A man poses for a selfie with a miniature Sudanese flag on his forehead on 22 June 2019 at a rally in Abraq, about 60km northwest of Khartoum (AFP)
A disastrous coup
To counter its isolation, the junta is trying to rely on Muslim extremists from the former dictatorial regime of Omar al-Bashir. In 1989, he seized power with the complicity of the fundamentalists led by al-Turabi. The latter had imposed a particularly restrictive Islamic regime and had been the champion of war against the people of South Sudan by invoking jihad. Ten years later, al-Bashir got rid of al-Turabi but kept the fundamentalists, well established in the state apparatus and unwavering supporters of the dictatorship. They were dismissed during the revolution, but al-Burhan has just reinstated them.
The economic situation is catastrophic, commodity and energy prices are rising, and Western loans are frozen. The only solution for the dictatorship is to try to find other donors. On the very day of the Russian intervention in Ukraine, Hemidti was going to Moscow to seek diplomatic and financial support. Given Putin’s setbacks, it’s not certain that the Sudanese generals can count on Russia’s financial assistance. Another solution is Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, both interested in maintaining the dictatorship. Indeed, thousands of Sudanese fighters have been sent by Hemidti to Yemen to fight against the Iranian-backed Houthis.
For the junta, the diplomatic and economic disaster is also political, as it tries in vain to put down popular mobilizations that are not weakening. Demonstrations succeed one another with the only slogan being the departure of the junta.
Political alternative
This demand for the departure of the junta does not correspond at all to the agenda of the various mediations driven by the West via the UN or the African Union. Their solution would be to return to the previous situation with a sharing of power between military and civilians. This proposal is inconceivable for those who lead the struggle, primarily the resistance committees which, through the neighbourhoods of the country’s major cities, structure the movement. They play a leading role in the mobilizations, and now they are present in the political debate.
We have previously talked about the charter of people’s power that is under discussion. The greater Khartoum resistance committees presented this at a press conference in mid-May. It includes democratic demands such as equal rights regardless of gender, race or religion, a total break with the military regime including judicial punishment for those responsible for the coup. At the security level, the charter favours an overhaul of military institutions and the withdrawal of troops from Yemen. An economic recovery plan against poverty, the fight against corruption and the cessation of the involvement of the army in economic activities. Finally, and perhaps a major step forward, the charter considers that the source of power must be the rank and file.
The political solution proposed by the resistance committees is:
The formation of a legislative council made up of the living forces of the revolution, which functions in a federal way: neighbourhood councils, federated at the level of cities, federated at the regional and finally national levels. This bottom-up legislative council, federally organized, must become the main political organ of the country. The aim is to transfer the maximum power from the centre to the regions, and to the local level.
This desire to organize popular control is the result of recent experience of negotiations after the revolution where the resistance committees were discarded in favour of the political class. It also reflects the more distant history where the popular movements have supported, against the military regimes, the two main Sudanese parties from the religious brotherhoods. Each time these parties have led the country to bankruptcy.
Such a charter should lead us to redouble our efforts to carry out concrete solidarity actions such as union twinning, like Britain’s National Education Union which has forged links with members of the Sudanese Teachers’ Committee and supported them during their strike on wage issues.
17 June 2022
Translated by International Viewpoint from l’Anticapitaliste[1].
References
- ^ l’Anticapitaliste (lanticapitaliste.org)
Newer articles:
- African Ambassadors Welcome Morocco’s Migration Policy, Express Readiness to Collaborate with Moroccan Authorities - 28/06/2022 00:00
- KCB South Sudan Employees Allege Poor Pay, Abuse - 27/06/2022 16:57
- 18 SSPDF officers, 7 youths killed in Tonj North clashes - 27/06/2022 16:55
- National Bank of Egypt to open its first branch in South Sudan on June 28 - 27/06/2022 09:07
- South Sudan still verifying unpaid Ugandan suppliers - govt - 27/06/2022 09:06
Older news items
- Congo bishops say pope’s Canada trip a good sign for future - 27/06/2022 00:03
- First Vietnamese peacekeeping engineering unit set to work in Abyei - 27/06/2022 00:01
- Chartered Plane Slides Off Runway at Juba Airport - 25/06/2022 09:39
- South Sudan Sudd Wetland - The inhabitants of the world’s largest wetland have learned to navigate its dramatic seasonal changes - 25/06/2022 01:58
- We must find a common game plan to address internal displacement in the Democratic Republic of Congo - 25/06/2022 00:58
Latest news items (all categories):
- South Sudan needs ‘civic education’ before elections, says bishop - 16/01/2025 16:42
- South Sudan parties set to resume peace talks in Kenya - 16/01/2025 16:39
- Abandoned but not forgotten – the invisible crisis in South Sudan - 16/01/2025 16:35
- The SAF has committed barbaric atrocities against South Sudanese refugees in Wad Medani - 16/01/2025 16:27
- Syria 2025: The historical Syrian project: From revolution to a modern inclusive civil state - 16/01/2025 16:10
Random articles (all categories):
- Covid-19: US donates 168,000 J J vaccine doses to South Sudan - 11/12/2021 05:30
- Sudan's PM issues decision to dissolve gov't - 07/02/2021 13:47
- Contested Abyei votes whether to join Sudan or South Sudan - 28/10/2013 07:25
- Hundreds of thousands affected by heavy floods in South Sudan, says UN - 31/08/2021 13:04
- Conflict in South Sudan linked to rise in number of young girls forced to marry - 26/02/2019 06:02
Popular articles:
- Who is the darkest person in the world, according to Guinness World Record? - 25/10/2022 02:34 - Read 61882 times
- No oil in troubled waters - 25/03/2014 15:02 - Read 22310 times
- School exam results in South Sudan show decline - 01/04/2012 17:58 - Read 21505 times
- NDSU student from South Sudan receives scholarship - In-Forum - 29/09/2012 01:44 - Read 19070 times
- Top 10 weakest currency exchange rates in Africa in 2023 - 19/07/2023 00:24 - Read 18874 times