The Rapid Support Forces pledged today

Edraak electronic newspaper conducted an interview with the most courageous and transparent Sudanese intellectual amidst the political crisis that manifested itself in a fierce war between the Rapid Support Forces and the Sudanese Army supported by its allies in the Armed Movements, brigades of the Islamic Movement, alongside the tribally and ideologically mobilized forces.

In the interview, the doctor and researcher “Al-Nour Hamad” elaborated in an in-depth and transparent analyses that were able to fathom the depth of the meeting’s axes, which were represented in the Brotherhood media becoming quite adaptive at utilizing double standards and spreading hate speech as well as learning how to confront it. In addition to speaking about the manner in which the Sudanese people can establish a national Army, on the ruins of the ideological Army that protects the interests of social classes and the future of the Brotherhood and its alliances in the political scene as well as their vision of secularism -all the aforementioned axes that we presented him with, were answered with deep intellectual and political analysis and transparency that the political intellectual Dr. Al-Nour Hamad possesses.

‘War undermines the Rule of Law, where the military individual is granted the right to fire at their own discretion’…

*What is your analytical view of the double standards regarding the violations accompanying wars in Sudan?

Violations and transgressions are an inherent feature in wars, not only in Sudan but in other parts of the world and throughout different eras as well.

The most heinous wars are ignited by one party against another within the same country, which is the definition of a Civil War; these wars take place within the same country, leaving plenty of room for violations to be committed. In general, war means -in practical terms- undermining the Rule of Law, as wars, tensions and internal unrest are usually accompanied, in the best cases, by declaring a State of Emergency.

Declaring a State of Emergency means suspending the Rule of Law and subjecting everything to Military discretion. The State of Emergency grants the Military individual discretionary powers that amount to the right to open fire, according to the field assessments of said individual; whether they are from the Police Force, the Army Forces or the Security Service. It also grants the individual – immunity from legal accountability, which isn’t usually a concern when the Rule of Law is in place.

War with the aforementioned characteristics leaves room for violations to be committed, including unlawful killing, rape and looting… etc; therefore, whoever ignites the war shouldn’t complain at all about violations and transgressions.

The Islamist brigades ignited the war in order to strike the Rapid Support Forces because they supported the Framework Agreement, and this was proven by the Ramadan Iftars filmed and made available on YouTube, due to that lack of foresight on their part and miscalculation of the consequences of their actions, they failed.

‘Since the Islamists carried out their ominous coup against the democratic regime, the Sudanese Army has turned into a militia serving an ideological organization with a doctrine based on the fact that it is acceptable for an individual to kill whoever holds a different opinion’…

*However, wouldn’t you agree that the media focus on the violations committed by the Rapid Support Forces and not the other party to the conflict has become quite clear ?

If we were to consider the intense focus on the violations committed by the Rapid Support Forces, we find that it is rather selective, one-sided focus, that is merely a part of the war propaganda campaign launched by the Military Intelligence and Security Service, assisted by their agents from the defunct regime’s media personnel; But there is no doubt in mind that the Rapid Support Forces have committed violations, and some of these violations have been photographed and published, and no one can deny that. In fact, the Rapid Support Forces leadership itself didn’t deny that these violations had occurred.

*Some historical violations committed by the Sudanese Military haven’t received any attention from the media, even though the Army clearly continues to commit such violations in the ongoing war ?

Yes, on the other hand, the Sudanese Army -since the country’s independence and until this moment in time- has continued to practice the same violations; and if the Army manages to maintain its current form, with the current leadership, it will inevitably continue to utilize this approach as long as it remains in power, as it is not a professional Army.

Since the Islamists carried out their coup against the democratic regime in 1989, the Sudanese Army has turned into a militia serving an ideological organization with a doctrine based on the fact that it is acceptable for an individual to kill whoever holds a different opinion; for example, the narrative of the war in the South, which broke out after Sudan’s independence and in which Southern civilians were killed on a large scale, was shifted by the Islamists when they came to power through a coup in 1989, into a war between Muslims and infidels.

The war in the South has witnessed horrific violations over the decades; It included burning civilian villages along with their men, women and children, as well as countless rapes. The same scenario took place in Darfur, the Nuba Mountains and the Blue Nile over the course of many years, and in some of these cases hundreds of entire villages were completely wiped out; this is a well-documented fact by satellite images.

Very recently, after the Army regained the Eastern part of the old city of Omdurman, news has been circulating about its members looting homes in the neighborhoods of Wad Nubawi, Al-Omda, Al-Qalaa, Al-Rikabiah, Al-Masalama, Aburov and others. The Army members went as far as to establish a public market for stolen goods at the “Sabreen” bus station in the locality of Karari.

About two weeks ago, the governor of the White Nile state ordered the residents of his state who own four-wheel drive vehicles to hand them over to the Army! What law did this governor rely on other than the law of war, which means practically no law ? What the governor of the White Nile did is a transgression and violation that is no different from those committed by the Rapid Support Forces, and there is no way to apply double standards here, because the standard is the same, which is violating the Rule of Law in both cases.

I have previously stated in a recording that was widely circulated on social media, that the American Army, despite the unity and cohesion of its units and the modernity of its electronic devices that link each soldier to the chain of command, committed horrific violations in Iraq; and similar violations occurred in Afghanistan, and before that in the Vietnam War -in Iraq, American soldiers looted museums and people’s homes, and there were violations of honor as well- and in World War II between 1932 and 1945, the Japanese Army enslaved (200,000) women in China, Korea, the Philippines and other regions of East Asia forcing them to have sex with soldiers in what was called Rape Camps – the Japanese Army prepared and supervised these camps for the comfort of its soldiers, and Japan apologized for these atrocities to China, Korea and the Philippines.

Whoever started the war shouldn’t complain about the transgressions and violations committed.

And in the old ages the poet “Zuhayr bin Abī Sulmā” said:

And war is nothing but what you have known and tasted..
And this is a fact, not a fallacy..

Whoever wishes to stop the violations must stop the war first, instead of talking about the violations, because there has never been a war with no violations; at any time and in any place; the captivity of women has continued to occur in all wars, including the Islamic wars -the continuation of the war, and thus the continued dissolution of the Rule of Law- doesn’t mean anything but the continuation of the violations, as well as all kinds of atrocities that follow during the war, most notably the death of people by weapons, hunger, exhaustion and as a result of epidemics, perhaps even due to the enormous psychological pressure that exceeds the capacity humans can withstand.

‘The war broke the seal of violence that the Islamists relied on to stay in power and exclude others’…

*Can the repercussions of the war lead to achieving a sustainable peace that becomes the basis for building the Sudanese State project?

Our political history as a whole since the independence indicated an upcoming devastating war; perceptive individuals as well as observers were very much aware of that – and they warned of the immanent danger of the outbreak of a comprehensive war that all the faulty political practices indicated was inevitable ! Due to the turbulent political action and lack of insight.

The war and the horrific violations were taking place in the regions further from the Center since the country’s independence, but the people of the Center and the Northern region paid it no mind throughout these long decades; and they didn’t pay attention until the war crept from the edges and was ignited in the Center and its surroundings.

This war was necessary in order to change the structure of consciousness among a broad sector of the Military personnel, politicians as well as citizens, in order to incite their sensitivity and sympathy towards those who had been suffering from the horrors of war for decades.

Observers speculate that despite the horror of this war, it was the first war that challenged the Islamist Movement power within the Center, from which it continued to unleash violence against other regions !

The war broke the seal of violence that the Islamists relied on to stay in power and exclude others, until they became guests in their own country.

Whoever is using violence to fight against being ousted will inevitably face someone stronger and more violent than them – and this is what happened to the arrogance, tyranny and oppression of the Islamists, as they ignited the war, however, the war rubbed their noses in the mud and exposed the truth about them to the Sudanese people and the world at large.

In general, all the periods of steadfast peace that various nations have enjoyed throughout ancient and modern history, came after a devastating war; therefore, I am optimistic in my belief that this war, despite this huge tragedy it caused, will be the pivotal bridge through which the country will become a State of sustainable peace.

This war has taken violence and brutality to the furthest possible extent, thus they have lost their effectiveness as tools for practicing politics.

The long-hidden tendencies of violence and brutality, concealed by false pretense, were bound to be exposed in order to be vindicated. Only when people become convinced through painful practical experience of the futility of violence, will the tendency towards peace be strengthened, life will become serene and gentle, stability and sustainable peace will begin; and the real development of individuals and the country will follow – which will lead to continuous growth and prosperity.