Northern States: Unleashing Law and Constitution!
Abdullah Rizq Abu Seimazah
News is coming from the northern states, where the mobilization campaigns to involve citizens in a war mill that has no rhyme or reason, coupled with hate speech, are disturbing and worrisome. River Nile State, where its governor decided to expel anyone affiliated with the "Forces of Freedom and Change" alliance from the state within a three-day ultimatum, provides an example of what can be called the institutional breakdown of state apparatuses, parallel to the breakdown practiced by soldiers during times of war. It is the same war for which citizens pay the price, losing a part of their lives and their age.
Similarly, state institutions suffer from symptoms of extremism, chaos, and lawlessness. The governor who "unleashed" the law and the constitution deals with matters as if he is the sole owner of the state, deciding the fate of peoples lives. Expelling citizens from the state due to their affiliations and political positions is a dangerous development in the ongoing violation of public freedoms and rights, mandated by international covenants in which Sudan is a party.
Belonging to any of the organizations under the umbrella of the "Forces of Freedom and Change" is not a crime, let alone a reason to expel citizens from their homes. Moreover, calling for an end to the war and not taking sides is a humane and ethical stance more than a political one, not constituting a crime by any legal standard.
The "Forces of Freedom and Change" described the campaign against them as "an extension of the Islamists project and remnants of the ousted regime to liquidate the glorious December revolution within the framework of igniting the war of April 15th." In a statement dated December 31 last year, it considered the call to expel its members from the state a "clear and explicit war crime, coming as part of a direct targeting of civilians in armed conflicts, exposing them to danger, targeting them on racial and ethnic bases, and on the basis of political thinking and the position rejecting war."
In parallel, and as a prelude to a widespread campaign of repression and human rights violations, the northern state issued a decree to muzzle mouths. The local legislation restricts rights guaranteed by the constitution. Emergency Order No. (6) prohibits citizens in the northern state, especially activists on social media, from receiving and exchanging news and information, opinions, and ideas freely. Article nineteen of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights also prohibits this.
This unprecedented attack on freedom of opinion and expression does not suffice to justify itself with vague and loose phrases such as public security, safety, and tranquility. It elevates the state itself to a sanctity that puts it above criticism, similar to the security forces when it prohibits "any person or entity from publishing, transmitting, copying, or sending a message through any means of communication or various media, or any information or news related to the security forces or their movements, or the state government or any of its agencies or different units without referring to the competent authorities of the government or security agencies."
