Meetings in Addis Ababa: A Betrayal of the Martyrs’ Blood

By Ali Askouri

I came across an invitation from Dr. Ibn Chambas’s group, formed by Mr. Moussa Faki, Chairperson of the African Union Commission, to resolve the conflict in Sudan. The invitation was extended to several political forces supporting the armed forces (ten representatives) and to the “Taqaddum” group (ten representatives). Thus, the African Union equates the entirety of the national political forces with a mere speck of dust—Taqaddum!

The invitation claims that the meeting is a continuation of previous discussions aimed at preparing for Sudanese-Sudanese dialogue. I am not particularly interested in commenting on Taqaddum’s participation, especially since they previously “played hard to get”—or, as the song goes, “acted like a prized lemon” (apologies to the artist)—and refused to engage with other political forces. The African Union, indulging their whims, organized a special meeting for them, complete with ice cream, as they say, “love is a matter of fate, my dear!”

From that incident, I concluded that the African Union is essentially Taqaddum itself—or, at the very least, its mouthpiece. As the saying goes, “the truth is plain to see,” and “if we haven’t died, we’ve at least dug our graves”—or, as Mahmoud Darwish put it, “I recognize lovers by their gazes!”

Does anyone still doubt that the African Union is Taqaddum? Not only that, but to be completely honest, the African Union is the UAE itself, in both flesh and spirit. Since it is now well established that Taqaddum is nothing more than an Emirati puppet and that the African Union’s leadership competes with it in serving Emirati interests, it is clear that the two are merely two sides of the same coin.

The African Union’s core principles—though under its current leadership, it has become an alliance of collusion, subservience, and conspiracies against African nations—supposedly reject foreign interference in the continent’s internal affairs. Yet its stance on the war in Sudan exposes much. And we are not making baseless accusations! For nearly two years now, despite overwhelming material evidence, reports, and eyewitness accounts proving the UAE’s blatant involvement in aggression against our country—including even the implicit acknowledgment of its role in the war, as demonstrated by the UAE president’s promise to the Biden administration to halt its support for the militia—the African Union has remained as silent as the grave. Not a single statement has been issued calling on the UAE to cease its interference in Sudan’s war!

This silence from the Union’s leadership about Emirati involvement in the war confirms that serious corruption has taken place and that high-ranking officials have been bribed to maintain their absolute silence—and they have done exactly that.

I have repeatedly called for Sudan’s withdrawal from the African Union. This is an organization steeped in corruption, conspiracies against African peoples, and betrayal of its own principles. We gain nothing from our membership. Strangely, the Union’s leadership even had the audacity to suspend Sudan’s membership! I fail to see why our foreign minister is wasting time trying to reverse this suspension. What have we lost due to this suspension, and what will we gain if they lift it?

The correct course of action, which our people would celebrate in these victorious days, would be to issue a clear decision to withdraw from the African Union—better yet, to declare it an enemy organization. We no longer need this organization after it has proven its betrayal of its own principles.

For all these reasons, responding to any invitation from the African Union—meeting with it or engaging in any form of communication—constitutes a betrayal of our martyrs’ blood! How can any political force meet with an organization complicit in the war against our people through collusion and cover-ups? Shouldn’t these forces be condemning the Union’s complicity instead of sitting down with it?

Despite its treacherous stance against our country, the African Union now has the audacity to invite certain political forces to what it calls a “Sudanese-Sudanese dialogue” from February 19 to 21.

So far, we do not know which political forces have agreed to attend these meetings and reconcile with Taqaddum—a primary goal of the African Union—but we will soon find out which of them is willing to betray the martyrs’ blood, shake hands with Taqaddum’s agents, and coordinate with them for a triumphant return to power! Our misfortune is that some political forces would jump at the chance to board a flight if any entity waved a plane ticket at them, revealing their utter disregard for the enormous sacrifices made by our sons in the armed forces, security forces, and popular resistance groups.

Our sons’ blood has not yet dried, yet some political forces are rushing to reconcile with those who betrayed and sold out our country. They are eager to meet with corrupt leaders of an organization that has facilitated and covered up the aggression against Sudan. These forces should have demanded that the African Union condemn the UAE and Chad as a precondition for any meeting! But alas, too many are willing to sell out our people’s blood for the sake of travel and photo ops with those who conspire against Sudan.

Soon, we will know who among them is scrambling to Addis Ababa to shake hands with Taqaddum’s agents, granting them a “certificate of innocence” for their military wing’s crimes!

Most of Taqaddum’s leaders are currently wanted for justice, so meeting with them to discuss national issues should be legally actionable. As far as I know, there is a law against collaborating with the enemy, which should be enforced against anyone who meets with these traitors!

We have now achieved a resounding victory, and we have no need for an initiative from a treacherous organization. We have no need to rehabilitate agents who sold out our people’s blood for a pittance!

If anyone wishes to engage in dialogue and discuss national issues, Sudan is open to all patriotic voices. But Taqaddum’s agents must first face justice to clear their names—only then can they await the Sudanese people’s verdict on their fate!

Some short-sighted political forces are rushing to Addis Ababa to grant Taqaddum a lifeline and revive it after its demise. Soon, they will be fiercely defending Taqaddum, insisting that it was never an Emirati proxy and that its militia is not its military wing. After the meeting, we will see some Taqaddum leaders heading to Port Sudan—this is one of the key agendas of the Addis Ababa gathering. Time will reveal all!

It is time for Sudan’s political forces to rise to the level of the sacrifices made, to honor the sanctity of our martyrs’ blood. If they fail to do so, they risk being cast into the abyss alongside Hemedti. But our people can distinguish between the good and the corrupt. If some wish to commit political suicide, so be it!

This land is ours.

(Translated from Asda’a Sudanese)