Qatari Premier and Foreign Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassem bin Jabr al-Thani (R) speaks to Arab League Secretary General Nabil al-Arabi during an emergency ministerial meeting at the Arab League's Cairo headquarters on the situation in Syria on 12 November 2011. (Photo: AFP - Khaled Desouki)
Since protests began in Syria, Sudan’s position has gone from characterizing what is happening to be an “international conspiracy” against Damascus to backing Syria’s suspension from the Arab League last Saturday.
Khartoum has not only decided to approve the Arab League’s initiative and support demands for reform in Syria, but also voted Saturday for its suspension from the pan-Arab body. In doing so, it has radically changed its initial position announced at the outset of the protests.
Syrian Arab League ambassador Yussef al-Ahmad lashed out against the the Sudanese government following the approval of Syria’s imminent suspension, saying, “This is a shame on Sudan and the Arab League.” Sudan not only supported the resolution but convinced Mauritania and Somalia to back it, according to the Sudan Tribune.
Sudan’s initially supported President Bashar Assad’s regime and rejection of any foreign intervention in what it considered to be an internal Syrian matter. Damascus was viewed by the Sudanese government as “an impenetrable barrier standing in the face of Israel and the West.” At the time, the Sudanese officials described what is taking place as an international conspiracy and an aggressive campaign to ruin Syria’s nationalist prestige.
However, the Sudanese government suddenly changed its stance and began to support the Syrian people and their right to demand change and reform. It appears that Sudan is strategically repositioning itself in light of recent trends, especially after its foremost Arab ally, Qatar, led efforts within the Arab League to issue a reform initiative, agreed upon by all member states.
Some analysts say the Sudanese repositioning regarding Arab affairs is dictated by Khartoum’s desire to grab itself a place in the political redrawing of the region, whether in its Arab or African milieu.
Sudanese foreign ministry spokesperson al-Abid Ahmed Morawah told al-Akhbar that its stance on Syria is the result of a need for “political opening and comprehensive reform in the Arab world so that the Arab peoples may participate in the shaping of their political present and future,” and a desire to save the Arab world from falling prey to its enemies, thus “slipping into a state of chaos.”
But political analyst Tayeb Zein al-Abidin suggests that the government has ulterior motives.
“Sudan’s position on the Syrian revolution is part of its fixed stance towards all the revolutions that have broken out in the Arab region, which is to stand against [them],” he says.
According to al-Abidin this position is “expected, since the regime in Sudan is completely similar to those Arab regimes whose peoples have already rebelled against them. It does not want to adopt any position that undermines its own rule. However, in most cases the regime avoids clearly stating its position, and what happened during the Egyptian revolution is the clearest evidence of that. From its beginning until its success in throwing out the Mubarak regime, official Sudanese television did not address the matter.”
He interprets the government’s change in its position on Syria as an attempt to latch onto the revolution at the last moment. “Just as the Sudanese leadership was the first to visit Egypt and Libya after their revolutions succeeded, the President will rush to visit Syria as soon as the Assad regime falls in order to win the new regime over to its side,” he said.
In this regard, Sudanese observers doubt that Sudan will play a prominent role in the Syrian issue as it did in Libya, especially since Arab countries want a shared vision of a solution for the Syrian crisis. This is opposed to what happened in Libya, where Qatar and Sudan actively supported the rebels, with high-level coordination taking place between Doha and Khartoum. The fall of Gaddafi’s regime was aided in part by all types of Sudanese support for Libyan rebels, including the provision of weapons, as Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir himself has acknowledged.
This article is an edited translation from the Arabic Edition.
Khartoum has not only decided to approve the Arab League’s initiative and support demands for reform in Syria, but also voted Saturday for its suspension from the pan-Arab body. In doing so, it has radically changed its initial position announced at the outset of the protests.
Syrian Arab League ambassador Yussef al-Ahmad lashed out against the the Sudanese government following the approval of Syria’s imminent suspension, saying, “This is a shame on Sudan and the Arab League.” Sudan not only supported the resolution but convinced Mauritania and Somalia to back it, according to the Sudan Tribune.
Sudan’s initially supported President Bashar Assad’s regime and rejection of any foreign intervention in what it considered to be an internal Syrian matter. Damascus was viewed by the Sudanese government as “an impenetrable barrier standing in the face of Israel and the West.” At the time, the Sudanese officials described what is taking place as an international conspiracy and an aggressive campaign to ruin Syria’s nationalist prestige.
However, the Sudanese government suddenly changed its stance and began to support the Syrian people and their right to demand change and reform. It appears that Sudan is strategically repositioning itself in light of recent trends, especially after its foremost Arab ally, Qatar, led efforts within the Arab League to issue a reform initiative, agreed upon by all member states.
Some analysts say the Sudanese repositioning regarding Arab affairs is dictated by Khartoum’s desire to grab itself a place in the political redrawing of the region, whether in its Arab or African milieu.
Sudanese foreign ministry spokesperson al-Abid Ahmed Morawah told al-Akhbar that its stance on Syria is the result of a need for “political opening and comprehensive reform in the Arab world so that the Arab peoples may participate in the shaping of their political present and future,” and a desire to save the Arab world from falling prey to its enemies, thus “slipping into a state of chaos.”
But political analyst Tayeb Zein al-Abidin suggests that the government has ulterior motives.
“Sudan’s position on the Syrian revolution is part of its fixed stance towards all the revolutions that have broken out in the Arab region, which is to stand against [them],” he says.
According to al-Abidin this position is “expected, since the regime in Sudan is completely similar to those Arab regimes whose peoples have already rebelled against them. It does not want to adopt any position that undermines its own rule. However, in most cases the regime avoids clearly stating its position, and what happened during the Egyptian revolution is the clearest evidence of that. From its beginning until its success in throwing out the Mubarak regime, official Sudanese television did not address the matter.”
He interprets the government’s change in its position on Syria as an attempt to latch onto the revolution at the last moment. “Just as the Sudanese leadership was the first to visit Egypt and Libya after their revolutions succeeded, the President will rush to visit Syria as soon as the Assad regime falls in order to win the new regime over to its side,” he said.
In this regard, Sudanese observers doubt that Sudan will play a prominent role in the Syrian issue as it did in Libya, especially since Arab countries want a shared vision of a solution for the Syrian crisis. This is opposed to what happened in Libya, where Qatar and Sudan actively supported the rebels, with high-level coordination taking place between Doha and Khartoum. The fall of Gaddafi’s regime was aided in part by all types of Sudanese support for Libyan rebels, including the provision of weapons, as Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir himself has acknowledged.
This article is an edited translation from the Arabic Edition.
Uprooted Palestinian
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