The situation in Sudan has erupted into bloodshed and massacres, while Sudanese people were preparing for the holiday with its joy and festivities, accompanied by children and peace. The bodies of Sudanese have been scattered across the Arab countries, as usual, at the hands of the men tasked with protecting homelands and peoples. This is not the first, nor the second, nor the last time the military has engaged in such acts. This is yet another wave of violence that disrupts the lives of people and shows contempt for the dignity of civilians, violating their rights, the foremost of which is the practice of civil governance, while the military's right is limited to obeying the political authority and fulfilling its responsibilities.
We have never believed for a moment that the military would share power, nor that they would hand it over to its legitimacy after some time. This is a matter that is clear from Al-Suwar Al-Dhahab, and we know there is no foundation to it. However, no one could have imagined that the nature of disdain for the law and the safety of peoples would reach such a bloody collapse. At least not in the month of mercy, during the height of fasting and invocation, when all small feelings unbecoming of the purity and greatness of festive days should be transcended.
Is it the "curse," as feared by Abdul Rahman Al-Rashed, that is extinguished in Yemen only to ignite in Khartoum? The truth is that it has never been extinguished in Khartoum. In Khartoum, Jaafar Nimeiri replaced Mohamed Ahmed Mahjoub, a symbol of thought, literature, breadth, and openness, while in Khartoum, Omar al-Bashir made the dancing stick the symbol of his rule, forcing Sadiq al-Mahdi to choose between house arrest and exile. Under the military and a culture of tanks, the south was lost, the north collapsed, and hopes for establishing a government befitting this struggling and unfortunate people were dashed.
Al-Bashir offered his people the stick, Janjaweed of Darfur, an agreement with Carlos Ramirez, and a contract with Osama bin Laden. When he ventured outside the borders, he conspired against Egypt and the life of its president. All that Sudanese people wanted was a government that would address the horrific inflation and build proper roads and streets in the heart of the triangular capital.
A person is either military or civilian. Combining the two is a betrayal of military spirit and an assault on civil spirit. All experiments and models are clear before us, and their history is not far. There is no simpler or clearer truth than this truth.
On this blessed day, we can only hope for a day when we can find calm everywhere: in Sana'a, Khartoum, and Tripoli, and for every group to return to its role and its proper place. Enough has befallen the military in their countries: the theatrics of the stick and the barrels of the tanks. Happy New Year to you all.
