"Fundamentalist" Military Junta Pushing Sudan to Catastrophe

By S.A. Mohammad

In its short history since independence in 1956, Sudan has known three democratically elected governments and three military dictatorships. The first two military regimes were characterized by the one-man rule typical of many post-independence Arab and African nations.

But while it is appropriate to speak of the first and second dictatorships as the Abboud and the Numairi periods, it would be misleading to characterize the present regime headed by Lt. Gen. Omar Hassan Al-Bashir as the Al-Bashir period. The politics of the Islamic "fundamentalists" have so overshadowed the ruling junta that the current political era can hardly be described in terms of a single person.

Over the two-year period of military fundamentalist rule, all forms of civil life in Sudan have come to a halt. The regime has one of the worst records in history of human rights atrocities. Conditions in the war-torn south are worse than ever, with no hope of an end to the war. The economy's basic resources have "dried up," and the public services system is nearly extinct. More alarming than ever before is the creeping famine, which is predicted to be the most severe in the history of the area.

In a state of desperation due to its increasing isolation from the rest of the world, especially the Arab world, the present regime offered its support to Saddam Hussain's invasion of Kuwait in August 1990.

"For the Salvation of the People"

The regime has been in power only since June 30, 1989, when a 15-member junta seized power from the three-year-old elected government in Sudan. As head of the self-appointed Revolutionary Command Council (RCC), General Al-Bashir had called the coup a "revolution for the salvation of the Sudanese people."

The new regime cited ending the civil war in southern Sudan as its major political objective. It also promised solutions to Sudan's chronic economic problems, and, in general terms, to bring about the stability and prosperity of the country.

As a preliminary measure, the RCC imposed a nationwide state of emergency, dissolved and banned all political parties, the top three of which were the previously ruling Umma party, the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), and the Communist Party. The ban also covered the National Islamic Front (NIF).

Over the first couple of months the regime repeatedly denied accusations that it was linked with the NIF. In one of his early addresses, General Al-Bashir stressed the autonomy of the Revolutionary Command Council from any political party.

Two years later, the military regime of the Sudan is nowhere near attaining any of its initially declared goals, and one item that has quickly disappeared from the early agenda is the regime's denial of affiliation with the Islamic Front. Instead, the regime now speaks strictly for the NIF and adheres to its policies.

Setting the Stage for the Fundamentalists

Under the premiership of Sadiq Al-Mahdi (1986-1989), Sudan vacillated between different coalition governments. At the time of the coup which deposed him, Sadiq had just replaced his coalition with the NIF with a new alliance with the DUP, under the leadership of Mohammad Osman Al-Mirghani. The new alliance was a direct result of the fruitful peace negotiations conducted by the DUP with the rebel organization in the south, the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM). The peace efforts were applauded by almost all segments of Sudanese society, save the Islamic Front. The coup of June 30 was instigated to abort these efforts, and it did.

In an early address, General Al-Bashir proclaimed that Sudan was not yet ready for democratic pluralism, and must, therefore, be guided momentarily by the wisdom and courage of young army officers.

All political leaders were, and some still are, imprisoned or detained. Mass arrests were carried out. Some 40 independent newspapers were banned, along with the trade unions and political associations. With all political and individual freedoms abrogated, the nationwide state of emergency is still in effect to this day.

Following this, the RCC immediately revealed its fundamentalist intentions and embarked on a massive campaign to "purge" all civilian and military institutions. Fundamentalist and pro-fundamentalist political appointments were intensified. Hundreds of civil servants in key positions were dismissed and replaced by low-ranking officials loyal to the NIF. A new chief justice was appointed to rid the judiciary of its independence. The regime also embarked on a systematic elimination of female employees from the civil service and important institutions.

The army was dealt with even more severely. Compulsory retirement or direct dismissal of senior officers who were not NIF supporters became routine. Officers with fundamentalist leanings were promoted.

Influential members of the RCC either are members of or have links with the NIF. Last April two RCC members who held strategic positions—head of interior, and head of the RCC Political Affairs Committee—submitted their resignation in protest against the regime's total submission to NIF policies.

Worst Human Rights Record

"I vow here before you to purge from our ranks the renegades, the hirelings, enemies of the people and the armed forces ... Anyone who betrays this nation does not deserve the honor of living ...The responsibility is really a collective one. You have authority, and are its enforcers. "

These were the words of General AlBashir at a rally of NIF followers in Khartoum on Dec. 3, 1989, as quoted in a 1990 report by the human rights organization Africa Watch. They marked the beginning of a ruthless campaign against trade unions, professional societies, and other independent organizations, following a series of successful strikes.

Mass arrests included lawyers, doctors judges, academics, journalists and other trade unionists. Security forces also detained hundreds of politicians and individuals without bringing charges against them. Reports of maltreatment in prisons and deaths as a result of torture were widespread. Others were sentenced to death at brief military tribunals.

Various underground opposition groups maintain that the NIF's own trained security forces carried out this campaign. Interrogation and torture of detainees took place in what came to be known as the "ghost houses" of the NIF. The current head of the official security apparatus is one of the NIF's hard-liners.

In April 1990, while the civilian opposition was still tending its wounds, an attempted military coup was crushed and 28 army officers were executed after military tribunals as short as two minutes. The fundamentalists have added their own militias or "popular defense forces" to the governmental structure, on a par with the army and other regulatory forces.

And the War Goes On

The only serious attempt by the military government to seek a settlement with the SPLM rebels was in November 1989, when an RCC spokesman, Lt. Gen. Mohammad Al-Amin Khalifa, met with southern rebel representatives in Nairobi. Despite intensive efforts by former US President Jimmy Carter to mediate the negotiations, they failed. The SPLM rejected the RCC's proposed federal constitution, arguing that it would not safeguard the non-Muslim southerners against the hegemony of the Islamic central government.

Fighting in the south has intensified ever since, and the government shows no intention of withdrawing its constitutional plan.

"Food Shortfall," Not Famine

International relief experts say that, as famine of unprecedented magnitude spreads into different parts of the Sudan, the population at risk is estimated at around seven million people, almost one-third of the total population. Relief workers affirm that hundreds, if not thousands, have already died in four regions of Sudan, as a result of hunger or famine-related diseases. Experts say that even if relief begins now, it has come too late to forestall catastrophe.

The government, however, refuses to recognize the situation as anything other than a "food shortfall. " Further, it has curtailed relief efforts inside Sudan and has refused to cooperate with donor countries and non-governmental organizations.

Failure of last year's agricultural harvest was the immediate cause of this year's famine. However, the rapid deterioration of the economy and the infrastructure under the military government has directly contributed. Sudan, with a 65 percent rate of inflation over the past year, is reported to be one of only two countries declared non-cooperative by the International Monetary Fund.

Sudan's Isolation

By refusing to join the alliance against Iraq after its invasion of Kuwait, Sudan's isolation, especially in the Arab world, became complete. Even before the eruption of the Gulf crisis, Sudan's traditional Arab allies—Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Egypt—were reluctant to endorse repressive fundamentalist policies. Such policies have also driven away Sudan's longtime allies in the West. Last year the United States cut off its economic and military aid to Sudan, and Sudan-US relations deteriorated further following the Gulf crisis.

The Need to Restore Democracy

The central issue in developments now taking place in Sudan is not the viability of Islamic "fundamentalist" thought. The issue is one of democratic representation. At present, with the broad sectors of traditional forces of the Ansar, represented by the Umma Party; the Khatmia, represented by the DUP; the modernist forces embodied in the Communist party and organizations such as the SPLA; and other independent nationalist forces such as trade unions and members of the military all standing together against the regime, there is little talk of "people's salvation" from the fundamentalist junta. A serious indicator that the fundamentalist movement is losing support was a surprising defeat for the fundamentalists in elections for the University of Khartoum Students' Union last year. Demonstrations broke out last May in different parts of Khartoum, protesting the harsh living conditions and the government's failing economic policies.

The question that remains for the Sudanese, however, is whether the failed fundamentalist regime will bow to the obvious will of the people and allow itself to be replaced peacefully, or cling to power until it is replaced by yet another coup.

S.A. Mohammad is the pen name of a Sudanese journalist whose newspaper in Khartoum was closed down by the present government.

Editor's Note: The term "fundamentalist," rather than "Islamist," is used at the author's request.