Saving Darfur for Real: It is time for a change.

Saving Darfur for Real!
It is Time for a Change.

Dr. Hashim El-Tinay *

"Where there is no vision, the people perish", the Holy Bible.

Since independence from Britain in 1956, the Sudan has experienced three governments based on multiparty consultations and three based on military dictatorships and one party arrangement. But none delivered on the great promise that the country actually has. With today's shrinking resources due to climate change and desertification, traditional tribal and newly-fanned extremist ideological divisions, it has proven to be a formidable challenge for the political elites to find the right governance vision that provides justice, peace, prosperity and security to all the Sudanese people, put an end to their nightmares, and make their big dream come true.

Despite the recent Ndjamena and Doha advances, the strong grip of the entrenched Washington lobbies that thrive on cynicism and small politics of fear and war mongering, do not bode well for the peace and security of all the Sudanese that many civil society groups have been working for as a strategic goal for years. These lobbies are perceived and portrayed by many in Africa, the Muslim and Arab world and way beyond, as another Western hegemonic ploy that puts down non -Western peoples, cultures, religions, to justify past crimes, present machinations and future malice in waiting.

Small wonder that many' who, on principle, want an end to impunity for dictators, “call foul” and see the International Criminal Court (ICC) indictment against El-Bashir, as just yet another diversionary imperialist tactic deviously designed to sabotage peace in Sudan and divide the country by derailing Doha Darfur negotiations and undermining the implementation of the CPA. The African Union (AU), the Arab League (LAS), the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) and the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM), all stand against the ICC's indictment and cite it as the "double standard of the West". It’s time all this changes.

With all the crises confronting the humanity today, it is peacemaking, not warmongering that ought to be on the top of our agenda. We need to focus on political solutions to political problems. We need to change the political culture and discourse in Washington, in Khartoum and beyond. We now need politicians who are thoughtful thinkers rather than angry trigger-happy cowboys. Culture worriers should stop and think of the death they cause by their words. It is time to encourage a new culture of thoughtful and respectful dialogue to advance the peaceful resolution of conflicts. That is precisely what we have been engaged in through our civil society peace education forums on the ground in Darfur and Sudan since 2006.

We advocated for and witnessed how a positive US encouragement of both the Sudan Peoples' Liberation Movement (SPLM) and the National Congress Party (NCP) helped both negotiate and sign the historic Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) in 2005. We believe that the best way to help the people of Darfur is to give priority to a political solution of the crisis. Because, at the end of the day, this is the practical and quickest way to set the Darfuris free. They need to be helped to freely go back to their homes and rebuild their lives anew, instead of relying on humanitarian hand-outs in internally displaced (IDPs), and refugees camps. The United States should join the consensus of the majorities within Sudan, Africa, the Arab, Muslim and Non-Aligned world, supported by both China and Russia to help politically negotiated settlements stick.

The historical 2008 election of President Barack Obama marked that a breeze of liberation from many years of psychological and chronic racial bondage is blowing in America and the world. It signals, we hope, a new awakening in the United States. We hope that this American electoral miracle marks a new dawn of an America that is more humble; one that has a better understanding and appreciation of other cultures, religions and peoples; one that bases foreign policy on research and facts on the ground, rather than the whims of Washington lobbyists; one that can best protect its national security interests by being capable of working in concert with other nations to solve real problems.

The United States should see to it that the April 2010 elections become a step forward in the long journey towards genuine democracy. It should make clear to the Sudanese Government that the Darfuris need to resume their normal lives in a country that respects their human dignity and their legitimate human, political, social, cultural, religious and economic rights. It should support the recent Ndjamena and Doha agreements, and safeguard the implementation of the 2007 Darfur Peace Agreement (DPA).

We believe that in re-thinking America's relations with Africa and the Muslim world; the Obama administration can change politics as usual in Washington, engage forcefully and candidly with Sudan and help the ongoing drive for peace in Darfur, Sudan and beyond succeed. The Sudanese people are ready for a change. The CPA proved that when America acts as an honest broker, it can contribute to help warring parties solve their problems. The US should continue its forceful engagement as a friend and help the Sudanese peoples' long quest for justice and peace.


• Dr. Hashim El-Tinay is a peace advocate and Founder/President of the International Peace Quest Institute (IPQI) in Washington, DC. He recently returned from Darfur and Sudan.