This Montreal Firm is Whitewashing a notorious Sudanese militia commander w/ Duha Elmardi

On today’s episode of Metropolis, host Kalden Dhatsenpa speaks to Duha Elmardi, a Sudanese activist who is a core member of the Sudan Solidarity Collective, about the underreported conflict in Sudan which at the time of writing is the largest displacement crisis in the world with over 14 million displaced. Since April 2023, two military forces, The SAF and RSF have been warring in Sudan. This conflict is often reported as a civil war but Duha tells us that term is inaccurate in describing the conflict.“There are no good guys”. Duha instead considers the conflict as a “counter-revolutionary war”. As Duha states, since the 2019 revolution that led to the ousting of Omar al-Bashir, Sudan’s head of state for the last 30 years, military factions and foreign powers have been invested in suppressing popular will regarding the future of the nation. Duha singles out the sidelining of the “Revolutionary Charter for Establishing People’s Power” as evidence that the conflict is counter-revolutionary. This document was drafted by 8,000 neighbourhood committees. An impressive feat of organizing by itself.Duha makes a special note of Canadian influences in this conflict. Specifically, of the role that a Montreal-based PR firm had in securing funding and military equipment for the anti-democratic Sudanese military. The firm, Dickens & Madsen also was responsible for whitewashing General Mohamed Hamdam Dagalo, also known as Hemedti, the commanders of the notorious RSF militia group. This deal reveals the interwoven nature of colonial institutions and oppressors.Watch the full episode to hear the discussion on Sudan’s crisis.