Depoliticising the Sudanese Army by Dr El-tahir El-faki

01:47 PM December, 22 2022

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Dr.El-Tahir El-Faki-UK
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Antipathies among the contending Sudanese political forces have generated widespread progressive non conciliatory political competition and damaging vengeful defiance. Since independence, most of the public including military professionals, police, and the security have been gradually nudged from loyalty to the state into ideological, militia and tribal affiliations. The decades of wars against the insurgents in the marginalized areas have skewed the thinking of the soldiers serving in today’s armed forces away from the values of devotion to democratic civil rule and national patriotic valiance. The brunt fell upon those who have seen their entire careers consumed by fighting fellow Sudanese in South Sudan, Nuba Mountains and Darfur. An army that is militia based, ideological or popular force loyalist requires radical reconsideration for reform to nip potential confrontations with the people and become protectors of democratic rule. The Sudanese politicians should not manipulate the social and economic inequalities of democracy to encourage the Military to undermine the democratic establishments and instigate military coups.
On the 4th of July 2022 General Al-Burhan announced the depoliticisation of the Military and urged the civilian leaders to achieve consensus and form a civilian-led government. To strike a deal with the Military, the Forces for Freedom and Change (FFC), together with the Trilateral Mechanism engaged in secret consultations to re-establish a transitional rule based on the draft constitution of the Sudanese Bar Association (SBA). After series of denials and confessions a framework agreement was signed on Monday the 5th December 2022.
In pursuit for political power in 2019, the FFC signed a power sharing deal and endorsed the Military to be the authority champion of constitutional legitimacy during the halftime of the interim period. It is difficult now to conceal the hideous intention yet again for a bilateral deal with the Military knowing that the process grants the army institutional endorsement to politicise and remain in power instead of surrendering it all to the civilians. Politicisation of the army equates the handing of power by the Umma Party to the Military in 1958. Now the framework agreement induces and appeases the military to side with the signatories.
Addressing the army in a military base at Al-Maaquil north of Khartoum on 14/12/2022 Al-Burhan said that there is no settlement yet, but only an agreement that includes notions that the Military approves and agrees with to save the country as long as the ideals and epitomes of the country are unscathed.
While human rights allow freedom of speech and expression and political association to every person, the army does not permit such exercise within the boundaries of professional duties. As the responsibility increases due to rank promotion, the line between personal and professional obligations is impossible to draw. The more senior an army officer progresses the ability to speak and exercise personal political views depreciates with no choice but to voice for the establishment. External and internal political and economic pressures exerted on the military will make it harder to avoid concessions to those trying to use the Military for support and positions to overthrow their opponents or weaken some of the influential army generals or the commander-in-chief. The worst is to concede national integrity and social ideals. Therefor it is incumbent upon the politicians and the public to shield the military from politicization and ease it to debate national issues the right way without circumventing the theme all in all. The army must reaffirm its commitment to avoid guarantees, allegiances, public partisanship, institutional endorsement or involvement with ideologues or politicians to influence the course of democratic entertainment. Focusing on these issues will enrich relation between the military and the public and help army leaders and their troops to immediately detect inappropriate political demeanours.
Though the Rapid Support Force (RSF) is inherently a tool of the military to legitimize political decisions it has generated damaging public’s trust in the military and its ability to provide unbiased expert guidance. An independent RSF is subordination of the military’s high command and a future gunpowder barrel awaiting trigger of catastrophic consequences. The Sudanese Armed Forces is too valued to politicise and all efforts to reform and advance its restructure is an urgent national desire.
Standing up for the values of the military is critical and the affirmation of the oath should not become a political act. Sudan doesn’t want a politicised army. The people want an army that protects the country from external aggression, avoids institutional authoritarianism and submits to democratic rules. Its official authority should not be used to interfere or influence political change. It is counterproductive to democratic values for the Military to endorse a political party, an ideologue or allow its personnel to exercise political activities or ideology. The regulations instruct members of the military to remain non-partisan and refrain from using their official position or authority to influence political campaigns or election.
The Army is part of the political structure accountable to the civil leadership and should stay prohibited from politics. It is time for the Sudanese people to reconsider in more details practical and appropriate inclusive process instead of the flawed framework agreement signed on the 5th of December 2022 that blatantly invites the Military to repoliticise. An inclusive framework agreement should aim at ending the rule of the military; give birth to a free state of civil government, a planned economy and end of Poverty.



































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