The real upcoming battle: Parties to the political process

Babikir Faisal writes…The real upcoming battle: Parties to the political process

Reports are coming in that both parties to the ongoing conflict in Sudan: Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces, have agreed to the invitation presented by the mediation to resume negotiations in the Jeddah platform during the first week of next month “May”.

This approval comes after mounting pressure from the international community “especially the United States of America”, as well as the major role played by parties in the regional community with direct influence and impact on both parties to the conflict in urging them to return to the negotiation table in order to reach an agreement of cessation of hostilities.

While the Sudanese people hope the next round of negotiations will succeed in reaching an agreement that will put an end to the war, in addition to facilitating the creation of safe paths for the arrival of humanitarian aid, the protection of civilians as well as the return to their homes in preparation for the launch of the political process, various complications stand in the way of reaching that agreement and resuming the transitional phase in the country.

Undoubtedly, the party that ignited the war and is putting forth efforts into its continuation “the National Congress Party/Islamic Movement” will be the most affected by the cessation of hostilities and resuming the path of political transition, therefore it will do everything in its power to hider the process of reaching an agreement between both parties to the conflict, and if the agreement is achieved, it will seek -using any means necessary- to thwart its implementation on the ground through its armed brigades and solid sect within the Security and Military Services.

Alternatively, if the agreement follows the wishes of the biggest loser in the war, which is the Sudanese citizen, and the warring parties chose to commit to implementing it and honoring their commitments, that will leave those who call for the continuation of the war “the National Congress Party/Islamic Movement” with no choice but to seek to find a foothold in the political process. Under the pretext that this process should be “comprehensive” and without “excluding anyone.”

In case the two aforementioned options fail, the third trick the National Congress Party and its allies will use is; to “drown” the political process with made-up alliances and banners created specifically in order to abort the main goals the political process hopes to achieve, which is achieving the December revolution slogans and placing the country on the path of democratic civil transformation.

The battle between the parties to the political process will constitute the upcoming “core of the conflict” between the revolutionary forces seeking to put the country on the path to civilization and democracy and the National Congress Party and its allies, aiming to return to power at any cost. This battle will not be as easy as some might expect, especially since regional and international parties are seeking to achieve the drowning scenario. “Al-Salam Rotana” negotiations are never too far from the mind.

The best form of resistance to this scenario lies in unifying and strengthening the civilian ranks, and if it wasn’t possible to bring together all the civilian forces calling for ending the war and demanding the fulfillment of the slogans of the December Revolution on one front, then airtight coordinations must be made between these forces through agreement on the means and goals that would impede the scenario of drowning the political process, as the success of this scenario will harm all revolutionary forces without exception.

The upcoming political process’s design and the identification of its parties must be carried out according to strict and precise standards, with the revolutionary forces having a significant role in its development, so that no made-up entities or alliances are allowed to participate in it, but rather it takes place with the participation of Political Parties, Armed Movements, Resistance Committees, Civil Society Organizations, trade unions as well as professional organizations, and well-known national figures that possess a real and effective presence in the political scene.

The counter-revolutionary forces will not stop their continuous efforts aimed at turning back the clock and restoring the National Congress Party’s ruling system under the pretext of “non-exclusion”, and the step of identifying the parties to the political process will constitute one of the tools through which they work to achieve their endeavors, which ensures their control of the outcomes of that process and destroy the most important goal of placing the country on the right path to democratic civil transformation