SUDAN WATCH: Muslim Brotherhood

Showing posts with label Muslim Brotherhood. Show all posts

Tuesday, February 20, 2024

4 VIDEO CHATS: Sudan War and Civilisation feat. Layla AbdelRahi & Ushari Ahmed Mahmud Khalil

NOTE from Sudan Watch Editor: Here are four 30-minute video chats between Dr Layla AbdelRahim and Dr Ushari Ahmed Mahmud Khalil. The chats cover wide ranging topics focusing on Sudan's war and civilisation. After finding Part 2 by accident and viewing it, I am documenting all 4 here.

War and Civilisation 1: What we can learn from Sudan - 14 Nov 2023
War and Civilisation 2: Sudan and the Roots of Turmoil - 9 Dec 2023
War and Civilisation 3: The Genealogy of Genocide - 30 Dec 2023
War and Civilisation 4: The State is Corruption - 6 January 2024

Image credit: Ushari Ahmed Mahmud Khalil Facebook

War and Civilisation 1: What we can learn from Sudan

14 Nov 2023

To view the 26 minute video discussion click here:

https://www.patreon.com/posts/war-and-1-what-92303767

Description:

All raging wars are alike; each peaceful initiative fails in its own way.

September this year marked the 40th anniversary of the implementation of Shari'a Laws in Sudan. 1983 thus took a step out of the geopolitical crossroads into the direction of today.

Even though humanity has waged war for thousands of years, we are still surprised each time a new war erupts. We are baffled by the narrative on the “other” side. We are outraged. Dismayed. And passionately, we fall into the trap of the narrative we believe.

I was a teenager, studying civil engineering and working several jobs at a time, when the Second Civil War in Sudan broke out. The narratives explaining the war seemed lopsided to me, even false. So, I decided to investigate for myself. Ushari and I met at the Sudan Times daily. Bona Malwal was the editor-in-chief at the time. Indignant at the cruelty and injustices around us, we both strove to uncover the truth and right the wrongs. It is rare to meet someone with such integrity and dedication as Ushari. Even after political imprisonment and now in exile, he remains the voice of human conscience.

I hope you will find this conversation interesting and helpful in your own endeavours to better humanity. This is the first of five parts.

You can support Ushari Ahmed Mahmud Khalil’s work by engaging his translation services or donations and follow him on Twitter; YouTube; Faceook.

Ushari Mahmud analyses and reports on the political situation in Sudan. He started as a sociolinguist dedicated to understanding the impact of the diversity of languages in Sudan on the society and politics. His M.A. thesis at the I.A.A.S (Institute for African and Asian Studies) at the University of Khartoum in 1974 was titled “The Phonology of a Dying Nubian Language Birgid”.

He defended his doctoral dissertation in 1979 at Georgetown University on pidgin Arabic in South Sudan, titled “Linguistic variation and change in the aspectual system of Juba Arabic”.

In 1987, he and his colleague, Suleyman Ali Baldo - a defender of human rights - published a report on “Al Dhaein Massacre and Slavery in Sudan” for which both were imprisoned.

His book on language, titled “Arabic in the southern Sudan: History and spread of pidgin creole”.

A relevant article by Zeinab Mohammed Salih: “Viewpoint from Sudan — where Black people are called slaves”.

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War and Civilisation 2: Sudan and the Roots of Turmoil

9 Dec 2023

To view the 32 minute video discussion click here:

https://www.patreon.com/posts/war-and-2-sudan-94372301

Description:

In this part of my conversation with Ushari Ahmad Mahmud Khalil, we delve into the root of the unending turmoil in Sudan. We discuss religion and the role it plays in framing the politics around resources.

Sources and further reading:

Mahmoud Mohammed Taha

Glimpses of the life and thoughts of Ustadh Mahmoud Mohamed Taha. Documentary by Steve Howard, Ohio University

Interview with Asma Mahmoud Mohammed Taha (daughter) by Steve Howard

Documentary by Ahmed Al Muhanna in 2 parts (Arabic)

A brief history of Mahmoud Mohammed Taha’s life and work

An overview of events regarding Mahmoud Mohammed Taha

Book: Quest for Divinity: A Critical Examination of the Thought of Mahmud Mohammad Taha, by Mohamed A. Mahmoud

On the thought of Mahmoud Mohammad Taha

Jean-René Milot wrote a Master’s thesis on Mahmoud Mohammed Taha at the Faculty of Law, University of Montreal in 2007

U.S. and Muslim Brotherhood

See books and articles by the Montreal-born, American journalist Ian Johnson

Investigative journalist Robert Dreyfuss’ work, for example: Cold War, Holy Warrior

Eric Reeves on U.S chargé d’affaires to Sudan Steven Koutsis’ statements on U.S interests and policies vis à vis Sudan

Wildlife trafficking

UN report on wildlife trafficking

European Union funding the Janjaweed to Curb Migration

An independent report by the Swedish Development Forum on EU funding the Janjaweed (RSF) to stop migration

A report by Suliman Baldo “Border Control from Hell: How the EU’s migration partnership legitimizes Sudan’s ‘militia state’” (2017)

UN project ReliefWeb on Baldo’s report: “Border Control from Hell: How the EU’s migration partnership legitimizes Sudan’s “militia state” Support Forces (RSF) to stop migration to Europe”

A question to the European Parliament on EU funds for the Rapid Support Forces (Janjaweed) in Sudan to curb migration to Europe

Criticism of EU and UN training and funding the RSF or Janjaweed in Sudan

An article by Bashair Ahmed and Salih Amaar “Escaping Sudan’s Prison: Deciphering the Realities of the EU-Sudan Migration Deal”

Russia, Sudan, and South Sudan Relations

South Sudan:

Putin and South Sudan leader agree to cooperate on security Military base

Russia and South Sudan agreement on mining uranium and lithium in South Sudan

Sudan:

Cooperation on gold and rare metals mining in Sudan

Expert on world politics and professor of political science Natalia Piskounova’s analysis of Sudan’s strife for dominating mining resources

Sudan and Russia agree on military base

Music By Ayman Mao

Tags Sudan geopolitics religion resources war

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War and Civilisation 3: The Genealogy of Genocide

30 Dec 2023

To view the 28 minute video discussion click here:

https://www.patreon.com/posts/war-and-3-of-95549957

Description:

Sources and further reading

History of slavery in Sudan

Map of eastern slave trade route through Sudan

Professor of Anthropology from South Sudan, Jok Madut Jok, on slavery in Sudan

UN definition of “crimes against humanity”

“My Career Redeeming Slaves” by John Eibner, in the Middle East Quarterly, Dec 1999, pp. 3-16

Ushari and Baldo

On Ushari’s detention and imprisonment for his work on human rights

Sudanese forces for change: beware of Sadiq Almahdi

Map of 16th, 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries Sudan

Report on Sharia law and the death penalty

South Sudan Secession

The timeline in the video comes from the Center of International Media Assistance

Al Arabiya on the referendum for the secession of South Sudan

Photo credits

The following come from archaeologist Shadia Taha:

Photograph of camel caravan entering Suakin port in the 1830s from Durham Sudan Archive

Map of trade routes

Plan of Suakin’s districts on the three islands and the historic centre from British Museum

Suakin, between the sea and the desert: connected landscapes

Photographs from and more info on the ancient Sudanese Kingdom of Kush

Photographs of John Garang, Ushari, and myself were taken by Atem Yaak, journalist and former Deputy Minister of Information (from my personal archive).

Photographs of SPLA/M leadership.

Omar al Bashir and John Garang sign peace deal and John Garang joins the government.

Photograph of Addis Ababa airport 1984

Photograph of Juba, capital of South Sudan

An early 20th-century IWW poster depicts the workers who hold the edifices of capitalism on their shoulders. Above are the government and religion. From 1911 IWW newspaper/WikiMedia Commons.

This poster echoes Leo Tolstoy’s famous quote from “What Then Must We Do?”:

“I sit on a man's back choking him and making him carry me, and yet assure myself and others that I am sorry for him and wish to lighten his load by all means possible… except by getting off his back”.

Photograph of woman, man, and sheep in Khartoum market by Marwan Ali from AP

Photographs of the toppling of Saddam Hussein’s statue and an American soldier from AP

Photograph of Saddam Hussein and Muammar Ghaddafi from a 2015 article on Donald Trump

Photograph of Old City, Mosul, Iraq by Felipe Dana, AP

Photograph of destroyed Iraq, 20 years on by Khalid Mohammed, AP

Photographs of Iraq from Wiki commons:

Lamassu from the Assyrian gallery at the Iraq Museum, Baghdad

One of the oldest Christian monasteries, Dayro d-Mor Mattai monastery in Bartella, Nineveh, Iraq. Holds a rich collection of Syriac Christian manuscripts

The head of an Akkadian ruler from Nineveh, presumably depicting either Sargon of Akkad, or Sargon's grandson Naram-Sin in bronze

Tags Islamic Brotherhood SPLA/SPLM Sudan civilisation domestication genocide pol slavery war

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War and Civilisation 4: The State is Corruption

6 January 2024

To view the 30 minute video discussion click here:

https://www.patreon.com/posts/war-and-4-state-95977497

Description:

Sources & References

Map of Sudan comes from ISS

EU tied to violence in South Sudan

Working at the nexus of human and nonhuman animal exploitation

Music by Tinariwen Sahara

Contact information for Ushari Ahmad Mahmud Khalil

Tags SPLA/SPLM Sudan civilisation politics war

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END

Saturday, August 05, 2023

Sudan’s next stop: Regional proxy war? (Alex de Waal)

NOTE from Sudan Watch Editor: This analysis by Prof Dr Alex de Waal will take me all day to read, re-read, study and digest. As it is important and time is of the essence, I am posting it here now with a view to commenting at a later date. Meanwhile, at the end I've added a post script and two cartoons.

ANALYSIS at Responsible Statecraft - responsiblestatecraft.org

Written by Alex de Waal
Dated Thursday 03 August 2023 - here is a full copy

[SW updated 06 Aug 2023, 16:07 BST: added al-Burhan photo and caption]

Sudan’s next stop: Regional proxy war?

Sudan's General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan walks with troops, in an unknown location, in this picture released on May 30, 2023. Sudanese Armed Forces/Handout via REUTERS

Outside powers are taking sides, supplying weapons, and hoping one general or the other will gain the battlefield advantage.

The next stage of the battle for Khartoum will, it seems, be decided in Cairo, Ankara and Abu Dhabi.

The middle powers of the Middle East are talking peace even while they are arming their favored clients.

The theory is that when one side gains a clear battlefield advantage, the other will sue for peace. It’s a high-risk approach.

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and his Turkish counterpart Recip Tayyip Erdogan are lining up in support of the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and its leader, General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, who is increasingly backed by the old-guard Islamists who held power under the long reign of President Omar al-Bashir. In doing so, they are setting aside longstanding differences over the Muslim Brothers — Turkey supports them, Egypt suppresses them.

Mohamed bin Zayed al-Nayhan, president of the United Arab Emirates and the ruler of Abu Dhabi, has made the opposite bet. He has supported General Mohamed Hamdan Dagolo, known as Hemedti, the leader of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and, according to some reports, is still supplying him with weapons. Hemedti impressed bin Zayed with his energetic leadership, especially of the paramilitaries he provided for the Saudi-Emirati ground war in Yemen, and his opposition to the Muslim Brothers — famously, the Emirati ruler’s bête noire. Hemedti also has a mutually profitable business trading gold to UAE.

Starting a few days after the eruption of civil war in Khartoum in April, the United States and Saudi Arabia convened talks in the Saudi city of Jeddah. The immediate aims were to secure a ceasefire and access for humanitarian aid, but another goal was to prevent the emergence of a proxy conflict such as this.

After a slack period in which two other peace initiatives surfaced — one led by Kenya, the other by Egypt — American and Saudi diplomats have pushed their talks with new vigor. But the chance of a ceasefire is slipping away, and with it comes the peril of a new, even more intense phase of the war.

At the outbreak of hostilities on April 15, Hemedti’s RSF surprised its adversary, the SAF, with its tactical acumen and its ability to hold ground in Khartoum. As RSF troops occupied strategic sites throughout the city, the SAF was reduced to enclaves and to air and artillery barrages. Unable to control the capital, its claim to represent the government was in question.

But the RSF could not press home its early military gains, while it decisively lost any sympathies among the city dwellers through the appalling abuses perpetrated by its fighters—arbitrary killings, rapes and ransacking residential neighborhoods as well as occupying hospitals and terrorizing medical staff, and vandalizing universities and the national museum.

The army interprets the May 11 “Declaration of Principles for the Protection of Civilians,” signed by both parties in Jeddah, as stipulating that the RSF withdraws not just from homes and hospitals, but virtually all the positions it controls in Khartoum. The RSF rejects that.

What it gained on the battlefield, the RSF lost in the political arena. After the popular uprising that overthrew the longstanding military leader, President Omar al-Bashir, in April 2019, Hemedti was the most nimble and energetic politician in Sudan. Belying his horrific human rights record, Hemedti positioned himself as a champion of revolution and the main bulwark against the return of the old guard of the al-Bashir regime. For that reason, segments of the civilian resistance leaned towards him.

Populist politicians thrive in the limelight, but when the fighting broke out, Hemedti disappeared, fueling speculation that he had been seriously injured. Only last week did he release a short video clip. He looked stiff and pallid. Meanwhile, he has forfeited the political initiative.

In Darfur — the RSF’s home base — it and its Arab militia allies have been conducting brutal campaigns of ethnic cleansing, targeting the Masalit people of Western Darfur and the Fur of Central Darfur. There is evidence of mass graves. Militiamen burned the palace of the sultan, customary leader of the Masalit and murdered the ethnic Masalit governor, Khamis Abbakar. The violence compares with the atrocities of twenty years ago, and makes the withdrawal two years ago of the United Nations-African Union Mission in Darfur (UNAMID) look irresponsible.

Whatever happens in Khartoum, Darfur faces another round of turmoil and bloodshed, this time without any serious international attention.

By default, SAF’s leader, General al-Burhan, has gained the political upper hand. He’s increasingly recognized as representing the government. But he has shown neither political profile nor leadership, and it’s unclear if he can manage his cabal of quarrelsome lieutenants, including the resurgent veteran Islamists who served under al-Bashir.

The Forces for Freedom and Change, which spearheaded the 2019 uprising, are trying to regroup, but other civilian groups are disenchanted with them. Most of them refuse to entertain talks with the Islamists—a position that, during the civilian-led interlude that lasted until the October 2021 military coup, pushed the Islamists into the army’s embrace.

Meanwhile, the deposed civilian prime minister, Abdalla Hamdok, has continued his cautious pattern of seeking consensus, disappointing those who wanted to see a more energetic stand against the generals.

The Neighborhood Resistance Committees — which were the backbone of the protests—have repurposed themselves as humanitarian first responders. Depleted by the flight of many members, they have yet to generate a coordinated political strategy.

In June and July, a burst of diplomatic energy seemed to promise that the low-wattage U.S.-Saudi and African Union mediation processes might be overtaken by more vigorous efforts. It hasn’t worked out that way, as rival initiatives have cancelled each other out, turning the diplomatic arena into a field of tactical positioning.

In late June, the northeast African regional bloc, the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), held a summit meeting and appointed Kenyan President William Ruto to head a “quartet” including Djibouti, Ethiopia and South Sudan. Ruto made no secret of his strong views. He condemned the war as “senseless” and the violence in Darfur as, possibly, “genocide.” He said that the Sudanese people had made it perfectly clear what they wanted—a democratic government. The IGAD leaders also spoke of activating the East African Standby Brigade to intervene.

Shortly afterwards, Egypt convened a “Summit of Sudan’s Neighboring States.” Strenuous diplomacy by President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi ensured a strong attendance. Paragraph 3 of the communiqué stressed “the importance of preserving the Sudanese State and its institutions, and preventing the fragmentation of the country, or descent into chaos.”

Egypt has a longstanding diplomatic rivalry with IGAD. Twenty-five years ago, the IGAD peace process for southern Sudan, led by a Kenyan general, resulted in a peace agreement that gave the southern Sudanese the opportunity to vote to secede. They took that option in 2011, creating the independent state of South Sudan. A parallel Egyptian-Libyan initiative, resolutely opposed to granting self-determination, was brushed aside.

Al-Sisi’s summit met his minimal aim of blocking IGAD, thus reducing the diplomatic arena to tactical maneuvering without strategic direction.

The Egyptian plan was nurtured behind the scenes by Qatar and Turkey, both of which back Sudan’s Islamists. None are impressed with al-Burhan’s leadership, but they far prefer him to the alternative. This gave al-Burhan the green light to boycott the IGAD leaders’ follow-up meeting, and for SAF to voice strenuous objections to IGAD, on the pretext that Ruto has business dealings with Hemedti and is therefore biased. (They overlooked Ruto’s remarks about genocide, which targeted the RSF and its allies.)

After the Cairo summit, SAF generals have begun talking about how the war may be finished in a few months. Their hope is that Turkey, the region’s leading supplier of state-of-the-art drones—the Bayraktar TB2, deployed to devastating effect by Azerbaijan, Ethiopia and Libya — will provide them with this game-changing technology.

But an escalation in battlefield technology would not go unchallenged. The RSF already has some less capable drones of its own. It will be pressing the UAE to send it high-end versions — and bin Zayed is quite capable of resisting pressure from Riyadh, Cairo and Ankara, and overruling his own advisors to follow his own path. This would turn Sudan into a proxy war among Middle Eastern powers.

With Egypt canceling out IGAD, the diplomatic pass-the-buck goes back to the Americans and Saudis. After a six-week suspension, talks resumed in Jeddah in mid-July. The mediators insist they have a plan and may yet have the leverage to get the generals to agree to a ceasefire. But there’s no sign of a strategic vision for how to help Sudan escape from its crisis.

Written by Alex de Waal