Sudanese civil society groups call for end to the war and restoration of democracy

Lenin Ndebele

1 day ago24:57

Amid the Sudan crisis, an information battle | The Listening Post

• Sudanese civil society groups are demanding the return of civilian governance.
• The groups say society will be militarised and democracy will be upended if fighting is not stopped.
• The Trilateral Mechanism and the Quad say there's hope for a full cessation of hostilities since a 72-hour ceasefire between the Sudanese Armed Forces and Rapid Support Forces.

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News24 in Banjul, Gambia

Civil society groups in Sudan say society will be militarised and democracy will be upended if heavy gunfire exchange in the region is not stopped immediately.

The war will also uproot the very foundations of civil life, they say.

The groups have joined forces under the theme: "The civilian front for ending the war and restoring democracy," to return the country to civilian governance.

The signatories to the resolution have been drawn from political parties, civic society, trade unions, academia and media freedom. 

Their main demands are:

• Stopping the war immediately and providing urgent humanitarian, medical, and public service needs to citizens in the affected areas.
• Putting the country back on the course of transition to democracy and civil rule.
• Ensuring full exit of the military from political and economic spheres.
• Implementing a comprehensive reform of the security and military institutions, and creating one professional army, through peaceful steps and under the umbrella of a national civilian transitional democratic process.
• Foiling the defunct regime's plans to return to power under the camouflage of war and the actions of the ill-sighted Islamist coup.
• Challenging calls for alignment on the basis of ethnic, tribal, regional and religious grounds; resisting propaganda, terrorist campaigns and hate speech; and promoting the values of citizenship and peaceful coexistence.
• Rejecting all forms of external intervention in local affairs, except international efforts to stop the war, provide humanitarian aid, and reach comprehensive and just peace.

The organisations say that if their key demands are met, their "people will ultimately triumph over tyrants".

In an address on Saturday at a side event ahead of the 75th ordinary session of the African Commission on Human and People's Rights (ACHPR) in Banjul, Gambia, ACHPR commissioner Janet Ramatoulie Sallah-Njie said Africa should not watch as the continent burns down in conflict.

She said the situation in Sudan should serve as a warning that if the continent failed to bring about a rules-based world, years of development would be washed away.

READ | 'Near-total' internet blackout in Sudan as battle rages on

The Trilateral Mechanism and the Quad (the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the UAE, the UK and the US) said in a statement late on Friday that since the 72-hour ceasefire between Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), there was hope for immediate discussions towards an end to the fighting.

"We also welcome their readiness to engage in dialogue towards establishing a more durable cessation of hostilities and ensuring unimpeded humanitarian access.  

"This initial phase of diplomacy to establish a process to achieve a permanent cessation of hostilities and humanitarian arrangements will contribute to action on the development of a de-escalation plan as outlined in the April 20 African Union communiqué, which was endorsed by the League of Arab States, the European Union, the Troika, and other bilateral partners," the statement read.

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