Sudan's Local Fight for Justice
In the aftermath of Sudan's military coup in October 2021, waves of pro-democracy protesters took to the streets demanding the total return of the civilian-led transitional rule. Similar to the revolution in 2019, thousands of diverse Sudanese reclaimed the streets from Khartoum to the Blue Nile, chanting the slogans 'No negotiations, no compromise, no power-sharing'. However, returning to the streets for many Sudanese was a risk that they would take. Given that it was only two years since the removal of dictator Omar al-Bashir, alongside his three-decade regime of authoritarianism.
Across Sudan, civilian-led movements such as the forces for freedom and change, resistance committee network, Sudanese Professionals Association, and various informal groups have mobilized themselves in demanding nothing less than democracy, human rights, and freedom. In contrast, the UN Integrated Transition Assistance Mission in Sudan (UNITAMS) has attempted to find a quick solution to the current political crisis in Sudan by facilitating mediation talks with representatives from the revolutionary social movement, political parties, and the military.
However, attention must also be drawn to the UN's interference in halting a grassroots social movement. History has taught us that radical social change will not come from negotiating with elites whose interest is to maintain the old institutional regime. Instead, on the streets citizens can take the lead in the future of their country - By disrupting the old and creating a new inclusive governance.
The radical role and participation of Sudan's civil society teach us the true power lies within everyday activism.
What is happening in Sudan is the revolutionary grassroots movement of ordinary civilians who have dared to risk their lives to challenge and disrupt unequal power structures. They have shown us their determination and power to overcome the structural violence inflicted by those seeking to uphold intergenerational oppressive regimes and power.
The network of local resistance committees groups, which find its roots in the 1990s mobilization against Omar al-Bashir, has positioned itself as a transformative opportunity, a moment in history where Sudanese, regardless of gender, class, and ethnic background, can now envision and dream of new possibilities and reality for Sudan, by engaging in social, economic and political discussion, freely exchanging ideas and asking critical questions such as what does inclusive political representation, participation freedom, and justice mean to them?
In creating this new future of freedom, peace, and justice, it is the diverse activism and united coordination of Sudan's civil society that are sowing the seeds - from the neighborhood resistance committee groups who are organizing large-scale demonstrations, strikes, and protests in cities across Sudan rejecting the military coup, alongside its aim to bring back the old authoritarian rule - To civil society organization facilitating safe spaces, documenting the human rights violations, while also providing development and humanitarian assistance. To informal groups that are organizing local peace-building initiatives on human rights, gender equality, and community social cohesion, all of which are working towards and preparing for Sudan's peaceful transitioning and the inclusive participation of communities.
The struggle for civilian-led transition and freedom is not without any sacrifices; since the military coup, almost 93 protestors have been killed over 2,000 injured, and many forcibly kidnapped and tortured. In addition, women activists and human rights defenders at the forefront of the revolution in Sudan have been targeted and assaulted by security forces, which has further ignited the fuel of the resistance committee network and its radical aim to transform the state and break the cycle of oppression.
Rejecting the International approach to peace and transitional justice
When we discuss transitional justice or peace-building, we must acknowledge the everyday transformative activism which consists of civilian-led disruption against the state; for the resistance committee, inclusive representation and democratic political change can only come about through revolutionary thinking and actions of achieving the unimaginable, not through the top-down UN-facilitated political process which will lead to compromised negotiation, the false illusion of peace and democracy, as well as the continuance unaddressed grievances and injustices.
This explains why in February 2021, UN mediation talks were rejected by the Sudan Professionals Association, one of the leading and influential protest organizers, as they do not seek to directly or indirectly engage with military generals nor is it part of their radical strategy.
The rejection is a sharp reminder of the lack of trust in the UN peace approach, which rarely reflects the long-term aspiration of civil society and local communities, and instead creates opportunities for war criminals to participate in establishing new transitional governance and political structures and accessing power, which is why Sudanese civil society in this second phase of the revolution is refusing to engage in any form of top-down transitional dialogue, and other type of distractions to their radical social movement.
As the protest continues in Sudan, we are witnessing a coordinated revolutionary movement of resistance committee groups who are not only focused on getting rid of representatives of the past regime but also developing pathways to the country's transitional phase through a political chapter that aims to articulate and unite all the social, economic and political ideas and visions of the social movements as well as establishing a national transitional justice commission.
As mentioned at the start of the blog, achieving these radical transformative demands and social change in Sudan will not be achieved through UN peace meetings but within informal grassroots spaces in cities across Sudan. The International community must take a step back and truly listen to the demands of activists on the ground in order for there to be sustainable transitional governance.