clear

Creating new perspectives since 2009

Did the UAE steal Sudan’s revolution?

July 15, 2019 at 4:04 pm

Sudanese people gather to celebrate the ongoing negotiations between Transitional Military Council and the Forces for Freedom and Change opposition alliance, in Khartoum, Sudan on 5 July 2019 [Mahmoud Hjaj / Anadolu Agency]

In a previous article, I warned the Sudanese people regarding the fate of their revolution if they believed the overly nice words of the army, gave into them and became their partners. I reminded them of what happened in Egypt and how the great January 25th Revolution was lost under the leadership of the military. I reminded them how the military came back and took control of the country, putting all of the revolution’s leaders in prison. They expressed chauvinistic positions and condemned all of the failed Arab Spring revolutions.

We are a single nation, brought together by a joint culture, religion, and history. However, unfortunately, colonisation tore us apart into rivalling countries and nations suffering from the same illnesses surrounding the nation. They are suffering from the same symptoms and pains, and therefore our treatment is one. We cannot act superior to one another, act arrogantly, or forget our roots which are deeply planted in the Arab land.

We, as Arab nations, must face the truth rather than run away from it. We are still under the control of foreign colonialism and our countries are still occupied and run by the colonial powers through proxies of our own blood. They are harsher and more oppressive than the colonial powers in order to keep their jobs. Yes, all of the Arab countries, without exception, are suffering under occupation. All that’s being said about the post-independence is the biggest lie in history and the Arab revolutions are connected chapters in a long history of the Arab people’s struggle and fight against foreign colonisers to gain the independence that will allow them to rule themselves. However, this will not happen unless they gain complete freedom and eliminate the agents and proxies of foreign colonisers from positions of authority, rather than replacing one tyrant with another.

We warned them of the army’s betrayal. They were angered and said that the Sudanese army was different from the Egyptian army, although all of the Arab armies follow the same approach: their weapons are pointed at the people, not the nation’s enemies. This is because these armies were formed under the supervision of these enemies in order to ensure the continuation of their occupation. However, no one listened or understood these genuine pieces of advice given by their brethren. They are a nation that does not like advice. However, they have seen first-hand the brutality and violence the Sudanese army faced them with and how their fellow countrymen were killed. The army deliberately spread and broadcast these videos to strike fear in the hearts of the people after the agreement made between the military council and the Forces of Freedom and Change, who agreed to share power for three years, with the military leading first.

READ: What next for Sudan?

The communist Forces of Freedom and Change managed to benefit from the non-ideological youth who are not affiliated with any movement or party, and only loyal to the country. These youth protested and only demanded freedom, dignity and social justice. However, the movement overstepped their demands and instead joined forces with the military. This is not the first time they ally with the military, as this handful of old rotten political forces, who ruined political life in Sudan and always aspired to rule along with the military, supported all of the past military coups, from Abboud’s coup to Nimeiry’s. These opportunistic forces control the Sudanese Professionals Association, who were the icons of the revolution and its fuel since December. Most of its members are non-political youth who have no political experience. Therefore, these corrupt sheikhs managed to infiltrate them and ride with the revolution.

Sudanese protesters burn tyres and set up barricades on roads leading to the army headquarters after the army began attacking demonstrators in Khartoum, Sudan on 3 June 2019 [Stringer/Anadolu Agency]

Sudanese protesters burn tyres and set up barricades on roads leading to the army headquarters after the army began attacking demonstrators in Khartoum, Sudan on 3 June 2019 [Stringer/Anadolu Agency]

It is no wonder that they made this agreement with the military, which nipped the revolution in the bud on orders from the UAE, the home of the counter-revolutions. All of the conspiracies against the Arab Spring revolutions were plotted in the UAE with the help of the Israelis and Americans. We must not forget that a number of figures, including Mariam, daughter of Sadiq Al-Mahdi, leader of the Umma Party in Sudan visited the UAE, while an Emirati delegation visited Sudan at the height of the revolution and met with members of the military council. The delegation members included Mohammed Dahlan, security adviser to the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Mossad’s number one man in the region.

The delegation also included Taha Osman, former head of Omar Al-Bashir’s office, whose attempt to execute a coup against Al-Bashir, on the orders of the UAE and Saudi Arabia in 2017 was exposed. The plan was made after the historic visit of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to Sudan during which they signed a number of economic and military agreements and Turkey was given Sawakin Island in the Red Sea. This made it likely that Turkey would build a military base in the Red Sea, which only increased Saudi Arabia and the UAE’s fears. Therefore, they plotted against Al-Bashir and instructed Osman to carry out a coup against him. They supplied him with funds, but he failed to carry out the coup and his betrayal was exposed. Before he was handed over to Al-Bashir, he fled to Riyadh and the Saudi crown prince granted him Saudi citizenship.

READ: Sudan’s ‘revolution’ was a military coup in disguise

Moreover, head of the military council, Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan, visited the UAE last month, while the deputy head of the military council and commander of the Rapid Support Forces, travelled to Saudi Arabia and received the necessary instructions to end the revolution. News agencies described him as the UAE’s man in Sudan, as he is closely associated with the Emirati leadership and is supported and backed by Abu Dhabi and Riyadh. Members of the rapid Support Forces are participating in the war on Yemen, alongside the Saudi and Emirati alliance. Therefore, the UAE rushed to sign a deal with him to supply Haftar’s militias with armed fighters from the armed militias in Sudan, as the UAE supplies Haftar’s militias with funds, weapons and political support.

The military benefited from the Egyptian experience and took lessons from the Egyptian military council that ruled the country after the revolution. However, the protestors and rebels did not benefit from the Egyptian revolution and did not learn any lessons from it. The military took a short path, acted quickly and combined the pure January revolution with the bloodstained July coup in a single scene. These two roads do not meet, as they are separated by a deep and long purgatory. The Sudanese Spring quickly turned into a stormy winter before we could rejoice in it!

READ: Abandoned by the UAE, Sudan’s Bashir was destined to fall

The views expressed in this article belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of Middle East Monitor.