South Sudanese and Other Marginalised Africans in Sudan: A Tale of the International Community Historical and Recent Bias.
BY: Makuer Mabor Mangar, AUSTRALIA Quote: ‘Can anything be stupider than that a man has the right to kill me because he lives on the other side of a river and his ruler has a quarrel with mine, though I have not quarreled with him?’ Blaise Pascal. APR. 18/2012, SSN; Pascal’s insightful question has direct relevance to our current situation. For decades, the African peoples in this geographical location so-called South Sudan, have been subjected to deadly oppression and continued pursuit of measures that amount to complete annihilation of slaves (a disparaging term that is usually employed to describe black Africans in Sudan, a preferred term by subsequent regimes in the North). For decades still, the African man/woman in Sudan in general and South Sudan in particular has witnessed the greatest silence on earth from the international community (IC) which has time and again adopted cover of overt measures to obliterate the indigenous Sudanese. Let me be clear! Our ancient and modern history tells us that we as a people have been subjected to unimaginable foreign-induced subjugation. In other words, majority of African people in Darfur, South Kordofan, southern Blue Nile and South Sudan are old enough to remember the historical facts that can really vindicate doubts on the notion that the international community is not complicit in support of measures that act as motor to quick eradication of indigenous Sudanese. For obvious reasons (of which I do not want to explore here), the Anglo-Egyptian rule turned out to be largest contributor to evil practices and which further justified that we are a historically hated race/people. The British rule created ready means for the future dealings between the outside world and the black Sudanese. More to this, our recent history (1956-to present) tells us that we the indigenous peoples in the periphery (Khartoum-based thugs and their benefactors being the core and black Africans in the south and other regions being the periphery) have not and still do not have justice by any measure from various northern rulers in general and the so-called International Community in particular. It was the bias of the IC that led to the League of Nations’ failure and later the United Nations’ (UN) letdown to observe international principles that promoted the protection of human rights and abolition of aggression. Presumably, the Europeans unfortunately interpreted the observance of human rights and non-aggression as only referring to the rights of Europeans and NOT Africans in Sudan and so, went ahead with the division of Sudanese into Arabs who deserved better education, better hospitals, roads, political participation and the list could go on... And the southerners and their ‘other’ brothers-in-color as savages and backward who deserved nothing. With these facts, the British apparently added salt to our wound in order to appease the United States (US) of America and the Union of the Socialist Soviet Republics, two post-World War II powers that were opposed to colonialism by hurriedly ceding power to their Arab friends in the north who in effect were the minority relative to the indigenous Sudanese. The British cited our “inability to rule the whole Sudan” as the raison d'être for putting the Arabs in control. I do not have to go deep into historical evidence to prove how the West has often undermined our desire for existence but for a keen follower of the West’s relations with South Sudanese and other Sudanese at the margins, it would be easier for one to note that it was in 2002 that the British government openly voiced their support for our course albeit a course that was already determined by decades of our struggle against a foreign-backed enemy. I and indeed any rational person would consider this late arrival of the British support as bias. Barely a year later, the IC failed to act (the Big Five at the UN Security Council) which resulted in genocide in Darfur. And not only this, thousands of people are being killed in South Kordofan, Eastern Sudan, Southern Blue Nile and even within Khartoum but the world just watch on without a say. This is a prejudice on the part of the IC. Yet it was only a threat of the use of force by Mu’amar Gaddaffi that would result to his death and wanton destruction of Libya by the West. What is the difference between the black Sudanese and Arabs of Benghazi? One would say the difference is the race. The same IC’s bias was evident in each stage of the CPA. Let me elaborate on this briefly!! Take for example why it was accepted by the SPLM’s negotiating team that the Abyei question would be decided by a separate referendum from that of South Sudan to which the region rightly belongs? Take also, why status of Nuba Mountains was separated from that of South Sudan yet the peoples in this region clearly fought for freedom and self determination? All these were a result of tremendous pressure on SPLM and crucially so, it was also a manifestation of bias by the IC in a disguised attempt to perpetuate the marginalization of indigenous Sudanese. Let me explicate further! See how the whole world was quick to recognize a South Sudan without Abyei and Panthou or a guarantee of the survival of aspirations of the people of Nuba Mountains and Southern Blue Nile? See also how the whole world chose to remain quite when the Sudan Armed Forces invaded Abyei and since then continued to spray bullets on South Sudanese deep inside South Sudan? And see how the same IC is unreservedly and unsurprisingly demanding a pullout of South Sudanese forces in our rightful territory just to favor north dominated by people that presumably look like them? I do not have to answer the above questions due to their obvious display of bias. For now though, the current noise from the IC is not absolutely about avoiding war between the two Sudans BUT rather, it’s an offer to Khartoum to invade Panthou, and to even acquire more territories inside South Sudan and to fully consolidate its grip on Abyei. The IC’s attempts of continual support of Khartoum aggression on the South Sudanese and other marginalized Africans in the Sudan will fail massively as witnessed in decades of brutal oppression of our people. Juba response to threatening rhetoric from the likes of Ban Ki Moon of the traditionally biased UN and others in the West should be saluted by every south Sudanese. There is no turning back! Understandably, we may not have bombs or sophisticated artilleries like Khartoum but we have a strong sense of nationalism among south Sudanese which will drive us to repel any invading aliens- something the majority in the West dispute citing tribal differences in South Sudan. An example of this feeling in West is a discussion that I recently had with my American friend at the Centre for Policing, Intelligence and Counter Terrorism and he warned me that the “Arabs are very good fighters” and that they would “overrun South Sudan” for taking Panthou. I kindly reminded my American friend that the reason why they (America) failed in the Vietnam War was because of the Vietnamese nationalism. I told him we will defeat the Arabs should they try to invade our country using the same strength of nationalism to fight them in the same way as the Vietnamese used against the Americans. I was right. An average south Sudanese could only dream of defending their own country less than a year ago. And now that it is a reality despite the obvious shortcomings, there is no reason why we shouldn’t join the people’s army to fight for the defense of our country. However, for the part of IC, enough is enough of its bias. After all, the IC owes us huge debts to pay for its role in the suffering of our people from ancient times to now. The regime in Khartoum has always been a threat to the existence of African people and any collaboration by anybody with this regime must simply be considered by Africans in Sudan as well as south Sudanese as racially biased. Therefore, combining this theoretical assertion with our moral obligation to liberate Abyei and other areas held hostage by dictators in Khartoum, I think it is high time to immediately embark on freeing it from Bashir’s rats and to not yield to the IC’s empty diplomacy. And until this is done, the south Sudanese will have adequately responded with a NO answer to Pascal’s question stated earlier in this article. Makuer Mabor Mangar is a graduate student at Macquarie University’s Centre for Policing, Intelligence and Counter Terrorism. Addresses: twitter @mmakuer or at [email protected] -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "South Sudan Info - The Kob" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. 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