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Sudan Tribune

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The fallacy of “the New South of the North”

By Amir Idris

April 17, 2011 — The separation of northern and southern Sudan will mark the redrawing of a new political map in both the Republic of Sudan and the Republic of South Sudan. The political elites in both states will have to redefine their political identities, rewrite their constitutions and frame new norms and principles of governance. The North and the South will face enormous political, economic and security challenges that might destabilize both states and threaten the entire region.

Too much discussion is focused on the future challenges of the South Sudan and very little on the emerging state to the North. South Sudan will become an independent state on July 9, 2011. The Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM) will rule the new state. But the SPLM has a significant presence in North Sudan. The SPLM-Northern Sector (SPLM-N) will face the toughest political challenge of negotiating its identity. The SPLM-N urgently needs to articulate its position clearly on the core national issues such as the relationship between religion and the state, inclusive citizenship and the democratic transformation. This requires the construction of a vision and a political strategy that will make the economic and political transformations of the North feasible for and embraceable by different sectors of Northern Sudanese society.

The current leadership of SPLM-N, however, has opted for the reinvention of the conventional paradigm of North/South which was discredited intellectually by the late Dr. John Garang’s vision of New Sudan. The notion of New Sudan was articulated in 1980s to shift the discussion from race, region and religion to issues of nationality and citizenship. Instead of maintaining this mode of thinking, the current leadership of SPLM-N has invoked the notion of “The New South of the North” as a political strategy for transforming the existing political establishment in the North after the declaration of South Sudan as an independent state. “The New South” refers to populations in areas of Darfur, Blue Nile and South Kordofan.

There are three problems with the notion of “The New South of the North”. First, the New South of the North is invoked in response to the ruling National Congress Party’s vision of an Arab Islamic state in the North. It’s a reaction to the dominant discourse of the NCP instead of a vision articulated intellectually by the SPLM-N. It shows clearly how the NCP’s discourse of Arabism and Islamism determines and indirectly formulates the political reactions of other political parties in the North including the SPLM-N. Second, the notion of a New South creates the “Other” in opposition to those groups who live in other parts of the country. It reproduces the old perception of the North about peoples in Southern Sudan who were perceived as “Others” in racial and cultural terms. Third, it places the burden of transforming the North onto the shoulders of the peoples of the New South. Ironically, the victims of a long history of slavery, and colonialism will once again have to liberate themselves from the yoke of colonialism and oppression orchestrated under the NCP at both the local and national levels. The peoples of Southern Sudan did this before, and in the course of their struggle lost more than two million precious lives.

The political invention of “the New South” by the SPLM-N regrettably does not advance the cause of the New Sudan. Instead, it makes it harder for the forces of New Sudan to mobilize different sections of the populations irrespective of their race, ethnicity, religion and gender. The notion of the New South is politically unwise and intellectually dishonest. It’s true that these areas have shared a common history of oppression and political marginalization, but the burden of transforming the entire North should not be seen as the duty of those who have been the most subjected to past violence and injustice. Since Sudan gained its political independence in 1956, northern political elites have expected people in the southern regions to support them in political power and often to pay for it through bloody sacrifices. The responsibility of transforming the North politically and instituting the project of the New Sudan requires a national engagement – the cultivation of a national vision that can be embraced by all peoples of the North.

Amir Idris is a Professor of African Studies and Associate Chair of the Department of African and African American Studies at Fordham University, New York City, USA. He can be reached at [email protected]

3 Comments

  • AAMA
    AAMA

    The fallacy of “the New South of the North”
    Dear Amir,

    I tend to agree with your suggestions. The SPLM-N needs to rebrand its self as a new political force with new objectives that addresses the needs and inspirations of all the Sudanese people and distance it’s self from being only affiliated with nuba and south blue nile. The SPLM-N should also reduce their visible connections to SPLM-S and keep those relations on a personal level. Otherwise, they will be an additional force in the destruction of what’s left of Sudan. The Sudanese people were already traumatized by the ongoing saga between the SPLM and NCP with all its racism and bigotry. No need for developing new wounds or trying to reopen old ones in the body of the country. You see, there is no way to transform Sudan unless you get the support of the people of Sudan, all the people of Sudan. If you go on the whole day saying new south, new south, new south and at the end tell me I want the benefit of Sudan, a northerner will simply tell you this is meaningless, the south was separated with this technique and you want to do the same thing again now for other parts ?.

    You can’t keep on talking about improving our country while you are practically working on destroying it, like what happened in the south. The SPLM lost a lot of its credibility in the north and talking about a new south just makes matters worse. Basically, with this attitude “borrowed from the southern attitude” they will be working to destroy what’s left of Sudan and reduce their support base to the minimal. They have to learn from others experiences, Obama won the presidency by the votes of the whites and Mandela is loved by his white people just as much as he is loved by his African counterparts. So, if the SPLM-N wants to serve Sudan, it has to address its issues equally just like Obama and Mandela did (all the people in Sudan have issues and all of them are serious ones) otherwise, they will become an alien force working for the destruction of what is remaining of Sudan, just like what happened in the south.

    Peace.

    Reply
  • Theone
    Theone

    The fallacy of “the New South of the North”
    The minority in the North have to acknowledge too that they will not deceive and rule the sleeping black majority in the North forever. One day they MIGHT wake up and realize they have been enslaved and free themselves.

    For example; blacks Darfurians live in refugees camps while their land has been ocupied by arabs settlers and they do nothing.

    Reply
  • Gatwech
    Gatwech

    The fallacy of “the New South of the North”
    Mr. Amir,

    You are another deceiver of black people of Nuba mountains, Blue Nile and South Darfur. Why are you against the strategy of “The New South of the North”?

    That “New South of the North” is a brilliant vision that I support a 100% because it will further disintegrate North Sudan into more independent states. The black people of those regions actually learnt from the mistakes of South Sudan struggle and cannot allow themselves to make another mistake similar to the one made by late John Garang in 1983 to 1991.

    Garang was deceived by his political mentor and Arabic translator, the former Foreign minister of Sudan during Jaafer Nimeiri, Mr. Mansour Khalid, who cleverly defected to the SPLM/A. He told John Garang to reject the idea of South Sudan independence in the name of New Sudan vision which can transform the whole of Sudan. Sadiq Al Mahdi confirmed the deception politics of the North in Asmara when he was in bed with late John GArang against self-determination. That was a common Arab-North strategy to blackmail the South from pursuing its right of self-determination which leads to independence.

    AFter wasting time and losing millions of people, the South finally corrected its vision to self-determination and now they have their independence without any support from the North.

    What worries you I guess is the fact that the New South of the North may soon demand separation from the North. Then the Darfur region may demand self-determination for their region from the North. And may be the East will follow suit. That is your big problem, Mr. Amir?

    But where were your northern population which wanted transformation during elections? Why didn’t they elect into power SPLM-N candidates for governorship in northern states?

    My friend, if you don’t understand it yet, Sudan is destined for complete disintegration, maybe into four different countries. Don’t waste your time of trying to hold it together. OUr John GArang tried it and failed and that is why we now have our independent South Sudan. Don’t pursue the strategy of trying to blackmail the people of Nuba Mountains and Blue Nile in the name of so-called New Sudan vision which is just on paper and not in the hearts of your Arab-north. They simply use it to waste others time while blocking their quest for total geo-political freedom.

    Let the “New South of the North” be created and demand independence in the near future. Sudan is destined to further disintegrate if you others are too blind to see it.

    Reply
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