I think the problem of women participation in NDA (National Democratic Alliance) is part of a bigger problem within the NDA..

No Doubt that the NDA as the umbrella opposition group have done a lot in the opposition struggle for democracy and freedom against the NIF regime .. especially in isolating the regime in the international scene. .and in adopting some useful and advanced documents to build the country after toppling the regime I mean here the NDA charter , Asmara declaration 1994 and the documents of the conference on Fundamental issues, Asmara 1995. The NDA factions succeeded also to launch a successful military offensive in 1997 and it continued -but with breaks in 1998, in result they managed to hold and administrate territories in Southern , Eastern Sudan and South Blue Nile...All these successes will not make us blind to see the serious problems which challenged and challenge the NDA for the last 9 years.

Some of these problems are:

(1) The NDA didn’t succeed to build a strong and effective structure inside Sudan , the meetings and statements of NDA parties leaders couldn’t and can not replace a strong political movement inside the country, with its leadership, cadres, local chapters and resources..

(2) The NDA, although it is build up of more than 11 political parties, and a lot of trade unions, but it is run and dominated by 4 members, the Umma, DUP, the Communist Party and SPLM/A. The other factions are marginalised and are not represented as the Biggest Four , despite their struggle in the battle field, I mean here such parties like SAF, the Beja Congress and the Federal Sudanese Alliance, the USAP and other members of NDA.

(3) The NDA ignored all the calls to represent the trade unions, the women movements, the independent figures and intellectuals (With all respect to them, Faruq Abu Eissa is a member of the SCP and Bona Malwal is SPLM adviser, so they don’t represent really the independent figures) in its leadership and in its structures. Because of that many useful people and talented cadres found themselves out of NDA body, just because they don’t belong to any of its parties !

(4) The NDA had failed to organize and use the power of the Sudanese community abroad. These people in their majority are victims and opponents of NIF regime , but the practices of NDA leaders, the partisan character of NDA activities, the control of the old figures in NDA (some of them are treated by many as those who spoiled the third democracy), forced these communities to be passive and to stand away of every thing connected to NDA.

(5) The lack of democracy in NDA appeared when NDA refused the membership of a national opposition party, which is the New Democratic Forces Movement {HAAG}, without giving any reasons. The way HAAG has been refused was a very negative sign for a lot of people. This way of dealing with uncomfortable parties and persons has practiced again in NDA Cairo meeting , August 1998, when Ustaza Fatima Ahmed Ibrahim was brutally prevented from entering NDA meetings. We can have different attitudes to Ustaza Fatima, but no doubt that she is a great symbol of the struggle against dictatorship and for democracy, also she is the most known and respected women rights activists. The way she has been treated gives a bad picture about the moral and democratic character of those who are responsible for this treatment.

These are some of the serious problems within the NDA, which affect its image and capacity, and there are other less important issues, which we will not touch now. So what to do to solve all these problems, What is the future of the NDA ? Is there any need of another alternative for the NDA ?

Structural Origins of the Problem:

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First, we will find the problem of democracy and attitude to democracy in NDA parties and in the history of Sudanese political life. The main fact here is that THIS ATTITUDE TO DEMOCRACY IS VERY WEEK AND INSTRUMENTAL. To be more concrete, let us look at the main factions in NDA and their history in dealing with democracy .

Beginning with traditional parties, Umma Party and DUP, we notice that these parties were build, and are still run and controlled by their Sects leaders. No body can argue that the mechanisms relations in religious sects and between the sect leader and his followers is a democratic one. The connection of spiritual and political power in one hand is too much and it could never help building democratic atmosphere in their parties. Of course we can’t blame some body because he was born in an influential religious family, and we can’t deny him his right to be active politically and to be a party leader, but when the political leadership come from religious leadership, when tow position are concentrated in one person, and when such person uses his power to make the blind religious support a permanent political support without trying to moderate his religious sect and party, and when he controls the party with figures from his family, we can’t say that he is a real democrat, and we can’t say such party is a real democratic institution.

The second aspect of the problems within the NDA is the LACK OF TRUST between NDA members. For many years these parties were opponent to each other and every one of them has some kind of conflict with the other in the recent history.

The third structural aspect and root of NDA trouble is the

DIFFERENCES OF VISIONS AND PROGRAMS between its members, From one side we find the traditional parties which have a program of rebuilding the democracy “ and their rule “, in the same way it was run before. These parties have some kind of Islamic visions for the future of Sudan. For the DUP, it was the Islamic Republic, For the Umma Party, it was the road of the Islamic Renaissance “Nahj al sahwa”, and generally these parties are representing the visions of Arabic-Islamic Hegemony with the traditional structures under the domination of the Arab elite Meanwhile, other forces of the NDA are calling for a new secular Sudan, with equal rights to all citizens, groups, cultures, and regions in sharing the power and the wealth of the country. These forces include SPLM/A, SNA/SAF, the Beja Congress and the Federal Democratic Alliance. The call for a new Sudan, which is common for the late mentioned movements, is standing in opposite to the Old Sudan, which is represented in NDA by traditional parties. Because they had a big deal in constructing and ruling the Old Sudan, some analysts say that the ideology and vision of Sudan of the traditional parties are more close to NIF vision than to other partners in the NDA.

In the next part we will discuss the problems of the NDA which are connected to the fields of tactics and strategy of work and struggle, the collecting and using of resources against the NIF regime:

The Strategy and Tactics of the NDA:

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One of NDA biggest problems is the choice of a United Strategy and tactics to face, fight and overthrow the NIF regime. The choice of a certain strategy and tactics of course is connected with the structure, program, aims and mentality of every party, groups and individuals. So it is normal to find differences dealing with these subjects in such a wide organization like the NDA. But, when we discuss these problems, we will find it useful to look for solutions which will gather all opposition groups, and make the NDA more effective. At the same time, it is very important for such a solutions to have the acceptance and support of the wide masses of the Sudanese nation.

The main tactics which have appeared in the NDA agenda are:

(1) Civil struggle (Al-Jihad al-Madani) declared by Sadiq Al Mahadi from July 1989 to December 1996.

(2) The Guarded Popular Uprising propagated by the SCP and in some earlier NDA documents.

(3) The armed struggle, adopted by some factions as the Armed Popular Uprising, propagated by SPLM/A,SNA/SAF, Beja Congress and the Federal Alliance.

(4) Negotiation and reconciliation with the regime propagated by some independent persons, some NDA parties’ leaders, and some NIF cadres.

The civil struggle of Sadiq al Mahadi have disappeared off the NDA and Umma Party agenda after Sadiq al-Mahdi escaped the NIF security in late 1996, and after founding the military wing of the UP, the Umma Liberation Army, which began its military operations in the mid of 1997. From the other side negotiation and reconciliation will help only NIF regime, and under the present balance of power, it will be some kind of surrendering, as it happened to Riek Machar and Zien al-Abdien al-Hindi.

The armed struggle, the guarded uprising and the Armed Popular Uprising, are similar termini which accepted some kind of armed resistance connected with political activities inside Sudan. The NDA’s armed activity began with a lot of determination in 1997, but they got to stagnation in 1998, and some of principal steps connected with them, like the unification of NDA factions’ forces and building a united military command, are still waiting to be done.

But the biggest problem is the situation of the NDA activities inside Sudan, which we can say that it is very weak. The migration of political leaders and cadres have weakened the opposition and facilities very much , and gave the NIF a big advantage inside Sudan. The young and militant cadres of the NDA parties were forced by NIF to leave Sudan, and the immigration policy was accepted -if not supported -by NDA parties leadership. The old cadres who stayed in Sudan have real problems to organize a successful opposition structures and activities inside the country. The fast and amazing arise of the National Alliance to Restore Democracy (NARD) of Gazi Sulieman, has proved in reality how the masses are hungry for a talented leadership in Khartoum And if some lawyers could organize such a successful opposition movement, so why NDA with all its facilities and resources failed to do so ?

The fact now is that NDA leadership and main activities are outside Sudan, and the NIF is using this fact successfully in its black propaganda against NDA. So if we believe the victory will be gained by the masses, and the majority of these masses are living in government held towns and areas, we should then send more and more NDA leaders and cadres inside Sudan, legally and illegally, in public way or in secret, and the demanded resources should be prepared for that purpose.

For NDA now it became very important to decide about and to be united around some main principles, these principles are:

(1) No negotiation or reconciliation policies would be provide by any of NDA members alone, and no such steps could be made by NDA until the regime releases all political prisoners and detainees, guarantees the freedom of press and political and trade union organizations, stops its military activities and puts the leaders and organizers of 30 June coup to the court.

(2) The military activities should be activated and spreaded into new areas, and all resources should be generated to support our people in the liberated areas and the great fighters in the battle fields.

(3) All resources should be activated to support the opposition structures inside Sudan, including financial, technical and human resources ,and there is a big need to work and build trust and gain support from the Sudanese community outside Sudan, and to build the necessary structures and policies to gain this support and this trust.

These principles and aims will not find their way to succeed without a deep reform in the NDA structure and ways of work, without making corrections to its political, organizational and informational policies, without doing radical changes in its structures and leadership.

In the next paragraph, we will discuss some propositions, gave by the Umma Party and the SCP about reforming NDA, and we will give our own propositions to launch such a reform .

The NDA Reformation:

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Tow documents were published lately, discussing the situation in the NDA. One by Umma Party titled “ Towards the reformation and renewal of the NDA”, and the other by the SCP, signed by al-Shafie Khidir Saeed (SCP leader and the NDA secretary for organization and administration) titled “Analysis of the NDA Experience 1995-1998” The Umma party paper gave many critiques to NDA situation, and gave some propositions to reform it, including: Building a legalistic body (parliament) for the NDA, to adopt some specific charters about principal issues, building a presidential system in the transition period (after toppling the NIF regime), and to represent the military wings of NDA in its leadership. (The full text of the paper is available at Umma Party home page) The SCP paper concentrated on such issues like the unification of the NDA military factions, improving NDA leadership facilities and keeping on the program and tactics of NDA without radical changes, at the same time it gave a lot of details about the NDA internal problems and weaknesses.

My critical reading and analysis to the Umma Party and the SCP papers will be available very soon at my home page located at: members.tripod.com/~abdelaati/projects.html, but i would like to say here that the purposes of the tow papers and parties is to strength their own positions in NDA, and not to reform the NDA as whole. A lot of people know that Sadiq al Mahadi would like to be the first NDA leader, and the SCP would like to keep its favorite position in NDA decision making and leadership together with the Big Three (Umma,DUP and SPLM/A) ! For me, the NDA reformation should consider before all, the following aspects:

(1) Changing the center of activities, leadership and dession making from abroad to inside Sudan (Khartoum and the liberated areas) and generate all resources to this purpose.

(2) Opening the NDA to the independent and nonpartisan individuals and organization, and building it into a mass movement, inside and outside Sudan, and not a small and closed group of parties and their members, and giving a wide place for talented individuals and patriotic Sudanese in NDA decision making process and leading structures (both in NDA chapters or in its central leadership).

(3) Removing all the controversial figures from NDA leadership, I mean here all those leaders who are considered by the public opinion as those who failed to defend democracy and to govern honestly and effectively in the democratic period of 1985-1989, and replace them by younger uncomprumitated members of their parties.

(4) Opening a public debate about the causes of the failure of democracy, NIF coup success, the changes and reformation of Sudanese political parties and Sudanese political system, giving guarantees for such agenda like self determinations for the South and the equal share of power and wealth, discussing the ways to get out of the economic crisis, and how to finish the civil war and guard the coming democracy. All this should be done to form a real democratic new political, social and economic alternative for the regime, because the masses of the Sudanese nation will not fight defiantly only to restore the system and practices of the sick democracy of 19985-89 !

(5) Guarantee the democracy inside NDA, with the right of all patriotic organizations and individuals to join the NDA, its meetings, with their full right to criticize NDA leadership without being discriminated or isolated (I believe strongly, that the NDA leadership by refusing Riek Machar’s SSIM and Lam Acol’s SPLM/A (United) membership in NDA, have helped the regime to get them to its side, and NDA now is trying to marginalize such organization like HAAG and individuals like Ustaza Fatma Ahmed Ibrahim, just because they criticized some leaders or policies of the NDA.