Defending the interests and reputation of Sudan is no easy task. In fact, one is hard pressed to think of a country with a worse reputation. For much of my lifetime, the evening news has been peppered with reports of atrocities in Darfur, where at least 200,000 people have died since 2003. Further south, a civil war raged for more than twenty years, from 1983 until 2005, claiming the lives of over two million people. In front of this backdrop, the Sudanese President, Omar al-Bashir, struggles to maintain diplomatic integrity as he globe trots carefully around the world. He treads carefully for fear of arrest by the International Criminal Court, who issued a historic arrest warrant for him in 2008 for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Darfur.
And yet His Excellency Abdullahi Al Azreg was pulling off a remarkable feat. I had come to the embassy armed with tough questions for a government the Bush administration had accused of genocide in Darfur, but within minutes of arriving in his palatial office, we were laughing over Sudanese coffee. He had charmed me with embarrassing ease. In fact, I even found myself partially buying into the idea that the Sudanese government is an easy villain in a region filled with victims. Placing blame on the Sudanese government is not only easy, but soothing too, and goes some way towards helping people make sense of the horror which has swept the country in recent decades. The very premise on which this interview was granted was the idea that Sudan had been victimised by the western press. I promised the ambassador an open mind.
If the media coverage was indeed distorting the truth, I asked the ambassador to justify the on-going rule of President al-Bashir, whose alleged involvement in war crimes in Darfur continues to keep Sudan at the forefront of the Western news media. Just last week, the President of Malawi has said the Sudanese President will not be welcome to attend the upcoming African Union summit in July. ‘His indictment is politically motivated, biased and totally wrong.’ Politically motivated, I assumed, by the US, who are seemingly the source of all of Sudan’s troubles. ‘In the West, when the US kills civilians intentionally it is collateral damage. When the Sudan does this accidentally, it is a war crime. Where is the fairness?’ The Sudanese people, he claims, are tired of the inconsistencies in America’s foreign policy and are firmly backing their leader. ‘The population of Sudan is about 32m people, of whom 33m are politicians. They are highly enlightened, highly politicised they know what is going on. I do not think that many people would vote for the President if they were not satisfied.’
But not all Sudanese are convinced by their President, and just last week opposition journalist Faisal Mohamed Saleh was arrested in his home. When I bring it up with the Ambassador, it seems to touch a nerve: ‘What you are saying is implying we have no respect for human rights, it is not true. In every country if a journalist is violating the law, then you must arrest him.’ He goes on to make a comparison with Britain’s own media woes. ‘Here, these days, you have Murdoch and News International who are suffering by being grilled by an inquiry. Mohamed Saleh has been asked to report before an inquiry, that doesn’t mean prosecution.’ But just because the arrest is lawful does not make it right and a democracy relies on open dissent. ‘Democracy does not mean that you allow me to say anything I like. Democracy does not allow for libel and slander. Slanderers will be punished. It is quite normal.’
The press may not be free in Sudan, but the US seems to think that terrorists certainly are. It holds the dubious honour of being one of only four countries to feature in the US State Department’s ‘State Sponsors of Terrorism’ list and even hosted Osama Bin Laden from 1992-96. But it is undermined by the presence of Cuba, which makes it read more like a list of countries who fail to submit to US hegemony than anything else. But the perception of Sudan as the home of all evil is kept alive in the US at least in part by George Clooney, who in recent years has taken on the role of chief activist for the various conflicts in the country. ‘He is not defending the Sudanese, he would just like to put a human face to his fame.’ I am not sure I quite buy the idea that Clooney needs more fame, though the participation of celebrities is often said to have extended the conflict in Darfur, by giving false hope to rebel groups that American and international military support was on its way. By holding out, the rebels only extended the war and caused greater suffering. But I am pretty sure Clooney is not a Zionist, whereas the Ambassador claimed, ‘He is working under the Zionist organisations that have their own agenda which is not at all in line with western values. Have you ever heard George Clooney talking about the killing going on in Gaza?’ Israel remains a perfect bogeyman for the Khartoum regime, who use the common enemy to bring them closer with their Arab allies and deflect criticism of their own domestic policies.
Needless to say, relations with the West are strained, but Sudan has simply looked the other way. China has welcomed the Sudan with open arms and now represents Sudan’s biggest trading partner, holding a 40% stake in Sudanese oil projects. The relationship is seen as a model for Chinese relations with the developing world, one based on trade and the extracting of natural resources with a very limited political agenda. I ask the ambassador about how dealing with China is different from dealing with the West. ‘China has no strings attached to their trades. They don’t intimidate. They don’t tell you do this or we’ll do this and this.’ By pursuing this ‘no strings attached’ strategy, China has been able to rapidly expand its investments in Africa and develop infrastructure across the continent. But what Sudan really enjoys about its relationship with China is that ‘they show a lot of respect for Sudan and deal with us as equals’. But the obvious question here is equality for whom, exactly? While they may treat the government officials with whom they meet in much the same manner as one from back home, by turning a blind eye to poor governance, they are failing to show equal consideration for Sudanese citizens at large.
What makes Sudan so fascinating is that it is a microcosm of geopolitics today. It is the venue for a power struggle between China and the West, and two different foreign policy doctrines. While Sudan has at times brought out the best of western liberalism, where it stands up for universal rights and ideals through peaceful institutions such as the UN and the ICC, it has also shown us the backlash that can arise from getting too carried away with moral superiority. With another round of Sudanese coffee, the ambassador imparts a final gem of wisdom. ‘There are civilisations which are older than the western civilisation. And they have legacies that they are proud of.’ If the West wants Sudan to toe the line, it has its work cut out.
