Cairo talks signal preparations for peace and democracy in Sudan, writes Gamal Nkrumah The meeting in Cairo last weekend between Sudanese opposition leaders Mohamed Othman, Al- Mirghani, Sadig Al-Mahdi, and John Garang was no historic landmark. But many Sudan observers believe the meeting helped diffuse several flash points and enabled the leaders to rally their support for the peace talks being held in Kenya between the Sudanese government and Garang's rebel movement. The Cairo meeting marked the first encounter in three years between Garang, leader of Sudan's People's Liberation Army, and Al-Mahdi, leader of the Umma Party. Relations between the three leading Sudanese opposition had been soured by mutual mistrust and suspicion considering. The three represent very powerful yet very different constituencies in Sudan and often have conflicting agendas. It was therefore important at this historical juncture for them to rekindle old ties considering that they are regarded as the heavyweights of the Sudanese opposition. Cracks in the Sudanese opposition have appeared at a time when the Sudanese government seems to be yielding to opposition demands for democratising the Sudanese political system. While Sudanese opposition groups share a lot in common, they are not always in agreement on how to proceed with the business of opposing the Sudanese government. The Cairo meeting was hence important because it highlighted the resolve of the key opposition players to demonstrate a strong show of solidarity. Ironically, the Cairo meeting had a divisive impact on the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), the umbrella opposition organisation grouping the SPLA and other mainly northern Sudanese opposition parties. Those representing smaller political groupings within the NDA felt sidelined and predictably they were furious. "The plan itself is brilliant, but the execution of the plan is mediocre," Farouk Abu Eissa, the head of the Cairo-based Arab Lawyers Union and official spokesman for the NDA told Al- Ahram Weekly. "In principle it was a good idea to get all the opposition forces to meet in Egypt. But it shouldn't have been limited to a meeting of Garang with the tired old parties." Abu Eissa stressed that new forces in the country should have been included and other parties in the NDA consulted before the meeting. "Representatives of the banned professional associations and trade unionists should have participated. It was a shame to limit the meeting to the bigwigs," he said. "Those of us in the NDA who were excluded from the meeting object to the manner in which it was organised." Abu Eissa pointed out that the Umma Party has been facing critical internal difficulties. "These are the same old forces that created the Sudanese political crisis," he explained. "Sadig Al-Mahdi was part of the problem, not part of the solution." Indeed, the old patriarchal style of Sudanese politics is detrimental to the interests of the progressive forces in the country who want to create a new, democratic and secular Sudan. Abu Eissa said the Umma Party, and to a lesser degree the DUP, are essentially religious parties whose primary constituencies are religious orders -- the Khatimiya Sect for the DUP and the Ansar Al-Mahdi for the Umma Party. Abu Eissa noted that Sadig Al-Mahdi in particular is reluctant to completely embrace secularism. "Because Sadig Al-Mahdi and his ilk are religious leaders as well as political leaders, they have grave reservations about a clear cut separation of religion and politics," he warned. "They have a serious problem with the unconditional acceptance of the notion of secularism." However, other observers believe the new dynamics of Sudanese politics dictate different considerations. Garang left Cairo for Washington where he is scheduled to hold talks with US officials. Garang stopped over in Cairo to assure Al-Mahdi and Al-Mirghani that they have the right to be delivered first hand accounts of the progress in the Kenya talks. Until recently, Al-Mirghani, leader of the Democratic Unionist Party, had been highly critical of the peace talks held in Machakos between the Sudanese government and the SPLA. Only last Wednesday, he warned that the Machakos peace talks would not succeed because other Sudanese opposition parties had not been included in the talks. The DUP is, after all, the largest northern-based opposition group within the NDA, while the Umma Party -- which pulled out of the NDA two years ago -- is the largest organised political force outside government in Sudan. The three leaders were not always on the best of terms. During his premiership, Sadig Al-Mahdi intensified the war against the SPLA, arming pro-government Arabised militias in western Sudan who were accused of committing many of the atrocities against the indigenous inhabitants of the Nuba Mountains in central Sudan and southern Sudanese civilians. The three men shook hands at the end of the one-hour meeting at Al-Mirghani's residence in Cairo. To some observers, the handshake was ample proof that the savage polarisation of Sudanese politics into secularists and religious zealots can be plastered over. The Sudanese political establishment was irretrievably pulled apart when former Sudanese President Jaafar Al-Numeiri instituted the now infamous September Laws that prompted the April 1985 popular uprisings that eventually led to his ouster from power. Ever since Al- Numeiri claimed to have instituted Islamic Shari'a Law, it has been extremely difficult for any of the large northern Sudanese religious- based parties to openly embrace secularism. The dispute about secularism has over the years acquired a religious and hence emotionally charged dimension. The SPLA leader, however, was upbeat. He hailed his meeting with Al-Mirghani and Al-Mahdi as a precursor and dress rehearsal for national reconciliation. "This meeting is a reinforcement of the Machakos process," Garang told reporters in Cairo after the meeting. He said the meeting was part of a calculated effort to reach a national consensus. "Any peace agreement reached in Machakos will require a national consensus," he added. Sudan's Foreign Minister Mustafa Osman Ismail was told in no uncertain term in Washington recently that Khartoum must do more for it to be struck off the states-sponsoring-terrorism list. But the US position on Khartoum has softened considerably. "I think it is safe to say that Sudan is not the kind of haven for terrorists that it used to be, and has been quite cooperative in many ways," said US State Department Spokesman Richard Boucher. Sudanese President Omar Hassan Al-Beshir, whose government welcomed the Cairo meeting, is currently courting the northern Sudanese opposition. Both the Umma Party and the Sudanese government have a vested interest in undermining the NDA. Al- Beshir's ruling National Congress Party (NCP) shares an Islamist ideology with the Umma Party and to a lesser degree the DUP. More to the point, Al-Beshir wants the Umma Party and the DUP to back his plans for the reconstruction and rehabilitation of southern Sudan. "While peace will have numerous gains, it will bring about burden that require tremendous efforts that must ultimately result in unity after the six-year transitional period," Al-Beshir told his party members recently. Al-Beshir stressed that the reconstruction of southern Sudan, which he said must be "the responsibility of NCP members" holds the key to the unity of Sudan since it would "convince our southern brothers to vote for unity". Al-Beshir said that only if the reconstruction and rehabilitation of southern Sudan proceeds successfully would the southern Sudanese be convinced that the unity and territorial integrity of Sudan is in their own interest. Northern Sudanese, both government and opposition, fear that the southern Sudanese would vote for secession at the referendum at the end of six- year transitional period. Garang recently corroborated Al-Beshir's words. "There is a possibility, if we genuinely enter into partnership and share power and then the south is developed, that people can decide on unity," the SPLA leader said in Washington. Until then, there is cautious optimism that a solution to Sudan's political impasse can be found. But, Sudanese history suggests that is unlikely to happen soon.
