Three central issues confront the Arab Ummah and threaten the peace and security of the Middle East. They are the Palestinian problem, the Sudan and attempts to divide it and finally Iraq which is relatively new.
The general trend has been to resolve the least complicated of these — the Sudan — since the Sudanese nation with different religions and tribes has been increasingly concerned with ending the struggle and the civil war that has raged for nearly 20 years.
Sudan has already transcended a great phase that may lead to a satisfactory solution to all sides. In the latest agreement between the government of Khartoum and the leadership of the National Movement for the Liberation of the Sudan, the two sides have come to an understanding on a number of highly sensitive issues, the most important of which has been the reorganization of the northern and southern armies prior to the transitional period agreed upon when the referendum takes place that will decide Sudan’s fate — unity or separation.
The agreement, which has been overshadowed by security problems, has also doubtlessly created understanding on all sides. Its success however doesn’t imply that the next phase will be simple or easy. On the contrary, the upcoming confrontation will be harder and more difficult because it will deal with the most sensitive and complicated of all issues — the division of power and the revolution. Numbers and documents show that the Northern province retains most of the “power and the revolution” while the middle territory made up of the Nile river and the adjoining regions makes up only 20 percent of the Sudanese population. In contrast, the southern territory comprises three provinces. The biggest territory in the Sudan includes Darfur and Kordofan in the west. The northern territory is marginalized despite its strategic location on the Red Sea.
This is Sudan’s reality — sole power retained by a single province and this has been one of the main causes of the civil war between the north and south of Sudan and also the reason for the resistance that the province of Darfur faces with the ruling power in Khartoum.
We anticipate a continuing push for lasting peace under the cover of the IGAD group, in the next stage though the matter will require complete neutrality by security forces in order for success to be achieved. It will also be necessary to continuously follow up the implementation stages by the mediators.
Owing to Sudan’s geographic location at the southern entrance of the Red Sea, the fact that it belongs to the Arab League and its historic links with Egypt especially, it is vitally important that Egypt and the Arab countries should participate whether individually or through the Arab League in the various implementation stages the agreements that have been made. Sidelining Egypt or the Arab countries is detrimental to the case. Egypt has its own strategic interests at the sources of the Nile whether in Southern Sudan or in the Great Lakes area and therefore it is always ready to interfere or participate in securing peace in those areas. Sudan is also one of the biggest countries in the Arab organization and its fate concerns and affects all of the Arab family.
