In recent times, genuine movements of people have either been hijacked by the elements of the status quo or the military. The latter hijacked the popular uprising in Sudan against the ousting of President Omar al-Bashir. The military is controlling the power corridors as the ousting of Omar al-Bashir created a political vacuum. Sensing the possible military rule, the Sudanese workers have refused to go to work. Their refusal to go to work is a tactic to pressurise the military government to give the reign of the government to civilian forces.
The military’s psyche in almost every other post-colonial state makes it believe that it is the only protector of the country. But this is not true anywhere. While a military council made it clear that it would ensure a smooth transition to civilian rule, however, the suspicions of pro-democracy forces that military council could not be trusted became stronger after the security forces had opened fire on unarmed demonstrators that resulted in the loss of more than a hundred lives earlier this month.
Will the military successfully maim the pro-democracy forces? The military can be brought to its knees if the Sudanese people stand firm against the military’s guns. There are many examples in this regard. The military forgets that the repression it relies on against pro-democracy forces can rupture the socio-political fabric of the country, as the arrest of three opposition figures tell us.
Moreover, the Transitional Military Council (TMC) receiving support from Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Egypt may think that no one challenge it from the inside. However, the TMC forgets that its refusal to vacate the political arena for people of Sudan may turn the country into another battlefield for regional powers to fight their proxy wars. Were that to happen, the only country that would be losing everything would be Sudan. Therefore, the military needs to engage in serious negotiations with the opposition forces as dialogue is in the broader interests of all.