War in Sudan: Imperialism fuels the refugee crisis
Newsletter ‘In Movement’ 6 (2024)
Internationalist greetings! We present to you the sixth edition for 2024 of the In Movement Newsletter from the International Peoples’ Assembly (IPA). This month, we invite you to learn more about the war in Sudan and the catastrophic crisis that is erupting in this African country, as well as to share IPA’s materials on the topic. We are also providing information on the mobilizations for Palestine, our statement on the need for radical transformation in the face of the environmental crisis, and news about the elections in Mexico, South Africa, India, and Venezuela.
In the framework of World Refugee Day on June 20th, we draw attention to the situation of refugees, displaced people, and all forms of violence suffered by the Sudanese people amid a brutal war that has been ongoing for over a year. Read our analysis on the war in Sudan and visit our website for more historical and contextual information.
WAR IN SUDAN: IMPERIALISM FUELS THE REFUGEE CRISIS
Sudan currently faces the world’s worst displacement crisis. More than 10 million people have been displaced since April 2023, over half being women and a quarter being children under five years old. 70% of those displaced are at risk of famine. Around 2 million people have fled from Sudan since then, as refugees, asylum seekers, and returnees, and many more are internally displaced and are suffering the extreme violence of this brutal war. This is a catastrophic scenario and huge humanitarian crisis affecting Sudan’s 49 million people.
It has been more than a year since the Sudanese people began suffering the violence and devastation wrought by the civil war that erupted on April 15th, 2023, between the country’s armed forces and the Rapid Support Forces. The ongoing bloodshed cannot be justified and must end. The conflict has been caused by competing interests over the control of resources (such as oil reserves, gold, chromium, copper, among others) which belong to the Sudanese people. Foreign actors support competing forces in the hopes of gaining access to said resources, in an effort to shore up their strength. This type of dispute is symptomatic of a global context marked by the kind of instability, violence and absence of global governance that is associated with US imperialism.
Since the uprising started in December 2018, the Sudanese people have been fighting to make real change that guarantees peace, freedom, and justice. This led to the beginning of a revolutionary process, which was interrupted by this brutal war.
While there is no prospect of an internal political solution to end the suffering of the Sudanese people, the international community is responding to the situation with reports and statistics that don’t impact the realities on the ground. The only solution to the current conflict involves an assertive decision from powers outside of Sudan to cease providing weapons or military support to either side.
The context of instability and violence in the world is a result of US imperialism, which, in addition to stimulating the massive production of weapons, also intensifies regional disputes and tensions among power factions, as seen in Sudan and other regions.
The most important path for peace is to legitimize political actors which include social movements, trade unions, and political parties that must be actively involved in the transition to peace and democracy. Negotiations and agreements only involving the same political actors that have been at the root of the war and decades of undemocratic rule will only result in protracted conflict, of which the Sudanese people are the primary victims.
The International Peoples’ Assembly is firmly in solidarity with the struggles for peace, sovereignty, democracy and a people’s government in Sudan. We call upon all the progressive forces and people in the world to support the Sudanese struggle and their revolutionary forces, by launching solidarity campaigns, producing and sharing informational and educational materials, and putting pressure on our governments not to recognize the coup regime.
Updates
Try Biden and Netanyahu for the genocide of the Palestinian people | On June 8th, tens of thousands surrounded the White House in Washington DC, United States, in protest of the Rafah invasion. The 100,000-strong People’s Red Line sends a strong message to the Biden government: Stop the genocide now! The people of the United States denounce Biden’s complicity in the Israeli genocide in Gaza and demand US institutions end aid to Israel. Later, a “People’s Court” took place to try Biden and Netanyahu for genocide, organized by formations part of the IPA in North America, such as ANSWER Coalition, The People’s Forum, Palestinian Youth Movement, among others. A huge mobilization was called for July 24th, when Israel’s prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu will visit Washington DC. Join us in forming a People’s Red Line against genocide around the Capitol Building! If Biden and the US administration refuse to draw a real red line against genocide, WE WILL! We are the red line!
Changing reality for an ecologically harmonious future | On World Environment Day, June 5th, the IPA, ALBA Movements, the World March of Women, and the Movement of People Affected by Dams issued a call for radical transformation in times of environmental crisis. In 2024 alone, catastrophic floods have devastated at least 12 countries, while political and economic forces continue to obscure the true severity and causes. Faced with this scenario of destruction, tragedies, and environmental crimes driven by neoliberalism and its policies of shrinking the state and harming nature and public infrastructure, only international popular mobilization can transform our reality and the future of humanity. Let’s overhaul the economic system to champion social justice, eradicate exploitation, and foster balance and reciprocity with nature. Together, we can build a more equitable, safe, and ecologically harmonious future! Read our full statement here.
Youth Brigade in Cuba | Over 100 young people from more than 25 organizations in North America joined a brigade to Cuba to see for themselves and learn from the successes and challenges faced by the island and its people. The Let Cuba Live brigade was organized by the International Peoples’ Assembly in North America and visited the country in the first week of June. Our delegation of young people met with residents of many communities, cultural and historical spaces, agricultural and productive projects, and also with Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel to discuss the pressing issues facing humanity, the lessons from waging a socialist revolution, and the campaigns to end the US blockade against Cuba and its people. End the blockade! Let Cuba Live!
Haití: 20 years of MINUSTAH crimes | Last June 1st marked 20 years since the beginning of one of the most tragic military interventions in Latin America, that of MINUSTAH, the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti, which was active from 2004 to 2017. To remember the date, ALBA Movements published a communiqué denouncing the violence committed by MINUSTAH, and also expressed its solidarity with the Haitian people in their struggle for sovereignty, justice and responsibilities to international organizations. The system of colonial domination suffered by the Haitian people since 1804, when the forces of imperialism intervened militarily and economically to stop the struggle for the liberation of the Haitian people, continues with its claws on the Caribbean island. The IPA and ALBA Movements are carrying out campaigns of solidarity with Haiti and its people, reaffirming our struggle “For a dignified and sovereign Haiti, free from occupation!”
Pan-Africanism Seminar | ALBA Movements, the Caribbean Peoples’ Assembly, and the IPA promoted the seminar “Pan-Africanism and Liberation” during May and June. The objective of this collective study was to strengthen political education on Pan-Africanism, black revolutions, and emancipation processes at the global level.
Session themes included the history of Pan-Africanism, how racism is sustained by capitalism and colonialism, the processes of black revolutions around the world, and Pan-Africanism today. The sessions are available on the ALBA Movements YouTube channel.
News
Madaar
“Bloodbath” and ethnic cleansing in Sudan: What is happening in Darfur?
An imminent humanitarian catastrophe is approaching the city of El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur, bringing to mind the cycle of atrocities that the region witnessed 20 years ago.
Peoples Dispatch
South Africa at a turning point? How the 2024 elections will shape the future
Will South Africa move towards eliminating poverty and stake out its own ground in a multipolar world order? Or regress towards a role as a node for the West in Africa?
Peoples Dispatch
Europe’s shift to the right must be countered with mass mobilization and politicization
The European elections held on Sunday June 9 consolidated the rightward trend in European politics, but the result has given important insights to the left.
ARG Medios
Europe’s shift to the right must be countered with mass mobilization and politicization
Eight years after the femicide of the Honduran environmental and indigenous activist, her family demands the ratification of the convictions of the material perpetrators sentenced in 2018.
Brasil de Fato
From right to left: how Venezuela’s regions vote for president
With less than 50 days to go until the election, candidates are trying to strengthen their electoral bases and seek votes in states with less strength.
Peoples Dispatch
Claudia Sheinbaum is the next president of Mexico
The progressive leader is making history as the first woman president in North America and has vowed to follow in the footsteps of her colleague President López Obrador in building an anti-neoliberal economic development model.
Peoples Dispatch
Amra Ram is one of the eight left leaders elected from different parts of the country to represent the working class in the Indian parliament’s lower chamber, Lok Sabha, usually dominated by the country’s rich.
Asia Times
Maligned migrants make the world go round, by Vijay Prashad
The progressive leader is making history as the first woman president in North America and has vowed to follow in the footsteps of her colleague President López Obrador in building an anti-neoliberal economic development model.
Peoples Dispatch
Progressive Chilean groups have alleged that the ruling was disproportionate and represents politically motivated lawfare.
Analysis
The New Cold War Is Sending Tremors through Northeast Asia
This dossier of the Tricontinental Institute looks at how the US-led New Cold War against China is destabilizing Northeast Asia, focusing on the Korean Peninsula, Taiwan Strait, and Japan.
Regarding the Pain of Others as Our Own
The third bulletin of the Tricontinental’s Art Department reflects on Maruki’s impactful Hiroshima Panels. The power of images to compel us to feel is a poignant point amid campus protests, highlighting art’s role in fostering internationalism.
