Berlin Conference: When Elites Disconnect from the Aspirations of the People

By: Abubakr Mutasim Mohammed

While the halls of Berlin were preoccupied with engineering elite alliances and distributing promises, the conference’s outcomes were met with a shocking Sudanese stance rejecting any form of guardianship. This leaves a gap between an international community that ignores legitimate state institutions and a people who have defined their position and choice by rallying around the Sudanese army and national sovereignty under the slogan “One Army, One People.”

Furthermore, bypassing the Sudanese government and official state institutions at this conference is not merely a diplomatic blunder, but a blatant attempt to impose international guardianship that disregards the concept of national sovereignty. Any international movement claiming to seek Sudan’s best interests while ignoring its legitimate institutions is unrealistic and lacks the tools for implementation on the ground. This leads Sudanese citizens to ask: To whom are these solutions offered if the state itself is absent? There is no doubt that the Berlin elite are exchanging failures in European capitals.
The scene in Berlin appeared to be a reproduction of the same faces and entities (the Forces of Freedom and Change and their allies) whose incompetence the Sudanese street has witnessed during the years of transition. These elites, whom many believe no longer represent anyone but themselves, continue to indulge in the hobby of exchanging political failures, betting on external support as a substitute for popular legitimacy.
The insistence on presenting the Coordination Committee and its affiliates as the sole representatives of civilians, amidst sharp polarization and open hostility towards state institutions, makes the outcomes of this conference a recipe for division, not a solution. The people, who today stand behind their military institution to protect their existence, see in these figures only a partner in prolonging the crisis through a political cover that does not address the national wound.
The popular chant is the true compass, and the message of the Sudanese street is clear, firm, and legitimate—a legitimacy that is not begged for from Berlin or Paris, but rather seized by the people rallying around their state and army. The chant “One Army, One People” was not merely an enthusiastic slogan, but a national entitlement that rejects the internationalization of the Sudanese issue, excluding those directly involved, and rejects reducing the fate of a nation to a package of aid. A political deal between failed elites

The Sudanese crisis will not be resolved in the corridors of European hotels, but rather through a Sudanese-Sudanese dialogue that respects national sovereignty and places the interests of Sudan above the ambitions of individuals and entities. The international community must understand that any path that disregards the aspirations of the Sudanese people to preserve their state and army will remain isolated and destined to fail, just as previous initiatives have failed.