Photo: Demonstration in December organized by the Port Sudan Resistance Committees.
Below are two statements issued by the Sudanese Communist Party on the crisis gripping the country. The Communist Party plays a major role in the mass movement that toppled the government in the December Revolution of 2018 and continues in the present seeking an end to military rule. These statements deal with the devastating fighting that broke out last month between different factions of the armed forces.
Stop the War, Restore Peace!
April 29, 2023
To the steadfast and patient masses of our country:
We address you today while our country is languishing under the scourge of an absurd war that our peaceful people have no interest in and because of it many of you are living under the sounds of war, fleeing, and loss.
The armed conflict between the parties to a murderous blood pact, the armed forces and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), erupted over ultimate control over power and resources. It is driven by their contradictory and respective commitments made to international and regional interests seeking access to the country’s resources and location. This, by extension, made these foreign interests parties to the conflict.
To the masses of our people:
Throughout the rule of the former regime, the two warring parties used their forces to strike at the Sudanese people and put down their revolution by shooting, displacing, and disappearing activists. They were equally complicit in the massacre designed to disperse the peaceful sit-in protest, which will remain a deep wound in the heart of the Sudanese nation.
The two warring forces went far, conspiratorially, to consolidate their power. They spearheaded the counterrevolution and hatched the October 25, 2022, coup to suppress and kill revolutionaries by various criminal means, including detentions and the issuance of fabricated criminal indictments against the innocent. They displayed no hesitation in unleashing war on heavily populated cities without regard to the humanitarian cost, causing over 500 casualties and 3,000 injured. In over 80% of hospitals in the capital Khartoum and in some provinces of Darfur, hospital closure is total. The conflict, insecurity, and the targeting of civilians and their properties in the cities have also resulted in the displacement of tens of thousands of people who moved to neighboring provinces and countries.
In this regard, the situation invites all national and democratic forces, peace-loving forces, and human rights and justice organizations, at home and abroad, to mobilize toward the creation of a broad front with the support of the free peoples of the world and their organizations to stop the war and mitigate its effects and restore peace. A spontaneous grassroots effort, based on the best traditions of our people that dictate helping those in need, has emerged in many regions. This nascent effort offers a good beginning that can evolve to achieve the following goals:
– Spread the call to stop the war and promote a culture of peace and peaceful coexistence and repudiation of racism.
– Abide by international principles and standards regarding the temporary cessation of hostilities, in preparation for a permanent ceasefire.
– Apply pressure, domestically and externally, to stop the war, limit its scope, and mitigate its effects.
– Prevent any international or regional party from intervening on behalf of one of the combatants.
– Apply pressure, domestically and externally, for the United Nations and its organizations to provide humanitarian aid and open corridors on the ground for humanitarian access.
– Place all commercial enterprises that belong to the army, RSF, security, and police under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Finance.
– Abolish the law organizing the RSF. Disarm and demobilize it along with Islamist militias and the armies of other Movements as a prelude to their reintegration into civilian life, and the creation of a professional national army.
– Monitor and document crimes to bring the perpetrators to justice.
– Emphasize the need to move military installations away from cities and populated areas.
– Protect the social fabric and uphold the values of equality and protection of rights.
The great people of Sudan will continue their struggle toward the creation of a sovereign civil democratic state, where the people exercise sole dominion of the country and resources.
Moreover, by revising the peaceful democratic struggle that ushered in the glorious December Revolution, the people can thwart all regional and foreign attempts to impose the military’s participation in government per the plans of tripartite and quad mechanisms, which have contributed to the breakout of the current hostilities.
The timing of this absurd war and its battlefields indicate that it is yet another in a series of coups designed to disrupt and reverse the gains made during the transitional period. It will not succeed and will enhance the determination of the Sudanese people as they strive toward their rights and lay the foundations for civil democratic government.
No to war, yes to peace: A civil democratic state is the choice of the people!
Statement to our people, by the Central Committee of the Sudanese Communist Party
April 15, 2023
The intense and violent armed military confrontation between the security committee generals and their affiliated forces places our people at risk and exposes them to the greed of the counter-revolutionary forces and further bloodshed. This conflict is a result of the deviation of the military and civilian forces that have been obstructing the leadership and governance of the country since the beginning of the revolution in April 2019 [when president Omar al-Bashir was ousted] until now.
The continuous violence and counter-violence victimize the resilient popular masses who have been struggling for the continuation of the revolution and the attainment of full democratic civilian authority. The path to return to normal life begins with an immediate and comprehensive cessation of gunfire exchange, and the withdrawal of the armies and militias from the cities, villages, and away from gatherings of citizens in rural areas.
What is happening now is a continuation of the conflict over power and the country’s wealth, encouraged by some foreign powers, and executed by armed pockets of these external forces. The bloody beginnings and continuity of this conflict are what our party warned against, as it leads to confusion and intimidation of citizens.
In this context, the Communist Party sees the urgency in quickly resolving all militias, collecting weapons spread throughout the cities and rural areas, and reconstituting the unified national professional army.
The Sudanese Communist Party calls for the unity of our people, all national forces, radical change forces, and resistance committees around the goals of the revolution, restoring peace, security, and stability. This is the demand of the hour and the only way to emerge from the current crisis and to regain the revolution and establish the authority of the people.
Freedom, peace, justice, and civilian rule are the people’s decision.
In this context, the Sudanese Communist Party directs its message to our people to protect neighborhoods and residential areas. The Sudanese Communist Party also appeals to the peoples of the world, democratic and communist forces, to raise the flags of solidarity with the struggle of the Sudanese people and to restrain the hands of the counter-forces of the glorious December revolution.
