Peace & Democratization and the Link Between them

28 Nov. 2001

Memorandum on the Issues of Peace and Democratization

and the Link Between Them

1.     There are many grievances, namely, political and economic marginalization, cultural and religious hegemony, which have informed Southern opposition and armed resistance. The same grievances apply to the marginalized regions of Sudan. Those grievances constitute the real causes of the civil war.

The civil war costs the Peoples of Sudan dearly in both North and South. However, the negative impact on the South is worse and continuation of the war promises to expatriate the Southern elite, depopulate the South and destroy the social fabric of the displaced war victims.

Therefore, putting an end to the civil-war through a Just Peace Agreement is Sudan’s number one problem.

2.     Northern public opinion is hostile to the present Regime because it established an Islamicist Totalitarian System based on a partisan interpretation of Islam, abusive of Human Rights, and responsible  for the escalation of violence in the country because of its narrow minded heavy handed Islamicist ideology.

Conscious political opinion insists on the removal of the Totalitarian System through a process of genuine democratization. The democratization program is a second priority to the peace process in terms of political weight. However, chronologically, they have to be linked, for two main reasons:

(A)  Because Democratization would lead to eliminating the narrow minded partisan view of Islam, which, if it remains empowered, would be a continuous cause for provocation and reaction.

(B)  Because if the peace process allow a Totalitarian authority to continue in power, it could arbitrarily cancel the Peace Agreement, as Nimairi did with the 1972

3.     Democratization without Peace will not be sustainable. Similarly, a Peace Agreement without Democratization will not be sustainable.

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