The Committee of Arab Affairs and National Security at the Shura (Consultative) Council—the upper house of Egypt’s Parliament—has warned that the situation in the Sudan poses a threat to Egypt’s national security. Several MPs called upon the government to improve relations with the South Sudan and Darfur in light of their confirmation that they would soon separate from the Sudan.
MP Abdel-Moniem Saïd demanded that the government should adopt parallel policies regarding Sudan; while dealing with it as a single State for now, he said, Egypt should be prepared for the foreseen separation by fostering good relations with South Sudan and Darfur. He stressed that such steps were absolutely necessary, especially that relations with the Bashir regime were not so good. “We have to be alert to the fact that Bashir is not with us, and we may pay a price in the future for taking his side,” Dr Saïd said.
Couldn’t care less
MP Rifaat Saïd accused successive Egyptian governments of “gross negligence” where Sudan is concerned. During the era of the monarchy in Egypt before 1952, he said, Egypt treated the Sudanese as sons and daughters of Egypt, sometimes providing them with services better than those granted to Egyptians themselves, as in the case of education. The Sudanese, however, refused to politically unite with Egypt because of the oppressive Nasser regime which followed the 1952 Revolution, he reminded, and when Sadat came to power in 1970 he decreed that Sudanese students studying in Egypt do not qualify for free education. This practically weakened relations with the Sudanese.
“Division of the Sudan is the fruit of enforcing Islamic sharia on a multi-ethnic multi-religious community,” Dr Saïd, said. In his opinion, Egypt should have intervened ages ago to prevent the division of Sudan but, he said, Egypt behaved as though it couldn’t have cared less. Now, he insisted, Egypt ought to do all it can to save whatever may be saved of Sudan.
On his part, deputy to the foreign minister Mohamed al-Qassem admitted previous shortcomings in Egypt’s policy concerning Sudan, especially in turning a blind eye to the division of Sudan into a Christian South and a Muslim North; into Arabs and Africans. Today, he said, Egypt is concerned about the stability of Sudan; “we have an embassy, two consulates, and a liaison office there.” Besides, he added, Egypt already has credit with the South Sudan, many of whose leaders were educated in Egyptian universities.