Sudan Between the Project of War and the Project of Nationhood

Since the outbreak of this catastrophic war, the military, the Islamists (Kizan), and the warmongers have continued to promote illusions of a swift military victory, feeding public awareness with promises of imminent triumph. As the scope of the war widened day by day, transforming what was presented to the people as a temporary battle into a national tragedy open to ruin and disintegration, cities were destroyed, villages emptied of their inhabitants, honors violated, and the lives of millions of Sudanese turned into a daily journey of fear, hunger, displacement, and loss. Every time reality belied their propaganda, the advocates of war fled to a new narrative, fortifying themselves with rhetoric that was louder and less truthful. They did not admit failure, nor did they review their positions or apologize to the people who alone paid the price. Instead, they continued to invest politically and economically in the tragedy, fueling polarization, hatred, and accusations of treason, as if the homeland were nothing but an arena to settle scores and a stage for old power struggles. For opportunists and corruption networks, the war transformed into an opportunity for illicit enrichment and a means to reproduce influence and hegemony. While the Sudanese were losing their lives, homes, and sources of livelihood, others were accumulating political and economic gains on the ruins of a bleeding nation and a people facing increasing poverty, displacement, and suffering. This war has proven that the first victim is always the ordinary Sudanese citizen. As innocent people fell, homes and markets were looted, and state institutions and basic services were paralyzed, the profiteers found in the continuation of the war a permanent season for profit and influence, and an opportunity to reshape the centers of power that were toppled by the will of the masses and the glorious December Revolution. Therefore, it is not surprising that those who benefit from the war fear the arrival of peace. For them, the war does not represent a national catastrophe, but rather an umbrella that delays accountability and postpones political and moral dues. They realize that the end of the war will open the doors to questions they have long tried to escape: Who ignited these fires? Who incited them? Who funded them? And who benefited from their continuation while the nation was collapsing? They want the Sudanese to forget the years of tyranny and corruption, to forget the blood that was shed, the dreams carried by the December Revolution, and the sacrifices made to build a state of freedom, peace, and justice. However, nations may be exhausted by hardships, but they do not lose their memory, nor do they abandon their right to know the truth and hold those responsible accountable. Lies will not change the facts, and no propaganda rhetoric will succeed in erasing history or obscuring documented events. The truth cannot be defeated by noise, and national memory cannot be assassinated by misinformation. Political and moral responsibility will remain for everyone who contributed to igniting this catastrophe, inciting it, justifying it, or prolonging it. Nevertheless, the core of the Sudanese crisis lies not only in the continuation of the war, but also in the absence of an inclusive national project capable of uniting the Sudanese around a common future. Sudan is not collapsing because of the absence of a military victory for one side over another, but because of the lack of consensus on a state project that accommodates everyone and preserves everyone's rights. Experience has proven that hate speech does not build a state, that incitement does not create peace, and that mutual accusations of treason do not open the doors to the future. It has also proven that the logic of exclusion and dominance has produced nothing but more division, weakness, and collapse. Therefore, the true battle today is not between one army and another or one group and another, but between two contradictory projects: a project that seeks to keep Sudan a prisoner of war, militarization, tyranny, and impunity, and a project that aspires to build a civil, democratic state based on freedom, justice, and the rule of law. Hence, the national duty is not limited to demanding an end to the war, but also requires uniting the civil and democratic ranks around a common vision to save the country. The fragmentation and division among civil forces were among the most important factors that the forces of war, the counter-revolution, and the Kizan exploited over the past years. While the democratic forces were preoccupied with their disagreements, the forces opposed to civil transformation were more capable of organizing their ranks and investing the divisions in their favor. It is time for civil and democratic forces, resistance committees, unions, civil society organizations, and all believers in the civil state to realize that what unites them is much greater than what divides them. Intellectual and political differences are natural in any democratic society, but turning these differences into a permanent state of conflict serves only the enemies of peace and democratic transformation. What is needed today is not a formal unity or a temporary alignment imposed by circumstances; what is required is a serious national partnership based on a minimum set of common principles and goals, most importantly: ending the war, protecting civilians, achieving justice, rejecting the return of tyranny, and subsequently building a state of citizenship and law, and completing the goals of the December Revolution in freedom, peace, and justice. The future of Sudan will not be forged by guns, propaganda horns, or projects of political revenge. A homeland that has offered such a vast number of martyrs, victims, and displaced people deserves more than the continuation of war, and deserves more than the reproduction of the crises that led it to this precipice. Today, more than ever, the urgent national task seems clear and direct: stop the war, do justice to the victims, and unite the civil and democratic forces around an inclusive national project that rebuilds the state on the foundations of freedom, justice, and peace. Every day this unity is delayed prolongs the tragedy, and every step toward national consensus brings Sudan closer to emerging from this dark tunnel. Sudan does not need a winner in the war, but needs the triumph of the homeland over the war itself. It does not need the reproduction of tyranny, but needs to establish a fair democratic state that accommodates all its sons and daughters. It does not need to close the pages of the tragedy with oblivion, but needs to transcend it with truth, justice, and national reconciliation based on fairness and accountability. Today, Sudan is in need of a broad civil front that sides with the victims, not the warring parties; with the nation, not with narrow interests; and with the future, not with the conflicts of the past. A front that defends the right of the Sudanese to peace, dignity, and democracy, and works to reclaim the state from the grip of war, polarization, and hatred. A front whose slogan is: No return to tyranny, no legitimacy for the war, and no immunity for those who corrupted, incited, or traded with the blood of the Sudanese. A front whose slogan is: A just peace, justice that does not compromise, a civil democratic state, and a free and safe homeland that accommodates everyone.