not to prevent it.
I will not be surprised if the NCP thinks buy putting pressure on southern in the north people in the south are going to vote for unity! i hope not because it is a very dangerous policy and can lead to social unrest, wave of violence like what happened when Garang died, and it may lead to a civil war in the heart of Khartoum. some southern in the the north have never seen the south before, they were born and raised in north, used to social custom and the tradition of the area why they live. imagine if these people just suddenly lose their citizenship, what their reaction is going to be? in the past they were not happy for being second class citizens, but after coming January they would not be even considered
as citizens. Are we going to witness mass migration from north to the south by them? or are they going to stay and fight?

someone should put some sense in mind of NCP.

Sudan Post referendum part one!

2010-09-06T17:07:00.001+03:00

The question is not whether south Sudan is going for independence or not, the question is what is going to happen after the month of January next year!

everyone seems to be expecting the worse! the UN is already preparing for crisis when the south chooses independence. The international crisis group has predicted that the boarder between the two nation is going to be a cause of tension specially when it come to people movement between the two sides.

I will focus on what i would expect to happen in the north mainly. There are very strange phenomena that is happening in the north, first the NCP suddenly woke up to the possibility of independent south Sudan! and it is trying to insure southern vote for unity in the coming four months, let us not forget the party had almost whole five years to do so and only now it start to take action against northern who raise their demand for the separation of south Sudan(alintibaha news paper). the second thing worth mention is some out of touch elite in Khartoum who just could not realise or digest the fact that Sudan map is going to change, and they should get used to it. they still call on southern and remind them of the cultural ties between north and south which should the basis of unity(ironically they are the same basis for which some separatists base their argument upon), and the British should be the one to get the blame for the civil war and all the killing, displacement, and torture that took place during the 20 year civil war. just because many southern preferred to seek refuge in the north does not mean they are going to forget what happened in the south and it can not be the foundation for unity!

the separation of the south will have huge impact on both sides, but i would presume the impact on the north is going to be more huge but it is not necessarily a negative impact. there are going to be some positive impact, such as getting rid of Sudan dependency on oil!!!! i will elaborate more in two weeks from now!

Girifna!

2010-08-09T23:38:00.001+03:00

I know everyone now is concerned with referendum and likely separation of south Sudan but let us go back to the election period and have a look on this video.

Recently there has been this movement called “Girifna” which in Arabic means “we are fed up”, I know it sounds strange that one world translate into three worlds in English.

Since the aftermath of the election the movement seems to be getting weaker and lost momentum! i guess it was inspired by arising hope of change and the possibility that there will be a new face for Sudan politics, but the hope was shattered by the announcement of Bashir victory.

Did anyone hear anything since that time about Girifna?

you can find them at http://www.girifna.com/

Sudanese Elections: Music & the Vote with NasJota and Girifna from Michal Shapiro on Vimeo.

Girifna

The North!

2010-05-09T02:39:00.002+03:00

There will be big changes in the north after election. The National Congress Party(NCP) will be in control of most, if not all, power positions. The NCP does not care if the result of the election is recognised by the international community as legitimate. The party will be happy with the trade off it reached with SPLM, You have your referendum and we have the north.

Opposition parties would still weak and unable to mobilize the community against NCP, not because the public support NCP but mainly because they lost faith in Opposition parties. Yasir Arman was recognised by many as change and an alternative to the traditional leaders in the north, specially among the youth, but his draw was a disappointment for them.

The NCP will continue to crack down on freedom of expression in the north. It will monopolise the market and maximise its profit. The dangerous alliance between money and religious stream will continue and this can only lead to more corruption.

Will the NCP hold January 2011 referendum? yes it will, because the separation of south Sudan will facilitate the dominance of the north by the party specially when the international attention will focus mainly on the newly formed country in the south. The north will become the new Taliban. The NCP is happy to pay the price of losing oil revenue in exchange for seeing their ideology a reality on the ground.

Transforming Displaced Women in Sudan: Politics and the Body in a Squatter Settlement

The Day after the elections

2010-04-25T23:45:00.002+03:00

Sudan current situation is really a mess, at the time when everyone was hoping the elections may be the magic key which lift the country from its deep problems and lead the way to a new era of peace and prosperity, instead the election in it self become a problem and an obstacle to stabilisation.

It seems the NCP is heading for a landslide victory in northern states where Bashir somehow managed to get all the votes, and SPLM is taking over south Sudan.

The reaction to the election process ranged from pure fraud as described by opposition including SPLM, to below international standards as described by international bodies, or completely fair and just as the NCP states.

So far there is no results yet, the National Election Committee still waiting for the numbers to be submitted from south Sudan. Bashir and NCP will win in North, SPLM take over south Sudan, and the opposition now is out of the game.

The coming few months will be crucial for Sudan stability. In the coming few posts I will try to explore what these results mean for Sudan and Sudanese people.

South Sudan: Can This Be the World's Newest Nation? - TIME

2010-04-19T19:53:00.000+03:00

South Sudan: Can This Be the World's Newest Nation? - TIME

The Joke of Sudan!

2010-04-04T14:11:00.002+03:00

The moves by SPLM did not leave any room for ordinary people in the north of Sudan but to perceive SPLM as true partner for NCP in weakening northern parties.

After all NCP does not give a dam about south Sudan separation and this is the only one thing that SPLM think of.

NCP will tolerate losing oil resources in exchange of full control of the north and normal relations with the USA.

Sudan: Lesser of two evils | Editorial | Comment is free | The Guardian

2010-04-03T02:25:00.000+03:00

This article in the Guardian expose the true stand of SPLM regarding the issue of election. I guess SPLM can not claim any more that it represent the whole Sudan.

Sudan: Lesser of two evils | Editorial | Comment is free | The Guardian

????????????

2010-03-06T00:45:00.001+03:00

First of all let me apologise from absence the last couple of weeks. In fact I will be away for couple of weeks to come due to personal reasons.

What made write this blog today what is this image I found in one of the online newspapers.

I just do not know what to say?

The above picture has two sides, on your right hand is a picture of kids which I think they are from Darfur(or this what they want to believe). on your left side is the peace understanding agreement celebration in Doha.

What the Arabic sentence say is” Omer our father brought peace”……………

I am speechless! I know this newspaper is part of the ruling party propaganda for the election but this is really beyond anything i expected from these people.

Bashir brought peace to Darfur! come on, he is the one who started it in the first place! who ever came up with this ads he is defiantly stupid or he/she thinks Sudanese people are stupid. But may be we are stupid?

Shoe Throwing!

2010-01-28T13:18:00.001+03:00

Two days ago I heard in the news that someone managed to throw a shoe on the Sudanese president Mr. Al Bashir. He did not manage to hit him with the show as BBC Arabic revealed.

At first, Sudanese officials tried to deny the whole story but later on they admit incident had happened but stated that the person who throw the shoe is not insane.

While many people and commentator believe this is not the case, I believe the guy is insane. No one would risk throwing a shoe on a middle eastern President unless you are insane. What happened in Iraq by Montazir Al Zaidi is different, he throw his shoes on President Bush, not Al Maliki.

This reminded me of the popular joke in the middle state which say An American said to a guy from the middle east “ we have freedom of speech in the state and you do not have that in ME” to prove his point, the American went to the white house infront of G.W. Bush and start shouting “Down, Down Bush”. The Middle eastern guy replied “ who told you that I can not do the same at home?” so both returned to the Middle eastern home country and infront of his president the guy started to shout “Down, Down Bush”.

Breaking Ranks: Refusing to Serve in the West Bank and Gaza Strip

Sudan Elections!

2010-01-24T18:00:00.002+03:00

The last couple of weeks were very exciting in Sudan now that the elections are just around the corner. The main headlines in Sudan are about parties nominations for the presidential elections.

The National Congress Party candidate was well known for everyone from the beginning! The surprise is when Omer Albasher had to resign from heading the Military, which personally I did not expect him to comply with changes implied by the election committee. This puts Silva in a corner, as he would not leave the SPLM Army at any circumstances specially with the current tribal conflict in the South.

This could be the reason why SPLM put forward Yassir Arman as its candidate for the presidential elections. This means SPLM still interested in politics of the north and not only south Sudan. by choosing Arman(Arab northern) it applies to most of the base in the north and the south at the same time. It is better not to have an Arab Muslim Candidate(Bashir) vs Southern Christian Candidate(Silva) which may improve Bashir Chances of winning the elections.

The real surprise when Alturabi party picked a southern as its candidate for the elections. Anyone who knows Alturabi know this is just a tactical movement aimed mainly to take votes from SPLM candidate. I guess they made this decision before they know SPLM candidate, but in all case it is not a serious bid for winning the elections.

Things to follow in the coming few weeks is the clash between election committee and SPLM regarding Presidential election of South Sudan which Silva is planning to run for with out giving his position in SPLM army.

Dinka of the Sudan

Hard Decisions

2009-12-28T21:06:00.002+03:00

Here is an interesting article I found in “Alsudani”(arabic) news paper discussing the issue of Southern Sudan separation. It presents the views of some Southern Sudanese living in North Sudan. I used Google Translation tool, it is good to some extend. The article highlights some of the points I made in my previous post.

Southerners in Khartoum show enthusiasm for the idea of separation

News - Local News
Sunday, December 27th, 2009 07:15

A few days before a crucial vote on the law on the referendum on the independence of southern Sudan due in 2011, showing many of the southern Sudanese enthusiasm for the idea of secession of their region, even if this possibility, some worry.
Sabir Azzriha (21 years) expressed his confusion. he is a student in engineering and his father, who belongs to the north and his mother to the South, says he may decide not to belong only to one party in the event of the division of the country. "It seems it's like to put a foot here and a foot there."

Quashie Amum clearly expressed her support for the separation, Said this young woman while she is preparing to attend Mass at the Cathedral of St. Matthew Catholic in Khartoum. "in Juba (the capital of the south), I feel in my home, here I feel in a foreign country. We have a culture, language and religion differently." Said Quashie.

Anthony Güney (45 years) said he is fed up as second-class citizens. He stressed that "I will say yes to independence because it is not justice in the Sudan. I have spent more than twenty years in Khartoum to the southern Sudanese, but we are not consider real Sudanese "

Gatoyc Meut Paul (27 years) "I am carrying a diploma, but when looking for work, the first question put to you is are you Christian or a Muslim?, why not enraged?".

Angelo Abraham McCoy “I think that we live apart and in peace is better than living together and we are mired in problems" alluding to the ongoing political tensions. This teacher said he is ready to go to live in the south when declared independence despite "my life is here in the north, We must make sacrifices," but said he harbours no doubts that South Sudan will become a viable state.

In the Pentecostal church in the capital, Lisa Peter (21 years) Said the idea is attractive, but jumping into the unknown is "scary." Lisa, preferring to remain in "unified Sudan," and the same student Grace James (16 years), which says she feel "comfortable living in the north."
In the opinion of the International Crisis Group's support for the independence of the South in 2011, is "almost certainly".

Fifth Column!

2009-12-27T23:10:00.000+03:00

The Situation in Sudan is becoming, with everyday pass towards the elections more complex . It seems the National Congress Party(NCP) made some changes to the agreement it had with SPLM regarding referendum for Southern Sudan independence and Abyei area.

When the bill presented to parliament it was different to what SPLM agreed to, SPLM claims. This led to SPLM to withdraw its MPs from parliament till further notice. The main disputed issue is “Who has the right to vote?”. The SPLM demand, only those who live in Southern Sudan have the right to vote, while NCP want this right to include Southern Sudanese in the north too. In my opinion this is a very important issue which should not taken lightly.

Most observers agree that Sudan will not stay a one country and the Southern are more likely to vote for independence. There are certain issues which North and South should need to discuss for a smooth independence to take place without any civil violence or disturbance. Issues like borders, trade, customs, international foreign dept, and what concern me more is the fate of northerner in the South and southerner in the North.

After 20 years of civil war, the number of people displaced from south of Sudan to its north is quite significant. it is estimated to be around four millions displaced people in north Sudan(IRIN, April 20, 2006). What happen to them if South Sudan got its independence? some of them well settled in north and call it home. so far only according to the UN(Reuter, 17.3.2009), only 2.37 million returned to the South. The situation will turn ugly if leaders from both sides did not address this issue urgently.

Southern Sudanese will be a minority in the north. If south Sudan separation did not go smooth and resulted in clashes, even temporary, this will affect their life in negative way. The northern community already will have its doubt toward their loyalty, the black Monday already fuelled northern fears toward southern. Southern in the North have always been considered as a fifth column during the civil war.

It will need a leader with a vision in the north to stop things from going in that directions. Southern in the North should be part of the divers North, they should be incorporated in the community with the hope to start a new era where the aim is development and improving living condition. The only platform where this can happen is a true democracy in the north and the rule of law.

I do not think such leadership exist in the NCP or other northern political parties. The SPLM northern division will be so weak after separation to the degree it will disintegrate. The NCP will the dominant power in the north, it will be more extreme in implementing its ideology now it has no opponents.

Next week will witness the return of referendum bill back to the parliament, The SPLM in cooperation with other minor southern parties are heading to the street to protest against the Bill. it will be an interesting week.

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