Sudan: Does regionalism hinder democratic transition?

Regionalism is rearing its head strongly in Sudan, and hardly a day goes by without reading or watching news about a geographical or ethnic entity that demands special status and sometimes even threatens the right to self-determination.

Perhaps the matter is not new, as the history of the Sudanese state has known many extortions that used regional emotions in the political marketplace.

However, what is new in the matter is the use of this card to impede the democratic transition process, which was paralyzed by the October 25, 2021 coup. Wherever there was a glimmer of hope for a political breakthrough, regionalism exploded in the face of the aspired civil state.

On Sunday, January 1, Mohamed al-Amin Terik, head of the Supreme Council for Beja Tribal Chiefdoms and Independent Amuds, addressed a gathering in the Moita border region with Eritrea in the east of the country, threatening to declare war in eastern Sudan if the Sudanese authorities refused to grant the region a separate negotiating platform for self-determination.

“I am here addressing the Commander-in-Chief of the Army Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and the tripartite international mechanism that includes the United Nations, the African Union and IGAD, not the Forces for Freedom and Change and the parties that signed or supported the Framework Agreement,” Terik said, holding an unexploded artillery shell and heavy weapons ammunition in his hand. “We may come again for cases of air and artillery bombardment. I salute the citizens of these border areas who stood firm during the years of war,” he added.

Terik announced his rejection of the Framework Agreement signed between a number of civil and military political forces on December 4, calling for a “round table that includes all Sudanese to solve the current crisis in the country,” in addition to canceling the Eastern path of the Juba Peace Agreement signed in October 2020.

He also revealed arrangements to establish an alliance that brings together central, northern, eastern Sudan, and the Kordofan region to work towards achieving self-rule.

Last week witnessed the establishment of an entity bearing the name of the Supreme Transitional Council of the Northern State, which affirmed the keenness of the people of the Northern State for the unity of Sudan, the integrity of its lands, the independence of its decision, and the preservation of its history and monuments.

Meanwhile, on Tuesday, January 3, Khartoum newspapers carried the threat of Abu al-Qasim Bortom, former member of the Sovereignty Council and head of the Northern Call entity, to take up arms to demand the autonomy of the Northern State, similar to the Blue Nile and South Kordofan regions.

Bortom said that Khartoum is weaving a conspiracy and injustice against the North to turn it into a cemetery through gold mining operations. In statements to Al-Intibaha newspaper, published in Khartoum, he confirmed that the North will resort to taking up arms to achieve self-rule and establish the Northern Region if its demands are not implemented.

In turn, Shihab Ibrahim, a leader in the Forces for Freedom and Change, considered Terik's threats “unacceptable,” noting that “the mission of civil leaders is to maintain social peace and preserve lives, not the other way around.”

Ibrahim told Al-Quds Al-Arabi that the Framework Agreement is “a political agreement whose parties are known, and civil groups are not among them.”

“The agreement will not be made available to Terik or others, but there will be platforms that will raise the five strategic issues for discussion that were stipulated in the agreement, which include the Eastern issue, security and military reform, transitional justice, amending the peace agreement, and dismantling the former regime,” he added.