From the Arab Spring Revolutions to the Framework Agreement… The Genius of Achieving Reconciliation and Social Peace in Sudan.
Dr. Yassir M. Alobaid
The repeated increases in global food prices were an important catalyst in the events of the Arab Spring, knowing that the Arab Spring is a media term that refers to the revolutionary wave of violent (and non-violent) demonstrations and protests, riots and wars Civilization in the Arab world, which began on December 18, 2010, and until now, has excluded rulers from power in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, and Yemen, while clashes broke out and are still in Syria, and major protests took place in Algeria, Iraq, Jordan, Morocco, and Sudan. Minor protests occurred in Mauritania, Djibouti, and the Arab desert, and sectarian protests were described in Lebanon. As an extension of the violent events of the Syrian uprising and then the regional Arab Spring.
The protests were characterized by some common methods of civil resistance in the form of continuous campaigns that included strikes, demonstrations, marches, and protest rallies, as well as the effective use of social media to organize, communicate, and raise awareness in the face of the state’s attempts to censor the Internet. Many protest attempts in the countries of the Arab Spring faced mixed reactions from the authorities. government agencies and regular forces. In many cases, the demonstrators responded with violent reactions.. The main slogan of the demonstrators was (the people want the overthrow of the regime).
The synchronization between the global food crisis and the Arab Spring provides an opportunity to reassess food security in the Arab region, although food security cannot be evaluated only from an economic perspective, as is the case with regard to the trends of international organizations such as the World Bank and the International Finance Corporation. However, the political economy perspective is necessary. It explains the role played by food prices in the Arab Spring in issues of food security and its effects on protests, which are closely linked to the domestic policies of the countries. Political geography is also an important dimension of food security in the region, which was used in the past as a geopolitical weapon in the region by major food-producing powers around the world, the United States, Australia, European Union countries and Russia, such as rice, wheat, corn and soybeans.
▪️Agreed or disagreed, Sudan remains one of the countries that practice politics with awareness and wisdom, and the secret word in this matter remains in the civil, social and civil heritage of the people of Sudan, which is considered the main compass whenever the fever of politics intensifies. The issue and the tensions between the parties remain the language of dialogue and reconciliation, despite the intensification of the living situation, the economic deterioration, the general rise in the price level, the exacerbation of the political and social problem, and the lack of security at times. For example, the framework agreement paved the way for civil reconciliations between different tribes and in different regions of the Darfur region..which It was sponsored and supervised by Lieutenant General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, Vice President of the Transitional Sovereignty Council. Reconciliation is one of the most important sides of the triangle of transitional justice after pursuing crimes, sanctions and social peace. In a clear recognition by the international community, Lieutenant General Hamdan Dagalo was granted a certificate of recognition and reconciliation in the Darfur region, saying that he had contributed to containing conflicts.
This was confirmed by the United Nations in a report in which it stated that the Vice-President of the Transitional Sovereignty Council, Commander of the Rapid Support Forces, Lieutenant General Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, sponsored tribal reconciliations and facilitated the signing of tribal reconciliations and the containment of conflicts in Darfur.
The report of the Security Council on “the situation in Sudan and the activities of the United Nations Integrated Mission to Provide Assistance during the Sudan transitional period” stated that the Vice-President of the Sovereignty Council sponsored several peace agreements and reconciliations between tribal leaders after bloody events in the Darfur region to address the problem of widespread violence between tribes.
The report of the Security Council said that an agreement was signed between the Falata and the Rizeigat in South Darfur state after the events in Gereida, and indicated that five separate agreements were signed in West Darfur to address the problem of violence recently witnessed by the localities of “Al-Geneina, Kerenik, Sirba, Jebel Moon and Kulbus.”
The report referred to the discussions of the Vice-President of the Sovereignty Council, Lieutenant General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, with the head of the Chadian Military Council, Mohamed Idriss Deby, in N’Djamena, to discuss border security after the outbreak of tribal violence along the border between West Darfur and Chad last August.
The report mentioned the participation of the Rapid Support Forces in containing conflicts in areas of outbreak of violence and conflicts, and in mediating between the conflicting parties.
He emphasized that the Rapid Support Forces facilitated the signing of an agreement to stop hostilities between the Hausa tribe and members of the Funj, Hamaj and Berta tribes, following the violence that took place in Blue Nile state last month. 🔹 From the other hand, the tribal and civil reconciliations that took place in Darfur paved the way for bringing about great stability in most parts of the country and transferring the political transition to a new stage in the developments of the political scene, and Sudan entered a stage in it. New phases of political and social stability, and barely spared the country, at the very least, a possible confrontation between the political forces between themselves and the civil and military forces. The signing of the framework agreement between the military component and civilian forces led by the Declaration of Freedom and Change coalition and some other political forces, especially since the door to joining remains open to those who oppose Other political forces and armed struggle movements.
The signed framework agreement was welcomed by large international parties and found global and regional acceptance with a number of reservations from some of the other political forces. If things become as they are, a full civil government will be formed during a transitional period that will last for two years.
The latest framework agreement comes in the midst of international and regional efforts to resolve the worsening political crisis, which has greatly affected the Sudanese citizen.
The agreement was signed on Monday at the presidential palace in the capital, Khartoum, by the military component, led by the head of the Sovereign Council, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, and his deputy, Muhammad Hamdan Dagalo, “Hemedti” and some civilian political forces.
At the forefront of the terms of the agreement was the assertion that the transitional authority is a full civilian authority without the participation of the regular forces, and that it will last for two years, at the end of which free and fair elections will be held.
▪️ The signatory groups of the framework agreement in Sudan hope that it will lead to a solution to the crisis that the country has been experiencing for more than a year; While his opponents believe that he ignores fundamental issues and opens the way for the entry of forces that were supportive of the Brotherhood regime, which was overthrown by a popular revolution in April 2019; What are the most important points included in the agreement, who are the supporters and those who reject it, and what are their justifications?
Also, one of the most prominent points of agreement; The most prominent of its clauses is the agreement on the transitional authority, a civilian authority without the participation of the regular forces. It consists of a limited civil sovereign level, with honorary duties, representing the head of the state, a symbol of sovereignty, and a supreme commander of the statutory apparatus; And an executive level headed by a civilian prime minister chosen by the signatories to the agreement, in addition to a legislative council and another for security and defense headed by the prime minister and including leaders of the regular agencies and 6 of the armed struggle movements that signed the Juba Peace Agreement.
The opportunity is still favorable to reach a collective agreement that avoids the country slipping into the clutches of chaos and bloody confrontations, as well as avoiding any confrontation between the political forces among themselves or the armed forces and political forces, and converging on falling into the chaos of armed confrontations, as happened in the countries of the Arab Spring region, which wiped out everything and everything in their countries Instead of achieving social peace based on reconciliation and tolerance, and achieving social peace through conflict management with a scientific methodology.