Weblog nr 16
March 13, 2006
The political climate in Sudan towards the UN is deteriorating. In the press statements have been published citing civil society organizations calling for “resistance against foreign intervention”, “raising the flag of Jihad”, warning both the international community and Sudanese authorities not to “help the colonization to come to Darfur”, referring to the West as “the devil”, calling for martyrdom and for a readiness to sacrifice and “to repulse any attack”, announcing a “graveyard for the invaders”. In most statements reference is made to the examples of Afghanistan and Iraq. Clearly the majority of the people assume that there are UN forces in these two countries. This is not the case, but opinion leaders and the public do not make a distinction between the UN and the US or NATO. Those who are aware of the difference express their fear that the UN will pave the way for the US and NATO or say that the UN is an instrument in the hands of the US. So far, the Government has done nothing to correct such views. On the contrary, statements by President Beshir, Vice President Taha and by ministers and other high officials are feeding the animosity at the grassroots level. Vicious verbal attacks against the UN and Kofi Annan have not been answered by the authorities. This has added to a climate within which threats have become quite nasty: “we warn the ambassadors of the US and the UK and the Special Representative of the UN that they might be shot”, and “we are waiting for you, but please come with enough coffins”.
Photo: Paula Souverijn-Eisenberg (c)
Such statements were also made at a mass demonstration in Khartoum, last Wednesday, against the so-called transition from an African Union peace force in Darfur to a UN force. The words “graveyard” and similar statements as quoted above were repeated by Ministers leading the demonstration. The Ministers of Defense, Interior and Communication, well-known as hardliners in the Government, have taken the lead in the campaign against the UN.
The threats are nasty indeed. An award of 0.000 has been promised to the person who will kill me. This has been published in the newspaper Al Watan, with the name of the organization and its leader who have announced this award. It goes with the job and we cannot afford to be intimidated. Particularly alarming is, however, that individual UN staff members are receiving anonymous threats. Some were threatened by phone, one was abducted in the street, blindfolded, threatened and released with the message to leave the UN or else…..
The attacks on the United Nations cannot be attributed to the Government only. The Government is under pressure by powerful groups. Sudan is not a democratic society, far from it. The regime is a conglomerate of power groups, dependent on each other, checking each other and wheeling and dealing behind the scenes. Political pressure is not exerted in a democratic fashion, in a free and independent parliament, a free press and public meetings. Since the formation of the Government of National Unity mid last year and the adoption of the new Constitution the political system has become more open. The parliamentary debate is less controlled than before. The press is no longer being censored, anyway not before the news is printed. Critics speak out. However, all of this takes place within limits. There is always the risk of being visited by National Security. That means that there are no public checks and balances. Much pressure takes place behind closed doors. Political deals as well as political threats are mostly secret.
Initially the position of the Government towards a UN force in Darfur was not so negative. Ministers had told me that they understood that such a transition would bre inevitable if the African Union itself would decide in favor. For them the mandate of a UN force and its composition were crucial. A UN peace keeping force with a Chapter 6 mandate and without NATO troops would be acceptable. However, when some powerful groups in Sudan demanded the Government never to accept any new foreign peace keeping force, the President changed his position. It is like always in Sudan: policies are determined by one overriding motivation only: how to stay in power.
There is a backlash, however. The Government, which initially had orchestrated all this - or, anyway, elements within the Government, such as National Security - has become aware that it had gone too far. Some newspapers have started to criticize the Government. The Government has started to moderate the attacks. The editor of Al Watan has been arrested. The police guaranteed that demonstrations would take place without violence. I was invited by the State Minister of Foreign Affairs to discuss possible cooperation between the Government and the UN in order “to change the perception of the people”. In the light of the language used by his colleagues during the demonstration this was quite a surprising request. However, it showed that the Government understood that matters might get out of control.
In a meeting of the African Union Peace and Security Council, last Friday, the Sudanese Minister of Foreign Affairs, Lam Akol, launched a severe attack on the UN. He got a harsh response from nearly all his African colleagues. They could not understand that Lam Akol, notably representing SPLM in the Government of National Unity, was denouncing the very United Nations that the SPLM had so eagerly welcomed to Sudan in order to help safeguarding the peace between North and South. They decided to reconfirm the decision to support a transition towards a United Nations peace keeping force in Darfur. We now will see whether this decision will be respected or whether the attacks will continue, in whatever form.
Demonstration in Nyala against a potential AMIS-UN transition
Photo: Paula Souverijn-Eisenberg (c)
Such statements were also made at a mass demonstration in Khartoum, last Wednesday, against the so-called transition from an African Union peace force in Darfur to a UN force. The words “graveyard” and similar statements as quoted above were repeated by Ministers leading the demonstration. The Ministers of Defense, Interior and Communication, well-known as hardliners in the Government, have taken the lead in the campaign against the UN.
The threats are nasty indeed. An award of 0.000 has been promised to the person who will kill me. This has been published in the newspaper Al Watan, with the name of the organization and its leader who have announced this award. It goes with the job and we cannot afford to be intimidated. Particularly alarming is, however, that individual UN staff members are receiving anonymous threats. Some were threatened by phone, one was abducted in the street, blindfolded, threatened and released with the message to leave the UN or else…..
The attacks on the United Nations cannot be attributed to the Government only. The Government is under pressure by powerful groups. Sudan is not a democratic society, far from it. The regime is a conglomerate of power groups, dependent on each other, checking each other and wheeling and dealing behind the scenes. Political pressure is not exerted in a democratic fashion, in a free and independent parliament, a free press and public meetings. Since the formation of the Government of National Unity mid last year and the adoption of the new Constitution the political system has become more open. The parliamentary debate is less controlled than before. The press is no longer being censored, anyway not before the news is printed. Critics speak out. However, all of this takes place within limits. There is always the risk of being visited by National Security. That means that there are no public checks and balances. Much pressure takes place behind closed doors. Political deals as well as political threats are mostly secret.
Initially the position of the Government towards a UN force in Darfur was not so negative. Ministers had told me that they understood that such a transition would bre inevitable if the African Union itself would decide in favor. For them the mandate of a UN force and its composition were crucial. A UN peace keeping force with a Chapter 6 mandate and without NATO troops would be acceptable. However, when some powerful groups in Sudan demanded the Government never to accept any new foreign peace keeping force, the President changed his position. It is like always in Sudan: policies are determined by one overriding motivation only: how to stay in power.
There is a backlash, however. The Government, which initially had orchestrated all this - or, anyway, elements within the Government, such as National Security - has become aware that it had gone too far. Some newspapers have started to criticize the Government. The Government has started to moderate the attacks. The editor of Al Watan has been arrested. The police guaranteed that demonstrations would take place without violence. I was invited by the State Minister of Foreign Affairs to discuss possible cooperation between the Government and the UN in order “to change the perception of the people”. In the light of the language used by his colleagues during the demonstration this was quite a surprising request. However, it showed that the Government understood that matters might get out of control.
In a meeting of the African Union Peace and Security Council, last Friday, the Sudanese Minister of Foreign Affairs, Lam Akol, launched a severe attack on the UN. He got a harsh response from nearly all his African colleagues. They could not understand that Lam Akol, notably representing SPLM in the Government of National Unity, was denouncing the very United Nations that the SPLM had so eagerly welcomed to Sudan in order to help safeguarding the peace between North and South. They decided to reconfirm the decision to support a transition towards a United Nations peace keeping force in Darfur. We now will see whether this decision will be respected or whether the attacks will continue, in whatever form.