The struggle for a constitutional discourse
The government’s closure and censorship of newspapers, banning of journalists and strict laws all prevent the media from encouraging people to take part in drafting the nation’s new constitution.
These problems formed the crux of a recent workshop entitled The Role of Media in Drafting the Next Constitution” where participants warned the government to loosen its grip on the media. They pressed for government to draft the constitution with the involvement of people, calling the current stage instrumental”.
Organised by the Al-Ayyam Centre for Cultural Studies and Developmental, in cooperation with Al-Alak Center for Journalistic Services, the workshop also admitted weak media coverage of the constitution drafting process.
No single individual or group can draft a constitution for all of the Sudanese people.” Taj Al-Sir Makki, a journalist and political analyst, stressed in a paper entitled The Constitutional Experiences in Sudan”, the need to approach the new constitution differently. Unless the new constitution was written by agreement, armed conflict will continue, the Sudanese economy will remain stagnant and corruption will rise, he said.
Makki stressed the need for transparent national dialogue, uniting Sudan behind respect for citizens’ dignity, rights and basic liberties. He also urged the creation of state structures that adhere to the rule of law and foster democracy.
No single individual or party can draft a constitution for all the Sudanese people,” he said. Sudan is characterised by enormous diversity and any attempt to discard that would be a mistake because the constitution is not a program for a single party or a vision for one group. Insisting on drafting the constitution single-handedly is a political manoeuvre and terroristic.”
And Sudan has a long and bumpy history of trying to hammer out a constitution. Past regimes ignored the popular voice while drafting constitutions, Makki said, adding that this decreased popular respect for the legal frameworks.
Mahjoub Muhammad Saleh, editor-in-chief of Al-Ayyam Newspaper, said: We already had seven attempts to draft a constitution for the country. Some of them happened under totalitarian regimes and ended in toppling them; others under democratic regimes but they didn’t succeed due to military coups.”
Saleh explained that Al-Ayyam group proposed a dialogue committee on the constitution and contacted all of the political forces including the National Congress Party and civil society organisations.
He added that media had many roles including boosting awareness about the constitution and functioning as a platform for dialogue on the constitution.
He stressed that the constitution could not be drafted unless there was total freedom. However, he did not correlate drafting the constitution with stopping the war in the current conflict areas. The constitution committee, which should be autonomous, may go there and collect their vision and demands of the constitution,” he added.
Stop alienating citizens in their own country. It is time to raise awareness and enlighten people about the constitution. We just have to start.” According to him, participation in the document may prove the first step towards stopping the war. Media are not interested in the constitution, he said, adding: We have a lot of work to do.”
We will not reach a compromise without dialogue,” he said, stressing that the governmental media should be neutral when tackling the constitution issues. He revealed that Al-Ayyam group had proposed to enlighten people about the constitution using the different local dialects. The alienation of citizens in their own country should be stopped. It is time to raise awareness and enlighten people about the constitution. We just have to start,” he explained.
Dr. Ata Al-Bathani, professor of politics, presented, in a paper entitled The Relationship between Religion and State in Constitution”, a detailed description of the previous instances of the relationships between religion and the state. He blamed the failure of the Sudanese constitution to the habit of giving certain privileges to specific groups.
Al-Bathani added that since independence the ruling junta has failed to unify the nation’s constituents within a political framework that ensures basic rights.
He considered the current stage instrumental in Sudan’s history, stressing that media must reach out to people and involve them in the constitution writing process. The absence of basic liberties and freedom of expression and weakening the political forces have added to journalists’ burdens,” he said. The environment we operate in hides many risks.”
