A vicious war is being waged against Egypt in Sudan. It was initiated by the Sudanese Embassy in Cairo when it issued a general and vague statement protesting “maltreatment” of Sudanese in Egypt. Soon after came another statement from the Sudanese Foreign Ministry levelling the same charge and threatening “measures” if the problem was not remedied. The subject was then seized upon by two Sudanese MPs who issued escalatory remarks. One of these was the chairman of the foreign relations committee, who asked Foreign Minister Ibrahim Ghandour to come to parliament to explain the situation. Suddenly, a whirlwind of newspaper editorials and satellite television programmes was whipped into action, unleashing barrages protests, condemnations, threats, rampages and curses. Naturally, the storm included electronic media groups and communities, via Twitter, Facebook, WhatsApp and other social networking sites, all in uproar over the offence to national dignity and the need to take appropriate measures in reply. The furore reached such a degree that some Sudanese stores posted signs saying “Egyptians and dogs prohibited,” and before you knew it a “Don't travel to Egypt” campaign was launched and there were passionate calls for mass demonstrations in front of the Egyptian Embassy in Khartoum. Meanwhile, people in Egypt were mystified by all that commotion in Sudan. No one here had heard or seen anything to indicate that an offence had been committed against Sudanese in Egypt. I asked some Sudanese acquaintances whether they knew what happened and, if so, if they could supply me with some details. They told me that they had heard nothing and were equally perplexed. Soon afterwards many Sudanese in Egypt posted similar statements on Sudanese websites. So, what exactly happened? What was this crisis all about? Who triggered it and for what ends? Before proceeding to the crux of the crisis and the question of whether or not there was a problem to begin with, we should mention that in the course of that outpouring numerous issues cropped up. Prime among them was the claim that Egypt does not abide by the Four Freedoms Agreement, while Sudan applies it to the letter. That, so the commentaries went, reflected the injustice, iniquity, underhandedness, etc, etc, of the Egyptians. On top of this was that ingratitude for the millions of acres of land that Egypt ostensibly obtained in Sudan (where, exactly?) and all those calves that Omar Al-Bashir gave to Egypt as gifts. Moreover, Egypt encouraged the south to secede (really?). Plus, the Egyptians occupied Halayeb, and they are arrogant and they know nothing about Sudan. All of a sudden, a storehouse of pent-up resentments and old sensitivities welled up, regardless of the fact that the term “sensitivity”, itself, sparks anger among our Sudanese brethren. In short, Egypt had become not just an adversary, but also the very devil himself who must be confronted or at least be disciplined and taught his bounds. That, of course, was not directed solely at Egyptian authorities but also at the Egyptian people, upon who were poured some very nasty epithets and descriptions, such as being addicted to degradation and humiliation and to venting this through their arrogance towards the Sudanese. Are we onto something here? Is this about settling some scores regarding what Egypt has given and Sudan has given (or taken)? Sadly, all that talk about how Egyptian-Sudanese relations preserve commonalities and are founded upon friendship, partnership and the exchange of benefits and interests does not appear to be making any progress. In fact, it is going round in circles, heading down dead-ends and detours the lead it back to where it started. Clearly the absence of any serious and objective dialogue has much to do with this. I refer to specialised, detailed talks that discuss all aspects of this relationship, that develop a new literature on it, and that come up with agreed upon solutions to remedy all differences and pains. Now let us turn to the subject of that Sudanese campaign. Who exactly were the victims of the alleged maltreatment? Where did it occur and what exactly did this maltreatment consist of? Was somebody arrested or detained for legal reasons? Was there an unwarranted or unprovoked aggression? Are we speaking of a trend or a phenomenon, or of intermittent or individual cases? Is there a deliberate or systematic policy at work, or is this limited to a member of some bureaucratic or police agency? The search for the answers to these questions and ascertaining them takes time and meticulousness. But the popular wrath, the sense of injury, and the demands for revenge do not wait. There certainly is no time to question the train of statements issuing from official quarters in Khartoum. Indeed, these must be hailed as rapid, courageous and patriotic in their response to the aggression. But at closer inspection, it turns out that those official protests are the force that fuelled and steered the campaign. As for the details, they spoke of five separate cases of arrest or detention on charges of trading in dollars on the black market, forgery and fraud. In the Sudanese press it was reported that a certain Sudanese by the name of Zakariya was detained in Abdin Police Station, allegedly beaten, and then released by the prosecution. Naturally, any infringements or abuse of rights we must immediately condemn, investigate and punish the wrongdoer. In this we declare our solidarity with Zakariya. But is this a situation that demands launching a massive campaign, or can it be resolved in the manner that would normally be brought to bear in any similar instance? I do not know the details of the other cases. But it is clear that they do not constitute a systematic or deliberate offence by any standard. If our friends and brothers in the Sudanese Embassy in Cairo, all persons with considerable expertise and competence, have reason to believe otherwise, then they should be explicit, citing the details and any evidence to substantiate the claim that a “campaign” against Sudanese in Egypt is afoot. Then, if the claim proves correct, the phenomenon would be condemned unequivocally, as I am confident that no one in Egypt would accept such treatment of any Sudanese resident or visitor, regardless of the existence of any political, ideological or other differences between our governments. Questions of agreement or disagreement between governments should be kept between governments. To allow such matters to range beyond these bounds and to infest the relationships between peoples, so as to sow discord and worse, is despicable and indicative of attitudes and designs that are too involved to discuss in the space available here. There are millions of Sudanese living in Egypt, exactly like their Egyptian brothers and sisters. If they have some grievances, such as the hassle of renewing residence permits or excessive delays in completing certain bureaucratic processes, as the head of the Sudanese community in Egypt complains, then we can only respond that in this they are no better or worse off than Egyptians. When Egyptian government bureaucracy becomes quicker and more efficient, such grievances will vanish for both Sudanese and Egyptians. As for the Four Freedoms Agreement, our brothers in Sudan appear to have forgotten that it was signed in 2004 at the urgent request of the Sudanese government. The purpose was to pre-empt the Naivasha Agreement in 2005, the reasons behind which can be discussed more fully elsewhere. It should be stressed that this agreement came not long after the 1990s, a decade that brought a spate of terrorist attacks against Egypt, many fostered and financed by the Sudanese authorities. However, as it could not reject any call for Egyptian-Sudanese rapprochement, the Egyptian government welcomed the agreement, but it stated clearly that it could not abolish visa requirements for reasons connected to the security circumstances in Egypt and the need to prevent the infiltration of elements related to the threat. Khartoum, for its part, agreed and many of its officials, including President Omar Al-Bashir himself, stated on numerous occasions that they understood and sympathised with the Egyptian position. So what happened to turn this visa/residence permit question into a form of offence? Incidentally, it should be borne in mind, here, that while Sudan allows Egyptians to enter without a visa, it does not allow them to own property. Sudanese, as is the case with other Arab peoples, have the right to own propriety in Egypt. But if the Sudanese government wants to review the agreement, then Egypt can only respond. After all, questions of cooperation and mutual interests are two-sided affairs. We should add that the Egyptian Foreign Ministry was slow to respond to this crisis. It did not sense the importance of the time factor or the magnitude of what was happening. The statements of the Foreign Ministry spokesman at the outset lacked substance. They were confined to futile generalities and slogans, and contributed to prolonging the crisis, as they were effectively a form of evasiveness. As for an article by Mohamed Abdel Qader, “Diplomatic Back-patting and Reiterating Musical Refrains Aside,” it was a prime example of the type of fuel that was randomly used to fan the flames. To him I say: We have met in Cairo and Khartoum on numerous occasions. You know perfectly well that I do not engage in provocation or subversion. If some of what I write or say does not meet with your approval, then express that clearly and state your arguments logically and seriously. There is no need for insinuation and innuendo. As for my articles on the deliberate escalation against Egypt in this crisis and on other subjects, they are based on facts and evidence. We can discuss these in detail somewhere else, not to wrangle or bicker, but in order to clarify the situation and where we stand, unless your aim is to merely to harangue. In all events, I am grateful to you because you given have me the incentive to sit down and write these lines, whereas before I had been reluctant to intervene. The writer is an expert in African affairs.
