{"id":20125442,"date":"2026-01-02T10:23:00","date_gmt":"2026-01-02T09:23:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.dabangasudan.org\/?p=20125442"},"modified":"2026-01-02T14:27:23","modified_gmt":"2026-01-02T13:27:23","slug":"sudanese-leaders-call-for-an-end-to-war-on-independence-day","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.dabangasudan.org\/en\/all-news\/article\/sudanese-leaders-call-for-an-end-to-war-on-independence-day","title":{"rendered":"Sudanese leaders call for an end to war on Independence Day"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

On the 70th anniversary of Sudan\u2019s independence, prominent political figures have issued statements calling for an end to the current conflict, describing the war not as an unavoidable fate, but as the consequence of systemic political failures and totalitarian rule.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a statement on January 1, titled, \u201cSeventy years since Sudan\u2019s independence and the question of the state remains: how do we govern ourselves without fighting each other?\u201d, Maryam El Sadig El Mahdi<\/a>, Sudan\u2019s former foreign minister and vice-president of the National Umma Party, argued the ongoing war between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) is the result of political failure, \u201cnot destiny.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis conflict stems from sins and transgressions committed, or left unaddressed, under totalitarian rule marked by the absence of political participation, the rule of law, and accountability,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ending the war, she argued, requires more than temporary deals. She called for a \u201cconscious reconciliation\u201d based on justice, recognition of victims, learning from the past, and a clear vision for the future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe need unity built on truth, not denial,\u201d she said, adding that sovereignty is \u201cnot protected by weapons alone, but by a social contract that safeguards the people\u2019s dignity.\u201d She stressed that dignity cannot be sustained through aid, but through a responsible state that places women\u2019s rights at the centre of peacebuilding and treats women as equal partners in ending the war and preserving society.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2018Sudan for the Sudanese\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Restoring trust in politics, national parties, and popular participation is \u201cnot a luxury, but a condition for Sudan\u2019s survival.\u201d El Mahdi argued that meaningful participation is impossible without the genuine empowerment of women and their equal inclusion in peace processes, decision-making, reconstruction, and transitional justice. She also called for a new role for youth, saying \u201ca generation worn down by repeated wars should become the builders of peace, not the fuel of conflict.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Addressing the international community, El Mahdi said support for peace must begin with respect for the will, unity, and sovereignty of the Sudanese people, backing a just path that prioritises civilian protection and human dignity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe National Umma Party has long argued that Sudan should belong to its people, rather than become the spoil of war, a hostage to weapons, or an arena for external conflicts.\u201d She warned that the absence of a just state and the dominance of violence over politics have put independence itself at risk, despite the sacrifices made to achieve it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOn the 70th anniversary of independence, we must renew our commitment to a different future,\u201d she said, \u201ca civil, just, and unified state where Sudan truly belongs to the Sudanese.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2018Failure to build a civil state\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a statement marking Sudan\u2019s independence, Omar El Degeir<\/a>, chair of the Sudanese Congress Party, echoed the sentiment that the ongoing war is \u201cnot simply an armed confrontation between rival forces,\u201d but the outcome of a \u201cprolonged failure to build a civil state capable of monopolising the use of force.\u201d El Degeir warned that the continuation of the conflict is producing a humanitarian catastrophe while threatening Sudan\u2019s unity, increasing risk of fragmentation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cEnding the war must not be reduced to a fragile settlement based on power-sharing arrangements or the imposition of solutions dictated by the balance of force.\u201d Instead, he argued, it should lead to a national consensus that affirms the country\u2019s unity and redefines the foundations of the state.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

El Degeir stressed that such a consensus can only be achieved through a serious, peaceful political process. He called on the Sudanese majority to unite against those seeking to prolong the war and to push for a humanitarian truce that silences the guns, allows the delivery of aid, and opens the way for a political process capable of producing that consensus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2018National will and external initiatives\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reflecting on international efforts, El Degeir said experience has shown that external initiatives to end the war are \u201coften vulnerable to the conflicting interests of participants.\u201d He said that even the broadest international agreement would fail to deliver sustainable peace unless it is accompanied by decisive national action that \u201crestores politics from the arena of weapons to that of dialogue.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reclaiming national will, he said, does not mean confronting foreign powers or rejecting their role in ending the war. Rather, it requires a unified national vision able to engage realistically at regional and international levels, guided by the national interest as the ultimate reference for foreign relations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2018The challenge of self-reckoning\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to El Degeir, the real challenge facing the Sudanese people today is to develop the historical awareness and courage for self-reckoning necessary to break with an accumulated legacy of failure. He called for building \u201ca democratic, civil state that accommodates all components of society\u201d and \u201cinstitutions that represent citizens and guarantee a dignified life for all, without exclusion or discrimination.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe Sudanese people share one homeland shaped by history and geography, a reality that carries a moral obligation to recognise diversity, affirm equal citizenship, and accept mutual concessions.\u201d He said these principles are essential foundations for national unity, not temporary political arrangements vulnerable to collapse during crises.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tracing Sudan\u2019s political history, El Degeir noted that from independence in January 1956 to the Declaration of Freedom and Change<\/a> in January 2019, \u201cincluding the October and April uprisings,\u201d one pattern stands out: the Sudanese people have repeatedly succeeded in rising up collectively for change, but have faltered in transforming those uprisings into a stable state. \u201cThis history demonstrates that collective action with a unified will is never impossible, even when crises deepen,\u201d he said, describing it as the key to achieving major national gains.<\/p>\n