The Political Process Requires a Conducive Atmosphere!
Dr. Elshafie Khidir Saeid
With a prolonged unresolved crisis, Sudan is about to go into a dangerous stage with terrifying possibilities including a societal civil war similar to the fire raging in Libya, Syria, and Yemen. As we have been saying all the time, Sudan is in dire need of an effective and safe exit. In my opinion, this safe exit is the option that combines an effective cure to the crisis with the least costs that prevent the country from falling into the quagmire of civil war and the destruction of the homeland.
The essence of such an option must be based on abandoning the civil-military partnership formula that has been running the country since the beginning of the transitional period and has only resulted in deepening the crisis and accelerating the regression towards the abyss.
I believe a new formula is needed to navigate the transitional period towards the safe ends. But, while searching for such alternative formulae, one should emphasize that this does not mean excluding the military institution and depriving it of exercising its national role. Rather, the military has a fundamental role in contributing to and addressing the national issues of the homeland.
This new formula requires an agreement on new constitutional measures according to which the constitutional document of 2019 will be amended or canceled and replaced with a new constitutional document to govern the remainder of the transitional period, which I think has to be extended to twenty-four months, effective from the date of signing the new document.
Of course, there are several means and tactics to reach this new formula, but the one that meets the combination of effectiveness and low cost is the political process launched jointly by the tripartite effort of UNITAMS, the African Union, and the IGAD.
I do believe that this tripartite effort will not move one step forward and will not bring any positive results if the requirements for creating an appropriate and conducive atmosphere for the political process are not met.
We reiterate that these requirements should include:
- Immediately release all the political detainees, and refrain from carrying out any new arrests or violations of the freedoms and human rights enshrined in the constitutional document and the international covenants.
- Freezing the charges against members of the Empowerment Removal Committee and releasing them immediately. These charges can be discussed later in a healthy atmosphere in accordance with the recognized legal procedures.
- Stopping violence against peaceful demonstrators and committing to expediting the completion of the investigation into the killings of demonstrators and bringing the perpetrators to trial.
- Stopping the procedures for dismissing civil servants and freezing the dismissal and the employing decisions that have been made after the 25th of October coup.
- Lifting the state of emergency, but maintaining the provisions related to the economic situation.
These and other requirements are no items on the agenda of the political process, but rather they are the prerequisite for the initiation of the process, and they should precede any of its other steps, and the tripartite should make a point to see them implemented.
Fulfilling these requirements is nothing more than providing freedom of assembly, organization, expression, and movement, so it is a legitimate demand since the Sudanese people have the right to participate in such a process that discusses their future and the fate of the nation. It is nothing but a token of the seriousness of the regime, and it is a “down payment” for what the political process is supposed to achieve if it succeeds.
Only a strong will can defeat frustration and open the windows of hope.