The Crime Is Present, but the Government Is Absent!

As I See 

Adel Al-Baz

1

If they were chicks,
whose thighs are used to make soup,
they would be placed in a cage that lets the air flow through,
and given grain and water;
if only they were…
But they are merely “ordinary miners.”

2

There are borders through which the Janjaweed and mercenaries slip into the country, others through which weapons enter, and yet others where training camps are established and from which drones are launched—drones that have claimed the lives of displaced people in Wad Al-Mahi. Then there are the open borders through which hundreds of tonnes of gold are smuggled, along with all of Sudan’s exports. The only thing left for our borders was to be bombed—and that is precisely what happened in the recent attack on the miners. The final piece of the puzzle has now fallen into place.

3

The Chairman of the Transitional Sovereignty Council responded by issuing a decision to form a fact-finding committee comprising representatives of the Public Prosecution, judicial authorities, and security agencies. The committee is tasked with investigating the incident involving miners in the border area with Egypt and submitting a report on its findings.

This was the first official action taken by Sudan’s highest authority. Before that, Amjad Farid had condemned the bombing of the miners, describing it as “an unjustifiable and unacceptable crime.” He said that border violations should be addressed through the law and “open channels of communication,” not through airstrikes.

His statement was the first publicly declared position by an official associated with Sudan’s governing institutions since the air raids. Both responses were commendable: condemning the incident and announcing the formation of an investigative committee.

4

As I was immersed in the campaign to bring down the “garbage wall” through the series of articles I have written, this incident occurred, prompting me to ask: Where is the government? And what exactly is it responsible for if protecting the lives of Sudanese citizens is not among its priorities?

If we had a responsible government, the prime minister would have immediately called a Cabinet meeting, attended by the ministers of defense and interior, to establish precisely what had happened and then issue a statement condemning the incident. He would subsequently have travelled by helicopter to the massacre site, becoming a witness to the scene of the crime. He would then have visited the hospitals and paid his respects to the families of some of the deceased.

Symbolically, he could have visited the family of Al-Tayeb Al-Hadi Ahmed to offer his condolences. The world had already watched that young man, who was the breadwinner for his family, deliver his final testament and disclose his debts, asking everyone to forgive him. It was a heartbreaking scene that tore at the heartstrings. May God have mercy on him.

Would that not have been more appropriate than visiting bakeries, ovens, tea vendors, and fuel stations, carrying a fuel-measuring device under his arm and behaving like any ordinary worker at a petrol station?!

5

He could have immediately dispatched the foreign minister to Egypt to meet Egyptian officials, establish what had happened, and determine its causes—particularly after the Egyptian Armed Forces issued a statement yesterday confirming the launch of a campaign against unregulated mining.

The government could then have taken a position based on the information obtained and explored ways to prevent similar incidents from happening again.

Meanwhile, the prime minister should have hurried to meet the Chairman of the Transitional Sovereignty Council to brief him on the Cabinet’s position, what had been discussed during the meeting, and the statements made by the ministers. The two could then have issued a joint statement representing both institutions, rather than leaving the Sovereignty Council to take the initiative alone and exposing the so-called “Government of the Garbage Wall” in its familiar, dilapidated state.

What, then, should take priority: attending a session of a forum where hours were spent discussing the strategic plan of the Government of Hope a year and a half after its formation, or rushing to establish the facts surrounding a bombing that killed Sudanese miners searching for a livelihood in the remote reaches of the desert?

But such are the priorities of the prime minister of the “Garbage Wall Government”!

6

If we were to ask why the “Garbage Wall Government” has taken refuge in silence, we might struggle to find an explanation. Perhaps it has not even heard about the incident. Perhaps it fears the consequences of taking a position before determining which way the Sovereignty Council’s political winds are blowing. Or perhaps it simply does not care about the lives of Sudanese citizens. In my view, the most likely explanation is that all three factors are at play.

What is certain, however, is that the government neither dares nor considers itself capable of speaking before the Sovereignty Council does. This confirms that it is little more than a secretariat and a shield, powerless and ineffective, incapable of taking independent action or initiating any measures on its own.

A lack of information may explain a delay in reaching a judgment about the incident, but it does not justify a failure to communicate or absolve the government of its duty to take the initiative. The government is not being asked to accuse anyone before the investigation is complete. Rather, it should announce the steps it has taken to establish the facts, care for the injured, offer condolences to the bereaved families, and follow up on the case.

There is a difference between exercising restraint in assigning responsibility and remaining silent in the face of tragedy. The former may be necessary; the latter is no substitute for fulfilling one’s duties. If the government waits for the Sovereignty Council to take the initiative every time, citizens have every right to ask: What is its executive role, and where is its capacity to discharge its responsibilities?

7

This suspicious government silence in the face of the violation of Sudan’s borders and the loss of its citizens’ lives places the value of the Sudanese individual at the heart of the debate. Does the government regard protecting its citizens as its foremost responsibility, or as an issue that can be postponed until after visits and conferences?

What is needed now is not another rhetorical statement. The government must disclose the information currently available, clarify what remains under investigation, establish the number of those killed and injured, announce arrangements for their care and for supporting their families, and set a date for informing the public of whatever findings from the investigation can be made public.

Citizens must also be told what the government intends to do to prevent this tragedy from recurring and who will be responsible for overseeing the implementation of those measures.

Only then will talk of responsibility become a position that can be tested, rather than a slogan raised and then forgotten. A government’s worth is measured by its ability to respond when the lives of its citizens are at stake.

The country cannot get back on its feet unless this state of indifference comes to an end and a responsible government is established—one that bears no resemblance to the “Garbage Wall Government.”