Stand Against the War in Sudan: A United Front for Civilian Protection and Democracy in Sudan
Commander Pagan Amum Okiech, with Chairman Dr. John Garang and Commander Yasir Said Arman, Rumbek Senior, 2003
By Yasir Arman, Khartoum, Sudan
Thursday, April 20, 2023 (PW) — War is the reality today in Sudan. It started from the capital, not from the periphery as has been the case for many decades, and it is a different war in its essence and objectives than previous wars. What will hurt Sudan more than war is division among its society and citizens and for hate speech and ethnic, and geographical divisions to lead the way instead of a united civilian front for the protection of civilians, ensuring the right for international humanitarian law and human rights and democracy.
If the wisdom to prevent the war did not prevail, then to survive the war itself, the only game in town is to forge a united civilian front against all the odds that can divide the Sudanese society by geography, ethnicity, religion, and culture. We should base our unity on the values and goals of the December Revolution that has united the Sudanese from all over Sudan and from all walks of life. Definitely, the flame of the December Revolution should never die, whatever the cost. We should not allow war to divide us and undermine the December Revolution dreams as it has done in other cases.
I was part of an FFC small committee that has been meeting General Burhan and General Hemedti in the last four months to finalize the political process and restore civilian governance against the old regime and the Islamists of the National Congress, who are trying to stop this dispensation from taking place, even if it means war.
On the eve of the war, we met General Burhan for four hours until the early morning of Saturday, and we had similar contacts with General Hemedti and General Abed El Rahim. They had agreed to form a joint committee from the two chief operations of SAF and RSF under the chairmanship of Dr. Elhadi Idress, but the war broke out before the convening of the meeting of that committee. Nevertheless, we should all in the pro-democracy forces stand against this war.
The Sudanese state wasn’t functioning after decades of fascism under General Bashir and the state capture by one political trend that has led to many wars in the peripheries, the secession of South Sudan, and this failure that has reached its highest point in the collapse of the Sudanese nation-state, which existed since 1956. Today, Sudan requires a paradigm shift and a new nation-building project at a very difficult time with complex situations in the region and worldwide. Concurrently, Sudan is part of a big geopolitical game from the Red Sea to Central Africa and from the Horn of Africa to the Sahel Region.
The war in Sudan will negatively and seriously impact Africa, Europe and beyond, and it would not be a Sudanese-Sudanese war. Many actors in the region and beyond will be involved. This would be at the expense of the unity of Sudan and, more seriously, at the expense of the unity of its own people. It may be worth mentioning that this war is coming at a time when the international community is involved in many crises and an international tug-of-war that may reshape our world, including looting the resources of many developing countries.
The human cost of this war is very high. Khartoum, the capital, is heavily populated by 10-12 million which represent all forms of diversity in Sudan. The majority are poor and earn their living day-to-day. Now they are held hostage in their homes, surrounded by wars. The health system is on the verge of collapse. The Sudanese medical institutions are inventing miracles to discharge their duties. Wounded people cannot go to the facilities. The deceased cannot be buried. Kids, the elderly and the sick are in miserable situations. It is a very sad and painful reality.
The current situation has brought four priorities, interrelated and interconnected, and we call on all friends of Sudan to stand by the Sudanese people at this crucial historical moment as they work on achieving the four priorities. It is worth mentioning that the FFC Committee is still in contact with General Burhan and General Hemedti together and in contact with all the great and valuable efforts of the international community, the QUAD, Tripartite led by the United Nations, African Union, IGAD, Troika, and Europe. The expected arrival of the Executive of the African Union and the three heads of state of IGAD is urgent and crucial before the war deepens its roots.
The four priorities in front of the Sudanese people and their friends are:
1) Protection of civilians and resolving the humanitarian crisis as a matter of priority through an urgent humanitarian cessation of hostilities with a verification mechanism.
2) The United Nations agencies and the international humanitarian aid agencies taking Sudan as a priority with an urgent plan to reduce human suffering. They may need to go to Sudan as an urgent emergency.
3) The Sudanese people forming a united civilian front against war and for the protection of civilians and democracy that all friends of Sudan should assist in the region and the international community. The civilian presence in the resolutions of the war is key and it is the only way for democracy.
4) Political settlement that should lead to finalizing the great effort of the framework document to establish democracy as the bottom line, taking into consideration the new realities.
The Sudanese inside and outside of Sudan need to bypass the shock and pain of this war to mobilize our energies to address the humanitarian crisis and protection of civilians as a priority, to stop the war, and to bring back the united civilian act as key for any coming solution on the basis of the values, goals and dreams of the December Revolution, which needs to be executed in a very different and challenging environment. We need to unite our people against hate speech and to build a united civilian democratic front from all over Sudan and from all walks of life.
We should not allow this war to become a full-fledged civil war. It is still possible to reach a solution on its current phase.
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