Sudan Conflict About Arab Imperialism Versus Self-Determination

United Nations forces are to be deployed in "hot spots" in Sudan between the Arab Muslim North and the oil-producing Christian-Animist south. Naturally, Sudanese President Omar Hassan Al-Bashir, accused of ordering genocide in the South, is none too pleased. Khartoum has exploited its southern region brutally. And everyone knows they're not going to give it up without a fight. This situation demands a strong Western intervention to prevent war, and possibly genocide.

Khartoum will do its best to manipulate and undermine an independence referendum is January. And if they can't hold on to the South by corruption and trickery, then it will be war.

Anyone hoping for the United Nations to actually prevent the coming violence ought to look at the incident in August in Eastern Congo, where over 300 people, including men, women and infant children were gang-raped for days. Nearby UN forces were infamously unable to stop the atrocity. Even worse, in the absence of justice for these victims, UN-backed militias have brazenly returned to the area in the Congo and carried out their own rapes, looting and murder.

Clearly, South Sudan cannot rely on the United Nations to protect it. As always, Sudan's genocidal president will be able to claim "sovereignty" and rely on the support of the Arab League and bribed African leaders to keep outsiders from interfering. And if some UN soldiers do prove the exception to the rule, Sudan's government can always rely on its Janjaweed militias to carry out jihad against the "aggressors".

So the South is going to need real help. Since the African forces already in the neighborhood are notoriously corrupt and ineffective, that means a Western military intervention, likely by a NATO member army. You can bet the Japanese, Russians or the Chinese won't be inserting a peacekeeping force between the North and South.

It's not neo-colonial or imperialist for a Western force to protect a population from a brutal regime that has committed genocide in the past. This is about protecting human lives, human rights, democracy and the right to self-determination.

If anything, such an intervention would be anti-imperalist and anti-colonial.

Human-rights trampling Libyan dictator Moammar Gaddafi laid out the Arab imperial interest plainly at a recent summit: 

"Ethnicities [in Africa] will demand independence, linguists [in Africa] will demand independence, tribes [in Africa] will demand independence, this is a dangerous matter. The final word is for the people of the South [Sudan] and the whole world is awaiting this," the Libyan leader was quoted by the state agency (JANA).

"This is a foregone conclusion, that Sudan might become divided but this is not the important thing. It is imperative that we remain vigilant and keep in mind that this is not the end, this is the beginning .. the beginning of the crack in Africa’s map," he told the gathering, which was attended by Sudan’s President Omer Hassan al-Bashir.

"We expect what happens to Sudan will happen to Arabs and Sudan will be looked upon as an Arab state that became two countries.......then what prevents the rest of the Arab League States, that each group decides its fate on religious basis or ethnic basis or on a geographical basis?" 

There's nothing lofty or inspiring about this. Certainly nothing that liberal democrats or progressives might want to get on board with.

Gaddafi's statement showed no tolerance at all for indigenous democracy movements based on self-determination. His comments are all about self-interest in perpetuating Arab colonial domination over African countries and even over the territories that make up their own region. It was all realpolitik and the kind of brazen colonial arrogance that fell out of favor in the West more than six decades ago. Arab states like Sudan don't have guilt complexes over colonialism - they take colonialism for granted as an inherent right for their own tyrranical regimes.

Arab states are notorious for swallowing, persecuting and crushing down all ethnic minorities in their countries (including, notably, the Palestinians whom they discriminate against systematically by arbitrarily removing citizenship and social supports). Sudan has its persecuted minority. Libya and other states have their own.

We know what's coming. If the nations actually capable of fighting for democracy, self-determination and human rights do not start preparing now for a robust intervention in Sudan, lots of innocent people are going to suffer and die for the cynical aims of Arab colonialism. This is about helping those on the front lines of the struggle for freedom. We can't sit on the sidelines.

Jonathon Narvey is the Editor of The Propagandist.