قـيادات مـن وراء حـجاب

Quote: Our Vision Manifesto of the New Sudanese Forces Movement (NFSM - HAQ) The problem outlined Dictatorship. Sudan's present regime is a military dictatorship that is a front for a single political party, the National Islamic Front (NIF). It is a catastrophe that threatens the survival of our people. The NIF as a fundamentalist party claims a monopoly on the truth, and denies its opponents a right to speak. It propounds an ideology of religious and racial supremacy. Economic collapse. NIF economic policies let a small group of its supporters monopolise the markets and plunder the nation’s wealth. The NIF has wasted and destroyed the country's resources, and brought widespread poverty. Cultural brutalism. The NIF has tried to impose a cultural revolution on Sudan, which it calls its "civilisation project". This project, which is defined in vague and pejorative terms, is trying to impose a narrow Arabic and Islamic cultural and religious outlook on a diverse majority. The NIF uses war, murder and pillage to destroy this diversity and impose instead a vision of a culturally uniform Sudan which has been dreamed up from a narrow and parochial reading of the distant past. It shuns the vitality and achievement of contemporary human development, and tries to avoid the human future. The need for struggle. These NIF policies are not temporary measures. The regime is incapable of tolerating other views or cultures, and co-existence with the NIF is unthinkable. If our people are to be able to regain freedom and live a decent human life, and if they are to rebuild their nation, we must first defeat the NIF and rid ourselves of its social, political, cultural and economic legacy. The history of the problem. The NIF did not invent the problem. Since independence, Sudan has been ruled by military and civilian elites who are primarily concerned with their own interests. These elites, and their traditional political parties, never addressed the basic problems facing ordinary people. Their self-interest and lack of vision perpetuated and worsened underdevelopment. Their inefficiency and corruption brought public apathy and discontent, which paved the way for the NIF to grab power and establish its fundamentalist regime in 1989. Opposition to the NIF. The NIF's hold on power led in 1989 to the formation of the most broad-based opposition movement in the history of the country, the National Democratic Alliance (NDA). Support for the NDA comes from many quarters: * The elites and their traditional parties were shamed by the ease with which the NIF overthrew them * People not belonging to the narrow section of society from which the NIF draws its members are hostile to the regime * the presence of the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) and its army (SPLA) in the south is a solid base for resistance. The regime has tried to hide its affiliation to the NIF, but the NDA has exposed it; the NDA has also exposed the NIF's gross human rights violations and contributed to the international isolation of the NIF. But the NDA has failed to launch effective resistance, because it is dominated by the self-serving elites who made up the traditional parties. These elites are not seriously concerned with the suffering of a people they have constantly wronged. The opposition's task. Sudan's opposition must do what the NDA has failed to do - it must overthrow the NIF. This requires a deep understanding of the country's real needs and a strategy to mobilise and involve people. We spell out the position of NFSM-HAQ here. Building the New Sudan "Modern forces" build democracy. Throughout Sudan's history, the task of resisting military dictatorships and of mobilising the people to a restoration of democracy, has always fallen to the "modern forces", the people situated in the modern sector of the economy and the urban parts of Sudan. These modern forces are fragmented, and although they have led the uprisings, the traditional parties have always succeeded in assuming power and taking the country to a new national crisis. The modern forces, the vanguard of the people, are acutely aware of their responsibility to overcome their divisions and join in the development of the country. The fight for a New Sudan. The modern forces are not the only resistance. Many Sudanese outside the modern, urban forces have been excluded from the traditional power structure. These people come from the underdeveloped rural areas of Sudan. Marginalised by historical injustices, they have put aside allegiances to traditional elites, and set up their own independent organisations, programmes and leaderships. Some of them have begun to address the NIF in the only language it understands - armed struggle. The theatre of war in Sudan has extended from the south and west of the country to the east and centre. These new rural forces have made the vision of a "New Sudan" a pivotal concept in political consciousness. Sudanese people with different histories and different social structures have united around this vision, although the tactics they choose to achieve it might vary. The modern forces resist through strikes and demonstrations, and the new rural forces use armed struggle. No choice but struggle. The NIF has left these new forces no choice but armed struggle. They have dissolved parties, trade unions, and all the organs of civil society. They have turned the civil service and the armed forces into political tools of the NIF, and formed a repressive security apparatus which is permeated with an ideology of hate and has repeatedly violated the human rights of Sudanese people. Freedom can only be taken by force of arms. New Sudan brings unity. Forces from different areas and societies in Sudan now have a common political vision and a similar set of tactics. This is a historic chance to overthrow the NIF and bring a decisive change in the balance of power in Sudan. Project for a national renaissance Intellectuals, peasants, workers, students, women, productive capitalists, oppressed and marginalised ethnic groups have all united around the call for a "Project for National Renaissance". What is this project? Diversity and the identity of Sudan. Sudan's identity lies in its diversity. It has a multiplicity of different cultures, races, religions and languages. But Sudan's successive ruling elites have tried to deny this undeniable fact, and this is the cause of the wars that have bedevilled the country since independence. The NIF regime has gone further than denial, to the stage of ethnic cleansing. The NIF's attempts to turn multicultural Sudan into a country with one language - Arabic - and one religion - Islam - threatens the existence of people of other traditions. The regime has employed the tactics of ethnic cleansing against these marginalised groups. The paragraph should be structured as follows: a. Sudan's identity lies in diversity b. Elites have tried to deny this (say how and why, and the consequences) c. Respect. Sudan diverse cultures cannot be merged into one by war - they can only be reconciled by mutual respect. Sudan's people are not united by culture or language, but by citizenship, by the fact of belonging to Sudan. According to the NIF, the rights and duties of Sudanese people are dependent on their religious and cultural affiliation. The Sudanese state must be reformulated to reflect its multicultural reality. Real unity. National unity can only be realised when people choose it freely, when national diversity is acknowledged, and when the rights of different religions and cultures ore preserved. Real unity allows people to participate in taking decisions affecting their lives at the nearest possible level to themselves - a decentralised government which allows different groups to interact on terms which they agree upon. The right of self determination. National unity is a legitimate aim, but we do not believe that this aim is contradicted by our belief that the marginalised groups in Sudan (represented by the new rural forces) have the right to refuse to join in. They have the right to play a part in the new Sudan or, if they believe that the prerequisites for unity are lacking, to choose self determination. Secularism. Sudan needs a separation of religion and state. The state should guarantee equality between religions and freedom of worship. Religious values are permanent sources of inspiration and enlightenment in humanity's constant effort for freedom and justice. But human society changes and develops with every new day, responding to people's needs and creative imagination, and these changes must accord with international human rights standards agreed by people of all religious traditions. Human rights. Sudan needs the human rights standards laid down in international conventions and accepted by the NDA charter and its Nairobi declaration: individual rights based on citizenship, equality before the law, no discrimination on the basis of race, gender, religion or culture should be practised or tolerated. Democracy. Sudan needs free popular choice, political pluralism, peaceful transfer of power, a modern state and a strong civil society. Social justice. Sudan needs a fair distribution of national resources and opportunities for wealth creation. The social, cultural and racial oppression which prevents this fairness must be confronted and destroyed. The state should be responsible for planning, strategic resources and basic services, and should allow free competition between producers. Equitable development. The most deprived areas of the country need accelerated development, and appreciable portion of locally discovered resources. They should have priority in the national allocation of resources. Regionally balanced development is the only way to eradicate poverty, illness and ignorance. Total confrontation with the NIF None of this talk of a New Sudan has any meaning if the NIF regime is not overthrown. Armed confrontation is inescapable. The NIF have forced Sudan's people to resort to arms. They seized power and have maintained it by terror, repression, torture, murder, assassination. Peaceful negotiation is impossible. The people's war against its executioners. Armed confrontation aims to protect our people from extinction, from disintegration, to protect our national wealth. We do not have in mind a coward's game of hitting the innocent and weak, but a carefully planned struggle against an enemy known to us all. It is nothing else than giving the people the means of defence against an enemy armed from head to toe. Destruction of the regime. We aim to overthrow the NIF, destroy its military might, and rebuff its anticipated counter-attack after its downfall. The NIF stranglehold on economic life must be liquidated if this process is to succeed. Strategy * protection of popular resistance * opening new fronts inside Sudan and on its borders * all NIF military, security and economic establishments are legitimate targets * all opposition armed forces should co-ordinate their efforts - the SPLA, the Beja and the Sudan Alliance forces, and internal resistance forces * mobilising regional and international support for the struggle - the NIF is the spearhead of a fundamentalist onslaught on Africa, and it has many enemies The transitional period The transitional period must be the foundation of New Sudan, it must begin the national renaissance. We are fully aware that the traditional elites would like to return to the old power structures which once served them so well, and we know that we must struggle against their commitment to backwardness. These elites are part of the opposition forces who have reached different agreements on self determination, separation of religion and state and just distribution of wealth, and they must be bound by them, not only as a matter of honour but also as an acknowledgement of the new balance of power at the moment of victory over the NIF. The priorities of the transitional period are to provide substantial gains for the marginalised people of Sudan: * an end to the war on all fronts * rehabilitation of refugees and displaced persons * fighting famine, meeting basic economic needs, achieving food security * eradicating the cultural and economic power of the NIF * removing NIF cadres from positions of responsibility * building the infrastructure for economic growth and just distribution of national wealth. * reconstructing the civil service, armed forces, education system, political parties, mass media and judiciary on democratic and secular lines * promotion of a strong civil society based on carefully defined civil rights and duties We need to think carefully. The transitional period will be a complex time and NSFM-HAQ needs to develop our ideas thoroughly and study the situation carefully. NFSM-HAQ should participate in the critique and revision of the stated policies of the opposition NDA, and seek to identify their weaknesses and build on their strengths. The transition will take time and effort. The transitional period will only be over when the tasks listed above are complete. Those who seek to make it a brief affair have one of two things in mind: they either want to restore the old Sudan or to bring the country to disintegration. The challenge of unifying the new forces The new forces which call for a new Sudan come from all sections of the diverse country. The complicated process of building a political organisation which will accommodate all of them needs democratic dialogue and practical co-operation. Each of the new forces is distinct. Each of the forces has a different history, and relates to a specific culture or social group in Sudan. These differences cannot be ignored. Our responsibility is to ensure that this organisational diversity is a source of strength and vitality. Flexibility. There is no ready-made model for an inclusive political structure in Sudan. The structure will grow through different phases, and it should be responsive to the diversity within it. Its common strategy must have room for constituent groups to work independently towards the shared goal. A fresh start. This new movement will be different from the traditional Sudanese political groups. It will not discriminate between people on basis of sect or clan, class or station, and it will not claim to possess the absolute truth. It will engage all members in the creative endeavour for a unity which respects all diversity. A modern movement. We see the new movement as a modernising force, which will prize its ability to take creative risks and harness the forces of new science and technology for the benefit of our people. Rooted in the soil of Sudan. The new movement is not only for Sudanese in exile. It is needed on the battlefields of our country. We cannot deny the fact that huge numbers of politically active Sudanese have left Sudan. But Sudanese abroad must continue the resistance. If we do not take up the challenge we can only be demoralised and self-destructive. This movement will be built in all parts of the world, but the Mecca of our hope is Sudan. A movement for the moment. We are not only looking to the future. The movement is supposed to win the battle of the present,. Good intentions and false hopes will not do away with the suffering of our people, the devastation of war, the arrogance of the regime, and the weakness of its adversaries. A historic chance. The international favour that the Sudanese opposition enjoys will not last forever. The moment for uniting these new forces has arrived - it would be unforgivable not to rise to the challenge. The road to unity These are our proposals for the formation of a movement representing all existing forces, organisations and national figures, which will be the centre of national dialogue. Office. The movement will have an office in a suitable country, to which all existing organisations will send representatives or delegate powers to others with access to the office. Funding. The movement will be funded by members who are able to pay, especially those in Arab countries. Drafting a constitution. All members should put forward proposals for the structure of the new movement, and the process of unification. The movement's office will formulate a draft constitution working from these proposals, which will be endorsed by the movement as a whole. Modes of affiliation. The dialogue begun by this process may lead to some organisations merging completely with others to form a new grouping. A second group of organisations may choose to retain autonomy of action with a partial merger - particularly regionally specific forces such as the SPLA/M, the Sudanese National Party, the Beja Congress, the Nubian Congress and others. A third group of organisations may choose to accept the new movement's strategy while remaining independent of the movement's structures. The movement must remain flexible. Military struggle. The first priority is to confront the NIF effectively. Maximum use must be made of those forces already engaged in military struggle, and of clandestine groups of retired and purged soldiers inside Sudan. We must ask for the services of all those prepared to join a people's war against the NIF. The resistance in Sudan. Organisations working in Sudan should continue to widen the bases of the movement and their counterparts abroad should provide them with all the resources necessary, bearing in mind the risks that resisters in Sudan face. Unity in exile. The many opposition groups in exile need to work towards greater unity. Constitutional conference. The co-ordination of effort should bring about a national conference which will endorse the constitution, elect a leadership, and set out a plan of action. Creating the new movement is a historic task, and it is not an easy one. It needs courage and sacrifice. There is no place for the self-seeking egotism - the movement must be in continuous communion with the heroic spirit of the people, harnessing their creative and genius to the discipline of the struggle. Let us get to work