Abstracts of contributions written in Arabic

1/ Salih Mahmoud Osman, Political processes and the evaluation of Darfur Peace Agreement (Abuja Accord)

One year elapsed since the endorsement of the Darfur Peace Agreement( DPA) in May 2006 ,yet the human situation on the ground in Darfur has gone from bad to worse. The attempts to bring the dissident groups to join the agreement have also failed abysmally. Actually only one group of the various Darfurian armed groups fighting against the Government of Sudan ( GOS) has accepted the terms of the agreement, which was strongly criticized by many as incapable of bringing the devastating human crisis in Darfur to an end.

The reasons that led to the failure of the DPA to deliver what it promised to do ,could be summed up in the following:

• The exclusionary nature of the agreement did not only excluded all the influential political forces in the whole country but went further to exclude all the other Darfurian fighting groups that are  non-signatory to the agreement and all the Darfurian political and social forces including those belonging to the so-called Arab ethnic groups .

• Due to the procrastinating attitude of the negotiators on both sides towards putting a quick end to the perpetuated suffering of the affected population of Darfur, the international mediators were free to exert a lot of pressure on both sides to put their signature to the agreement. In their haste, all the parties  ignored to address the urgent issue of handling the human situation taking into full consideration the historic and political roots of the problem.

• The armed groups are lacking in the necessary negotiating skills while, on the other hand, GOS had all the time to play its classic game of divide and rule.

• The fragility, defectiveness and ambiguity of the security arrangements, especially with regard  to providing a conducive climate for the save return of the displaced refugees to their villages. In addition, the agreement reveals the absence of provisions instating a clearly defined mechanism for disarming the Janjaweid militia, which is loosely defined in the provisions of the agreement.

• Power sharing as indicated in the agreement is completely consecrated to perpetuate the marginalization of the region as far as effective participation of its people in its administration is concerned. It also failed to live up to the expectations and hopes of the victims in a just and rewarding settlement.

• The Darfur-Darfur dialogue mentioned in the text of the agreement was included solely as a ploy to sell the agreement to the people of Darfur, who actually rejected the deal.

Salih Mahmoud Osman  is a lawyer in the fields of International Law and Human rights Law. He is an MP in the interim parliament for the National Democratic Alliance (NDA). He won a number of awards; from Human Rights Watch , American Bar Association and Sakharov Award from the EU.

2/ Maryam Abdulrahman Takis, The Chances for Social Peace In Darfur

The discussion of social peace in Darfur is inseparable from a consideration of comprehensive peace within the whole Sudan, even though the type of problematic issues involved with regard to the Darfur position are very much distinctive to the region.  There are certain problematic issues that could only be sorted out at a national level in order for us to sort out the   regional manifestations of such problems. It is possible, however, to try to address these problems within the region of Darfur, the Southern Region or the Eastern Region for the sake of consolidating national unity and enhance the prosperity of the nation, taking into account the issues intervening into crisis and the possible solutions at the level of Sudan.

The Darfur crisis is a type of political dispute with which the central government of the Sudan is quite a familiar, such as the armed rebellions or revolutionary insurrections. Yet, the involvement of the National Congress party government in the dispute with the Armed Darfurian movements  took a very dangerous turn .It virtually put the political , social and economic existence of the country at stake. The main reason behind this eminent danger is the fact that the GOS handled the crisis from a purely national security perspective. GOS has opted from the beginning for an aggressive military solution , including arming select ethnic groups to engage in the fight as armed militia to intimidate and /or wipe out the communities where the rebellion first erupted.

The international efforts to solve the crisis, in addition to more than thirty initiatives put forward by political parties and civic society organizations, have failed completely to put an end to the fighting and bring peace to the region. A scrutiny of the political and social implications of the war in Darfur is the only possible way to redress the effects that destroy the foundations of peace.

Maryam Abdulrahman Takis is a civic society activist, a writer and a journalist from Southern Darfur, Adila province . She lives now in Omdurman. She is the founder and chairperson of the Renaissance Cultural center. She obtained a BSc. in Education and studying for an MSc in The Evolution of Political Thought.  

3/ Youssif Izat Al-Mahri, Darfur: The Legacy of the State Sultanate and the unreachable  ethnic lining up.

The bloody violence, which erupted in Darfur in 2003, has since generated an immense regional and international concern with the Sudanese Question in general and the Darfur Crisis in particular. A number of definitions were put forward to explicate the root causes of the conflict. It was established in the minds of many that the crisis in the province is fueled by  ethnic conflicts between "Arabs" and "Africans" with regards to land use. Other interpretations attributed the crisis to environmental changes, which eventually resulted in tribal feuds, i.e. the latter is a consequence rather than a cause. Finally, the divisive splits amongst the Islamists after 1999 were put forward as a possible explanation for the blood bath in Darfur.

All the above interpretations are quite useful in trying to describe the apparent causes for the bloody conflict. However, the author believes that the roots of the problem  go deep into the past history of Darfur as an independent state , which had a distinct administrative and legal apparatus,  different from other parts of the Sudan, and which was ruled by a hereditary authority led by a branch of the Keira tribe for more than six centuries. The forced merger of the region within the young independent and culturally unilateral Sudanese state and its central governing system led to a relationship of fear and apprehension between the people of Darfur and the ruling central authorities in Khartoum. After 1956, most of Darfur people envisaged the central government in Khartoum as a new manifestation of colonialism,. This apprehension was quite evident in the Darfurian political literature as early as the SONI Front writings and still evident in the polemics of the present political groups. The ensuing rift or cleavage within inter-tribal relations in the region was clearly a consequence of the above-mentioned forced merger, which persistently went along the agenda of the central government. It led to a sharp polarization causing cracks in the edifice of ethnic and cultural pluralism that has historically characterized Darfur. The Sudanese Identity Crisis, the dichotomy between "Arabs" and "Africans" has abandoned the intellectual domain it occupied to turn into a battlefield between the peoples of the region. This paper briefly attempts to approach these questions of the legacy of the independent Darfurian state amongst the peoples of Darfur and the possibilities of ethnic lining up, present and past.

Youssif Izat Al-Mahri is a Sudanese political activist, political writer and novelist. He lives now in Canada.  

4/ Abdalla Adam Khatir, Culture of Impunity in Sudan

Even though the ICC prosecutor's decision to request issuance of an arrest warrant on behalf of Omer Al-Bashir, the president of Sudan, was very much expected by all observers, it ignited contradictory responses. Some of these responses were quite furious, especially amongst the supporters of Al-Bashir's the National congress party.

The author of this paper is quite apprehensive that such charges leveled against Al-Bashir may disgrace the Sudanese people, though the majority of them stood up to fight against the policies of the regime through out it is two-decade rein. Another reason for this apprehension is that peace which is not guarded by justice may encourage more violations of human rights, in Sudan or any other country.

Pleading guilty in case of wrongdoing and surrendering to court procedures or prosecution represent an epitome of self-respect in the culture of Darfur to which the author of this paper belongs. One of the most recurrent utterances in such situations is " May Allah guides  my footsteps" whenever a person is reprimanded or punished  for wrongdoing and irrespective of the social , financial or power position the person occupies. It is a well-known fact that some of the leaders of the armed movements of Darfur publicly declared in so many occasions that they are ready to surrender to the court if the prosecutor deemed so.

On the other hand, the request of Ocampo , even before it was deposited with the pre-trial chamber of the ICC, was met with angrily protesting groups , which invited the public to stage public protesting parades that received a wide-spread media coverage. 

When looked at from the perspective of the dominant Sudanese culture , committing wrongdoing with impunity is considered a sort of an impressive personal accomplishment . For example, the girls songs in some parts of the Sudan praise criminals who get away with their crimes without surrendering to judicial procedures. The poetry of the famous bandits of the Butana region usually expresses tremendous pride in impunity. This clearly indicates that it is part of the dominant culture of the people there.

Abdalla Adam Khatir, is a civic society activist and member of Sudan Writers Union.

5/ Rashid Mustafa Bakheit, "The cave people"*, extracts from the story of historical oppression in Darfur.
Discussion of al-Masheesh drama group from North Darfur, experiences and participation in conflict resolution from  a  dramatic perspective.

"Cave people" play is inspired by the historic saga of sultan Omar Hasaballah, in the play sultan Kosovoro, who was brought to subjugate Fertit tribesmen into Islam. This sultan practiced varied methods of repression still remembered to date by collective memory. The play is also inspired by the Koranic story of "cave people", which was incorporated in the structure of the play and merged in a way that leads to a symbolic meaning to serve the play's holisti objective and message.

In directing this play, Waleed al-Alfi exploited techniques established in Brecht and Grotovisky theatre, in addition to his own techniques, and mixed them with local diverse traditions. In doing so, the director exploited "image construction" technique a al Brecht. Waleed al-Alfi artistic expression of intellectual themes is characterised by depth, precision, and conceptualisation, without prejudicing the artistic and creative dimension of his work. This could be explained by the fact that Waleed studied philosophy before getting involved in drama writing and directing. This is manifested in his endeavour to find an exit from the dilemma of civil war in Darfur, as he emphasizes the necessity of looking at the conflict in the wider historic and civilisational contexts. And make use of the milieu of traditional folklore in conflict resolution, healing, and reconciliation to mediate lasting peace.

Rashid Mustafa Bakheit is member of Sudan Writers Union. He is, also, a researcher and drama critic. He has published many articles and essays in different media outlets.

* "Cave people" is the winning play in al-Boga'a drama festival 2008. Waleed al-Alfi, who directed the play, works in a humanitarian and resettlement organisation in Darfur.

6/ Dr Abdulmajid Ali Bob: A Conversation With Late Dr John Garang Di Mabior, Addis Ababa, June 4th 1988.

Dr Abdulmajid Ali Bob, Sudanese researcher and writer. He is a former staff member, department of Social Sciences, University of Juba.

7/ Dr. Amin Hamid Zein al-Abdeen, Abeyye conflict, Uti possidetis juris, the principle of the sanctity of post-colonial border demarcation

This study strives to discuss Abeyye border conflict, which the author sees as a major obstacle to the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) which was signed in 9 January 2005, and put an end to the second civil war, under which Sudan suffered greatly since 1983. Abeyye conflict could result in the collapse of the CPA, unless a final settlement is achieved before the end of the transitional period.

Abeyye problem is a typical example of protracted conflicts as a result of exercising the right to self-determination, in an independent state, in postcolonial country, where the eventual outcome is that, a section of the population seeking separation, and the establishment of an independent state. This is manifested by the tension between the right to self-determination and the principle of border sanctity (Uti possidetis juris), which protects inherited borders from colonial powers, from alteration or amendment, and leads to considering internal borders as international borders as soon as a section of the population seeks separation from the country. It is, also, an example of the migration, from their homestead, and settlement of an ethnic group (Dinka Ngok in this case) in the land of another ethnic group, different from it (Missiriya), and claiming, later, that the new land, where they settled,  is part of their native homestead.  

The criteria for determining if Abeyye  is part of the North or the South depends on the location of the disputed area at the very moment when Sudan achieved independence on 1/1/1956, and this is decided by the principle of International Law (Uti possidetis juris) which proclaims the sanctity of borders inherited from colonial powers.

The author presents a solution which comprises two suggestions, summarised as follows:

- The National Congress Party (NCP) agrees to devide Abeyye in its current status, on the basis of 60% of the area, to be part of Southern Sudan, while 40% to be part of Northern Sudan - despite international law principle which ensures Abeyye remains part of the North - in exchange for the SPLM agreeing to relinquishing the right to self-determination, and amending the peace agreement to enable the present political arrangements, which govern the relationship between  South and North Sudan, to continue.

- In case the SPLM rejects the first suggestion, the NCP shall agree to divide the area by half, between the North and the South, on the condition that the SPLM agrees to amend the CPA to stipulate the establishment of a confederate system of governance, that gives South  Sudan a quasi-independent status, within the context of a unified Sudan, in addition to repealing all clauses referring to self-determination.

Dr. Amin Zein al-Abdeen concludes that, adopting  this suggestion for resolving the Abeyye conflict, would guarantee unity of the country, which is the most valuable gift that could be presented to the soul of the late Dr John Garang, in a bid to achieve his vision for New Sudan, in the long run, under the auspices and leadership of the SPLM all over Sudan.

Dr Amin Hamid Zein al-Abdeen is a former staff member and head of history department, faculty of arts, university of Khartoum. He works now as freelance researcher in Washington DC. USA.