Mak Abeid Mohammed Suleiman Abu Showtal was born in Roseiris in 1964. He worked as a non-commission officer in the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and left SAF in the 1990s to join SPLM and moved up the ladder to become Agar's deputy in Blue Nile. He then left SPLM and joined the National Congress Party (NCP) and held several executive posts.
Sudan Vision met with him and carried out an interview to explore the details of the war in Blue Nile and his vision regarding the current issues of the area.
Q. What were the circumstances surrounding your presence in Kurmuk upon the rebellion of Malik Agar?
A: I was a consultant to the governor of Khartoum at the time. I left for Blue Nile to follow up some agricultural affairs. While in Blue Nile I received an invitation from Malik Agar to come to Kurmuk and Pao on a two-day visit for visiting with and congratulating the people of the area on the holiday following Ramadan. The visit's invitation was sent to Blue Nile citizens from different parties. Unfortunately; war broke out on the very day on which I was supposed to return to Damazin.
Q. Were you aware of Agar's intention to occupy Damazin?
A: I was not at all aware of that. Neither did I expect Aggar to stage such a sneaky act; especially during the Ramadan holidays.
Q. The war decision; was it surprising to you?
A: It was even more surprising for me than others because I was not an SPLM member at the time and because war broke out of the blue.
Q. Have you engaged in dialogue with Agar to sway him from rebellion against the government?
A: Yes, I have. That was during my two-month stay in Kurmuk. I argued with Agar on this subject but his decisions were not clear and he preferred to hang on to his intentions even from the political leaders of SPLM, he revealed his war intentions only the military leaders. The time I spent with Agar revealed his criminal inclinations to me, nonetheless.
Q. How did he treat you in that period?
A: Agar did not treat us like political leaders and inhabitants of Blue Nile; sometimes his treatment was not human. One time I got sick to an extent that SPLM had to transfer me to Juba for treatment and left me there without care and without papers to limit my movement. However; I had relations with leaders in South Sudan that were fruitful in having me transferred to Uganda where I went to the Sudanese embassy, issued ID papers and left to Khartoum. Now I am a member of NCP as I had been before.
Q. What is the humanitarian and security status in the areas under the control of SPLM-N such as Kurmuk?
A: The situation is very bad due to war. The humanitarian conditions of citizens are greatly affected by the attacks launched by the government and the counter attacks by SPLM-N forces. Also, and due to the fact that war broke out in autumn which is when citizens farm their lands, agriculture had been affected by war. We have held a session with the area's sheikhs to secure, protect, and provide services to the citizens to help them overcome the crises.
Q. Many of the inhabitants of Blue Nile are happy you are back; what message do you want to get across to them?
A: The first and foremost of our concerns is to unite the people of Blue Nile. The next phase is one which requires a consolidation of efforts to realize peace, convince the armed ones to return to the homeland, and return the IDPs from camps.
Q. How many of the displaced are in Ethiopia?
A: 35-40 thousand. All in all there are about 90 thousand displaced persons in Ethiopia and South Sudan.
Q. How do you regard the position of Arman as head of the SPLM-N's negotiations delegation?
A: Agar is responsible for assigning the position of head of the negotiations delegation to Arman. This flared up several questions in the area considering Arman is not an inhabitant of the area and not among the interest groups or individuals. Arman does not understand the ethnicities and variation in Blue Nile and has not fought for the cause of Blue Nile. I have reservations about him being head of the negotiations delegation. How could Agar complain about the dominance of Jalaba and then appoint a Jalaba individual as head of the negotiations delegation?
Arman regards Sudan in certain way and wants to see it come to light through the New Dawn Document.
Q. In your opinion; who must the negotiations delegation for the Blue Nile issues be made of?
A: It is very important to include the people of the area so that they feel they are part of the solution. It is also important to mobilize popular support behind the negotiations and to employ the efforts of folk leaders as well as the efforts of Sufi orders and imams to advance the peace process. The delegation must have members of different specializations and with negotiating experience regardless of their political inclinations.
Q. Are you a member of the negotiating delegation?
A: So far I haven't received directives to take part in the negotiations delegation, but if I am to be asked, I will seek a solution for the cause of my people, especially considering that the greatest concern of the people of the area is to stop war. If I am asked, I will participate because I have a lot of knowledge that is handy of Malik Agar, Yassir Arman, and whoever they'll send for negotiations and I can refute their allegations. I wanted to take part in the negotiations to take the opportunity to face Agar with the facts I know about him and to enforce the interest of the people of the area rather than that of Agar.
Q. What are the needs of Blue Nile that, if provided, can prevent war from taking place again?
A: Peace is the first priority and then development and equality in services with other states. Also; Blue Nile citizens must be included to prevent injustice from ever happening again. One of the committees of parliament must be assigned to Blue Nile, opportunities made available to Blue Nile inhabitants and education must be supported at all levels.
By Ibrahim Al-Jack- Mohammed Omer, 14 hours 28 minutes ago
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