The 15th Anniversary of JEM Operation Long Arm on 2008
By Mahmoud Abbaker Suleiman
Today Wednesday the 10th of May 2023 when the armies of Muhammad Hamdan Dogolo AKA Hamedti entered the capital of Sudan, Khartoum, is unlike the peaceful entry of the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) on a similar date. The Janjaweed who are basically lawless tribal gangsters and tended to terrorise citizens, looting banks and financial institutions, in addition to intimidating defenceless citizens, including women and children, and destroying public institutions such as hospitals, pharmacies, and other resources. Water for drinking has become scarce at where the fleeing citizens crossing the border, leaving their homes and property, until some citizens arrived in Egypt, and some others arrived into Ethiopia, and some succeeded to arrive into Britain because they have identification papers that facilitate their entry, and it is not fair to compare the entry of the Sudanese Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) into Khartoum and to what the Janjaweed group did Led by Mohamed Hamdan Dogolo, who was called Hamidti for short did. It was a kind of torment and exploitation by terrorising the innocent people who were fleeing from torment.
Let US Celebrate the 58th Anniversary of the Glorious October 21 Sudanese Popular Revolution
Let us celebrate tomorrow, Friday, October 21, 2022, on the occasion of the glorious October 21, 1964 Sudanese revolution
دعونا نحتفل غداالجمعة 21 شهر اكتوبر2022 بمناسبة ثورة 21 اكتوبر 1964 السودانية المجيدة
Fêtons demain, vendredi 21 octobre 2022, à l’occasion de la glorieuse révolution soudanaise du 21 octobre 1964
By Mahmoud A. Suleiman
This article comes against the backdrop of what is happening today, with political instability and differences between the partisan components and armed movements, as well as the living difficulties of citizens in the difficult economic conditions in Sudan and the whole world around us, where there is scarcity of fuel and the harbinger of famine, as well as the secretions of the Ukrainian-Russian war. And let alone the quarrels between the political components of political parties and armed movements. And there is no shame, as the saying goes, about the talk of absence of the Prime Minister in the Government of Sudan since the overthrow of Abdullah Hamdok months ago through what was described as a Military coup d’tat.
بقلم محمود أبكر سليمان ذكريات عودتى للوطن الام بعد عقود و تأتى هذه المقالة على خلفية قرار اتخذته فى معية افراد اسرتى فى المملكة المتحدة المكونة من زوجتى و ابنى و ابنتى و زوجها و ابنتها و طفلها.ثم تفكرت فى الخطوط الجوية المناسبة التي نسافر بها الى مدينة الخرطوم عاصمة السودان و استقر رأينا على الخطوط الجوية المصرية و ينبغى لى أن أشير الى أن هذا القرار جاء متأخراً لأسباب من ضمنها القوانين الصحية المتعلقة بجائحة الكورونا التى حظرت حريات السفر بشروط صحية معقدة و فضلاً على التطعيمات الضرورية المطلوبة و الحصول على وثائق تثبتها.
Memories of my return to the motherland after decades
This article comes against the background of a decision I made with my family members in the United Kingdom, consisting of my wife, son, daughter, husband, daughter and child. Our opinion has settled on Egyptian Airlines, and I should point out that this decision came late for reasons, including the health laws related to the Corona pandemic, which prohibited freedoms to travel with complex health conditions, as well as the necessary vaccinations required and obtaining documents to prove it.
THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE UNITED NATIONS’CELEBRATIONS OF SOME DAYS AND WEEKS THROUGHOUT THE YEAR
أهمية احتفال منظمة الأمم المتحدة بمناسبات بعض الأيام و الاسابيع على مدار السنة
WRITTEN BY MAHMOUD A. SULEIMAN
What is the significance of the celebration of the United Nations of days and weeks THROUGHOUT the year since its founding after the end of the Second World War? This is a question that must be answered through today’s article, dear readers.
As an example of this is The Mother’s Day, which the United Nations celebrates annually due to the Importance of ourMother, which has been mentioned by one of the Arab poets in a verse of poetry, saying: The Mother is a school. If you prepare her, you have prepared a people of good races.
Among the most important days that the United Nations (UN) celebrates is the WATER DAY, due to the importance of water to humans, animals and plants. The Holy Qur’an mentions in one of its suras: And we created from water every living thing.
This article comes against the backdrop of the upcomingInternational Women’s Day on Tuesday the 8th of March 2022, given the very important role women continued to play at their homes along with their huge contribution to their socities without asking for a material gain other than they do it as a duty as well as a moral duty expecting no more than an appreciation by their societies. Furthermore, the Sudanese women have continued playing uncountable roles in their socities as grandmothers, mothers, wives, sisters,professional workers at various fields in their countryside and so on and so forth. At this juncture, let us delve into the origin of the International Day of Women, as to how the International Women’s Day has started; a question that awaits an answer!
Since Tuesday, March 8, 2022, coincides with the International Women’s Day, it has become one of the duties and an onus upon us to express our support, at least by writing an article worthy of that honourable occasion, because a woman represents to us, as I referred to above as a mother, grandmother, sister, aunt, daughter and a wife and in addition to all of those, she is a citizen, known that the Sudanese women have a long history of struggle against the dictatorial military coup états regimes who ruled Sudan since the dawn of Sudan’s Independence from the Anglo-Egyptian Condominium on Sunday the First of January 1956.
كيف بدأ اليوم الدولي للمرأة هو سؤال ينتظر إجابة
The International Women Day wasn’t formalised until 1917 WHEN World War one struck and when the Russian women demanded “bread and peace”; four days into the strike the Tsar was forced to abdicate and the provisional government granted women their legitimate right to vote. The strikebegan on 8 March and this became the date that International Women’s Day is celebrated.
لم يتم إضفاء الطابع الرسمي على يوم المرأة العالمي حتى إندلاعالحرب العالمية الأولى في عام 1917 ، عندما طالبت النساء الروسيات بـ “الخبز والسلام” ؛ بعد أربعة أيام من الإضراب ، أُجبر القيصر على التنازل عن العرش ومنحت الحكومة المؤقتة النساء حق التصويت. بدأ الإضراب في 8 مارس وأصبح هذا هو تاريخ الاحتفال باليوم العالمي للمرأة.
La Journée internationale de la femme n’a pas été officialisée avant la grève de la guerre en 1917, lorsque les femmes russes ont exigé “du pain et la paix” ; quatre jours après le début de la grève, le tsar est contraint d’abdiquer et le gouvernement provisoire accorde aux femmes le droit de vote. La grève a commencé le 8 mars et c’est devenu la date à laquelle la Journée internationale de la femme est célébrée.
Image caption, Celebrations in Chandigarh, India, on 8 March 2021
You might have seen International Women’s Day mentioned in the media or heard friends talking about it.
But what is this day for? When is it? Is it a celebration or a protest? Is there an equivalent International Men’s Day? And what events will take place this year?
For more than a century people around the world have been marking 8 March as a special day for women.
Let us read on to find out why.
1. How did the International Women’s Day start?
IMAGE SOURCE, CORBIS / HULTON DEUTSCH Imagecaption, of Clara Zetkin who founded International Women’s Day in 1910
Clara Zetkin was a German Marxist theorist, communist activist, and advocate for women’s rights. Until 1917, she was active in the Social Democratic Party of Germany. She then joined the Independent Social Democratic Party ofGermany and its far-left wing, the Spartacist League.
International Women’s Day, also known as IWD for short, grew out of the labour movement to become an annual event recognised by the United Nations.
The seeds were planted in 1908, when 15,000 women marched through New York demanding shorter working hours, better pay and the right to vote. A year later, the Socialist Party of America declared the first National Woman’s Day.
It was Clara Zetkin, a communist activist and advocate for women’s rights, who suggested the creation of an international day. She put her idea to an International Conference of Working Women in Copenhagen in 1910 – and the 100 women there, from 17 countries, agreed to it unanimously.
International Women’s Day was first celebrated in 1911, in Austria, Denmark, Germany and Switzerland. The centenary was celebrated in 2011, so this year we’re technically celebrating the 111th.
Things were made official in 1975 when the United Nations started celebrating the day. The first theme adopted (in 1996) was “Celebrating the Past, Planning for the Future”.
International Women’s Day has become a date to celebrate how far women have come in society, politics and in economics, while the political roots of the day mean strikes and protests are organised to raise awareness of continued inequality.
2. Why 8 March?
IMAGE SOURCE, GETTY IMAGES
Image caption, a woman takes part in an International Women’s Day event in Bogota, Colombia in 2021
Clara’s idea for an International Women’s Day had no fixed date.
It wasn’t formalised until a wartime strike in 1917, when Russian women demanded “bread and peace”; four days into the strike the tsar was forced to abdicate and the provisional government granted women the right to vote.
The strike began on 8 March and this became the date that International Women’s Day is celebrated.
3. Why do people wear the colour purple?
IMAGE SOURCE, GETTY IMAGES
Image caption, The colour purple is often associated with IWD as it signifies ‘justice and dignity’
Purple, green and white are the colours of IWD, according to the International Women’s Day website.
“Purple signifies justice and dignity. Green symbolises hope. White represents purity, albeit a controversial concept. The colours originated from the Women’s Social and Political Union (WSPU) in the UK in 1908,” they say.
4. is there an International Men’s Day?
There is indeed, on 19 November.
But it has only been marked since the 1990s and isn’t recognised by the UN. People celebrate it in more than 80 countries worldwide, including the UK.
The day celebrates “the positive value men bring to the world, their families and communities”, according to the organisers, and aims to highlight positive role models, raise awareness of men’s well-being, and improve gender relations. The theme for 2021 was Better relations between men and women.
5. How is Women’s Day celebrated and will there be virtual events this year?
IMAGE SOURCE, GETTY IMAGES Image caption, awoman receives mimosa flowers at a vaccination hub inRome, Italy on International Women’s Day 2021
International Women’s Day is a national holiday in many countries, including Russia, where flower sales double during the three or four days around 8 March.
In China, many women are given a half-day off work on 8 March, as advised by the State Council.
In Italy, International Women’s Day, or la Festa dellaDonna, is celebrated by the giving of mimosa blossoms. The origin of this tradition is unclear but it is believed to have started in Rome after World War Two.
In the US, the month of March is Women’s History Month. A presidential proclamation issued every year honours the achievements of American women.
This year, celebrations will continue to look a little different because of coronavirus and virtual events are expected to take place around the world, including this one organised by the UN.
6. What is the IWD 2022 theme?
IMAGE SOURCE, GETTY IMAGES
Image caption, 2021 saw the inauguration of Kamala Harris as the first female, first black and first Asian-American US vice president
The UN announced their theme for 2022 as “Gender equality today for a sustainable tomorrow”. Their events will recognise how women around the world are responding to climate change.
But there are also other themes around. The International Women’s Day website – which says it’s designed to “provide a platform to help forge positive change for women” – has chosen the theme #BreakTheBias and is asking people to imagine “a world free of bias, stereotypes, and discrimination”.
7. Why do we need it?
IMAGE SOURCE, GETTY IMAGES
Image caption, Women’s groups in Mexico turned metal fencing into an impromptu memorial for victims of femicide
We have seen a significant step back in the global fight for women’s rights over the past year. The resurgence of the Taliban in August changed the lives of millions of Afghan women – girls were banned from receiving secondary education, the ministry for women’s affairs in the country was disbanded, and many women were told not to return to work.
In the UK, the murder of Sarah Everard by a serving police officer reignited debates around women’s safety.
The coronavirus pandemic also continues to have an impact on women’s rights. According to the World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Report 2021, the time needed to close the global gender gap has increased by a generation from 99.5 years to 135.6 years.
IMAGE SOURCE, GETTY IMAGES
Image caption, Women take to the streets to celebrate – and protest
A 2021 study by UN Women based on 13 countries showed that almost one in two women (45%) reported that they or a woman they know experienced a form of violence during the Covid-19 pandemic. This includes non-physical abuse, with verbal abuse and the denial of basic resources being the most commonly reported.
Despite concerns over coronavirus, marches took place around the world for IWD 2021.
In Mexico, women’s groups turned metal fencing, erected to protect the National Palace, into an impromptu memorial for the victims of femicides.
Meanwhile, women in Poland held protests across the country following the introduction of a near-total ban on abortion in January 2021.
IMAGE SOURCE, GETTY IMAGES
Image caption, Abortion rights activists celebrated in Colombia in 2022
In the past few years though, there has been progress – especially in female leadership.
Kamala Harris became the first female, first black and first Asian-American US vice-president in 2021.
In the same year, Tanzania swore in its first female president, Samia Suluhu Hassan, while Estonia, Sweden, Samoa and Tunisia got female prime ministers for the first time in history. In January 2022, Xiomara Castro was sworn in as Honduras’ first female president.
In 2021, New Zealand approved paid bereavement leave for women (and their partners) who have a miscarriage or stillbirth. While in 2020, Sudan criminalised female genital mutilation.
And who can forget the impact of the #MeToo conversation, speaking out against experiences of harassment and sexual assault? It began back in 2017 but is now a global phenomenon. In January 2022, a university lecturer in Morocco was sentenced to two years in prison for indecentbehaviour, sexual harassment and violence after university students broke their silence about demands he had made for sexual favours in return for good grades – a string of such scandals have tarnished the reputation of Moroccan universities in recent years.
The last year has seen developments regarding abortion in several countries. In February 2022, Colombia decriminalised abortions within the first 24 weeks of pregnancy. In the US, meanwhile, abortion rights have been restricted in some states, with Texas banning procedures from as early as six weeks into a pregnancy.
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How is today similar to yesterday, sixty-eight years after the establishment of the Sudanese army – as it calls itself the People’s Armed Forces PAF?
كيف يشبه اليوم يوم أمس ، بعد ثمانية وستين عامًا من إنشاء الجيش السوداني – كما يطلق على نفسه اسم قوات الشعب المسلحة؟
Written by Mahmoud A. Suleiman
Dear readers of my articles, this article comequoting my previous article I wrote 8 years ago; specifically on THURSDAY 14th August 2014. The article I am trying to refer to was titled, at the time:
Sixty Years of the Sudanese Armed Forceswent unheeded without benefit to the Homeland; the title was translated into Arabic language as shown below.
ستون عاما من القوات المسلحة السودانية ذهبتأدراج الرياح دون أن ينفع الوطن
Mahmoud A. Suleiman
This article comes against the backdrop of the Sudanese armed Forces (SAF) celebration on Thursday 14th August 2014, for its Sixtieth Anniversary. Apparently, it marked the day when the Sudanese Gen. Mohammad Ahmad received the leadership of the Sudan Defence Force (SDF) from the British Major General Reginald ‘Cully’ under which (SDF) has become 100% made up of Sudanese individuals after a long period under the British colonialism. This occasion used to be referred to as Eid al-Jala’, was meaning the occasion of Departure of the occupying British Army from Sudan on the Convention of Self-determination of 1954.
The Urgent Question Still Awaits the Answer as to When Will Be the APPLICATION OF TRANSISIONAL JUSTICE IN DARFUR
السؤال العاجل لا يزال ينتظر الإجابة فيما يتعلق بموعد تطبيق العدالة الانتقالية في دارفور
Written by Mahmoud A. Suleiman
This article comes against the backdrop of the systematic delay that has associated with the Transitional Justice to the surviving relatives of Genocide victims in the Darfur region in western Sudan, because the delay is considered part of the injustice, and as the saying goes, injustice is darkness at this very juncture, let us hear the echoes of the Words of the Former International Criminal Court (ICC) Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda that continue to ring and Echo about the UNNESSARY Delaying of the Transitional Justice for the relatives of the Victims in Darfur Region in Sudan. Hence,Sudan Must Deliver Long-Awaited Justice by Ending Impunity for Perpetrators of the Atrocious Crimes in Darfur, International Criminal Court Prosecutor Tells the United Nations Security Council (UNSC).
THIS ARTICLE COMES AGAINST THE BACKDROP OF THE RESIGNATION OF THE 16TH SUDANESE PRIME MINISTER, DR. ABDALLS HAMDOK AFTER FACING MOUNTING RESISTENCE AND DEEPENING CRISES TO RESTORE CIVILIAN RULE IN HIS COUNTRY SUDAN. HENCE, HAMDOK STANDS DOWN LEAVING THE SPACE FOR THE MILITARY GENERALS DESPITE THE CALL BY SOME OPPOSITION LEADERS CALLING HIM TO REMAIN IN OFFICE.
HE IS WORTHY TO BE GIVEN THE PRAISE AND OFFERED GRATITUDE BY THE AVERAGE SUDANESE CITIZEN FOR THE SACRIFICES HE MADE FOR THE SAKE OF THEIR SURVIVAL AND SAFETY. HAMDOK SUFFICES HIM THE PRAISE HE HAS RECEIVED FROM THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY ALONG TO THE ONE GIVEN TO HIM BY THE GENERAL SECRETARY OF THE UNITED NATIONS MR. GUTERRIES. DR. HAMDOK HAS BEEN SUBJECTED TO A PLETHORA OF PRESSURES MOSTLY BY THE PUTSCHIST MILITARY JUNTA, THE ENCUBATER, SO CALLED FORCES OF FREEDOM AND CHANGE ALONG WITH THEUNYIELDING Those who are reluctant to enter into peace with other armed movements, by Abd al-Wahid Muhammad Ahmad al-Nur and Abd al-Azeez al-Helou; let alone the assassination attempt he was subjected to besides the incarceration in custody he suffered from for several day following the military coup attempt. We shouldn’t forget the lawlessness created by the so-called Negris and let alone the unbridled rioters.
Sixty-Six odd years have passed since the Independence of Sudan from the Anglo-Egyptian CONDOMINIUM, as it is called
ستة وستون عامًا مرت على استقلال السودان عن الاستعمار الثنائى الأنجليزى – المصري ، كما يطلق عليه
Written by Dr. Mahmoud A. Suleiman
It is a kind of a pause for reflection on Sudan’s Independence Day from inside/within the Parliament
This article comes as a pre-emptive strike prior to the date the First of January 2022; the Sudanese People’s Sixty-fifth Independent Day, which coincides Saturday, 1 January 2022.
HERE ARE SOME TRANSLATED FROM ARABIC TO ENGLISH VERSES OF POETRY:
Eid in what way you are back today, oh Eid
Eid, what did you come back with to us; O’Eid on This is the Day of Sudan’s Independence from the Anglo-Egyptian CONDOMINIUM?
Eid in any case you came back, Is It an Eid, with the past, or is there a matter of renewal; and these verses of poetry represent what the Sudanese people say about the occasion of the Independence Day of their country, Sudan, whose independence has passed sixty-Six odd years.
The Sixty-six odd years have passed since Sudan’s independence from the Anglo-Egyptian Condominium as of current date of 19th December 2021 and while the Sudanese public is chanting saying as to whether the Anniversary AKA EID HAS COME BACK WITH A CHANGE FOR THE BETTER OR AS REPETITION OF THE THREE PAST YEARS.
Responsibility to protect that UN called for is in Short supply in Sudan
إن مسؤولية الحماية التي دعت إليها الأمم المتحدة تعاني من نقص المعروض في السودان
By Mahmoud A. Suleiman
To begin with, let us define the phrase Responsibility to Protect the Principle imposed by the International Organisation, the United Nations (UN), on all its Member States to protect their citizens against all kinds of violence, disease and poverty and evils imposed upon them.
The Responsibility to Protect – known as R2P – is an international norm that seeks to ensure that the international community never again fails to halt the mass atrocity crimes of genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity.
Thus Sudan 