Pacifying Sudan is Pacifying East Africa and Beyond

April 20, 2023

 Peace and stability of one country is also important for the neighbor and the region especially when the issue is likely to have a spillover effect.

So is the case in Sudan. The situation there matters not only for Sudan itself but also for the entire East Africa, as well as the continent at large. Therefore, global and continental institutions should play their role to broker and ensure peace in Sudan before the situation gets worse.

First of all the steps to seek peace in Sudan should emanate out of genuine friendship with the peace-loving people. The people of Sudan have more than enough of the brunt of war, communal strife and unrest. They have lost innumerable lives of civilians. They have suffered protracted war. The country has also fallen in continuous unrest since the upheaval that broke out seeking justice and democracy and ended up with the overthrow of the long-serving former President Omar Al Bashir.

The unwavering stance of the people to see a legitimate civil government is wise and justifiable. Their strong peaceful movement to establish a democratically elected government is also a principled quest towards democracy. This is a sovereign and legitimate quest that is raised by anyone anywhere in the world.

Therefore the political forces that are ruling the country at the moment would rather stop engaging in conflict and resort to peaceful means to respond to the underlying quest of the people. They should take a lesson from the experience in the Horn countries concerning the zero-sum game behind pursuing conflict as a means to achieving one’s interest. At the end of the day, it is the interest of the people that needs to prevail over others. The interest of the people of Sudan, like all others is peace, democracy and justice.

The ultimate and best way to these desires is peaceful dialogue. The application of peaceful means is not a new practice in Sudan. It is a long-ingrained political and social culture of the people as expressed by PM Abiy Ahmed (PhD) during the outbreak of the latest conflict “The people of Sudan possess the wisdom to resolve their problem”

The bottom line issue here is the ultimate decision of how to solve their difference and what to put in place is the sovereign right of the people of Sudan. Therefore friendly governments and organizations should redouble efforts to soothe the military forces that are undergoing the current unrest towards peaceful dialogue.

 It is to be recalled that the government of Ethiopia led by Prime Minister Abiy played a remarkable role in bringing the conflicting sides of Sudan to peace on June 2019. This had a vital role in stabilizing the country and preventing the possible crisis that would have rocked both Sudan and the region.

 Now too, Ethiopia has called on the rival forces to resort to peaceful means. The Peace and Security Council of the African Union (AU) has also issued a statement expressing that it is alarmed by the situation in the country. The regional block IGAD has also expressed concern over the looming crisis in Sudan and called for peaceful means. Indeed, it is good that the neighboring country Ethiopia, as well as AU and IGAD, issued their concerns on the alarming development in Sudan.

Yet their actions should go beyond issuing statements and expressing concerns. As much as possible they should commit themselves to taking practical actions that can rescue the country from spiraling into complicated strife. The travel by PM Abiy to Khartoum to mediate the rival forces, which was effective at that moment, can be mentioned as an example. Failing to do so would cost everyone dearly as Sudan’s peace and stability is a vital factor in the pace and stability of East Africa, the Middle East and Africa.

All the efforts should keep in mind the ultimate desire of the people of Sudan and urge all conflicting sides to respect the interest and feelings of the people which is a peaceful resolution towards durable peace, democracy and justice.

THE ETHIOPIAN HERALD THURSDAY 20 APRIL 2023