Is Sudan on its way to becoming another Iraq? Sudan, like Iraq, is one of the richest Arab countries with a small population and substantial water resources. Up until now, it has produced half a million barrels of oil every day and that would increase if the civil war stopped. Its livestock is easily as high as 100 million but 40 years of war and coups have paralyzed the country and made it unable to use its advantages. Very little basic infrastructure has been created and there is little benefit from its natural resources and wealth. Foreign investment in the country is negligible.
The Sudanese pound was once equal to SR12.5 but now it is not worth the paper it is printed on. Sudanese soccer players used to be among the most brilliant and talented players in the Arab world. Who, of my generation, can forget Amin Zaki and Samir Mohammad Ali who were among the greatest of players? And now, in the absence of the Arab League, the civil war subsided though while it waned in the north, it waxed mightily in the west, in Darfur.
The UN estimates that more than 50,000 people have lost their lives and as for the number of refugees, there are still no reliable statistics. Voices have risen in all places — except for the Arab world as we will shortly see. The voices call for humanitarian involvement and action to prevent a disaster. The Pope sent a representative to Khartoum to cooperate with international aid agencies. EU ministers assembled and prepared a plan of action.
Taking into consideration that Sudan was once a part of the British Empire, Tony Blair informed the Ministry of Defense of possible military involvement in Sudan. Now there is even a new plan, suggested by the US and presented to the UN.
In other words, countries and groups all over the world are mobilizing and preparing to get involved. Good intentions do not always underlie all plans but those who suffer will benefit, regardless of the motive of those who supply the aid. Everyone, in short, is involved except the Arab League. It has maintained a silence as if the issue were of no concern and as if the tragedy were not unfolding at its own front door. By its silence, it is repeating the inaction it was guilty of in the Iraq-Kuwait crisis which led to things moving beyond it and going into foreign hands. Is this the end of Arab history or the end of the Arab League?
