{"id":60429,"date":"2026-02-01T14:19:25","date_gmt":"2026-02-01T11:19:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sudanevents.com\/?p=60429"},"modified":"2026-02-01T14:19:25","modified_gmt":"2026-02-01T11:19:25","slug":"before-and-after-al-burhans-speech-political-parties-and-the-fear-of-survival","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sudanevents.com\/index.php\/2026\/02\/01\/before-and-after-al-burhans-speech-political-parties-and-the-fear-of-survival\/","title":{"rendered":"Before and After al-Burhan\u2019s Speech\u2026 Political Parties and the Fear of Survival"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Chairman of Sudan\u2019s Sovereign Council and Commander of the Armed Forces, General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, called on Sudanese citizens to return and rebuild their homes, urging them not to listen to what he described as rumors spread by \u201ctraitors and agents\u201d who oppose the return of civilians. He said that returning home is a voluntary and personal choice, adding that the holy month would bring together Sudanese returning to their country.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Al-Burhan also directed a message to countries that, he said, continue to host and listen to former Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok and his group, stating that they are acting against their own people and have become isolated because of their behavior and conduct. \u201cI say to Hamdok and his group: your feet will not set foot on Sudanese soil,\u201d he declared, accusing them of exploiting the causes of the Sudanese people for personal gain.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Many observers believe that al-Burhan\u2019s remarks touched on a deep-seated anxiety shared by these political forces, from their leadership to their members abroad. Most, they argue, face serious obstacles to returning to Sudan and harbor fears about what may happen if they do so\u2014particularly at a time when public opinion views them, at best, as \u201ctraitors\u201d who betrayed their country by siding with a militia accused of attacking civilians, violating their sanctity, looting the nation, and destroying it.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Ibrahim Aqil Madibo argues that disagreement with the state is a legitimate political right, but exporting internal conflict abroad and turning the state into a perpetual defendant marks the dividing line between national opposition and what he terms \u201cfunctional collaboration.\u201d \u201cWhoever sells his country does not speak for his people,\u201d he says, adding that anyone who cooperated with militias and traded in the blood of Sudanese has fallen morally before falling as a citizen or politician.<\/strong><\/p>\n

In this context, and amid a landscape fraught with multiple crises, many believe that the return of members of the \u201cSumoud Coordination\u201d carries serious risks\u2014both for the individuals themselves and for their presence inside the country. Large segments of the public view them as traitors and criminals whose hands are stained with the blood of innocents. Throughout the war, they are accused of aligning politically with the militia, endorsing its actions from the earliest days, promoting the leadership of Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo (Hemeti) and his forces, and later acting as a political wing supporting the militia.<\/strong><\/p>\n

In recent days, these figures embarked on a European tour across several cities, in what critics describe as an attempt to ease pressure on the militia and accuse the Sudanese army of using internationally prohibited chemical weapons\u2014moves that prompted al-Burhan to address Hamdok and his group directly.<\/strong><\/p>\n

This raises pressing questions: Is there still an opportunity for these politicians to return to the political scene? Is it possible to turn back the clock after all the transformations Sudanese society has undergone?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Professor Fadl al-Mawla al-Na\u2019im, a political science professor, says al-Burhan\u2019s remarks reflect what is now being said openly on the Sudanese street. He believes the general touched on fears shared by many who supported the militia for one reason or another and who now dread returning to the country. \u201cThey know arrest warrants may be waiting for them,\u201d he says, \u201cand they know that neighbors and acquaintances may reject them outright.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

According to al-Na\u2019im, similar cases have already occurred, with some returnees facing assault, arrest, or public shaming\u2014outcomes these politicians fear. He adds that Sudanese politicians are well aware that public sentiment has shifted sharply, with the street now viewing them as traitors and agents. \u201cThey were pressing for a political settlement between the army and the militia that would guarantee them a safe return, but that never materialized,\u201d he explains. \u201cNow they fear that any return could endanger their lives: the authorities will not ignore them, and the public will not forgive them.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

Attempts to frame the war as a mere political dispute, he argues, are no longer convincing. \u201cThis war has killed entire families and violated human dignity. It is neither logical nor acceptable to be lenient with its perpetrators or those who supported them,\u201d he says, concluding that the return of these figures to Sudan would be extremely difficult, a reality they recognize, prompting many to seek to normalize their lives abroad.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Meanwhile, political researcher and Director of the Noor Center for Strategic Studies, Al-Yasa\u2019 Mohamed Nour, believes that political parties which supported the militia have \u201cburned themselves.\u201d He doubts that the public will accept them again, arguing that figures such as Hamdok, Khalid Omar Youssef (Salk), al-Sadiq al-Mahdi\u2019s successors, al-Digeir, Mariam, and others are now outside any realistic framework for returning to or living in Sudan\u2014at least for the time being.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cThe atmosphere is extremely charged against them,\u201d he says, \u201cand no one is willing to accept them given their positions on Sudan and its war\u2014a war that destroyed state institutions, ended people\u2019s livelihoods, looted their property, and displaced them.\u201d Despite all this, he notes, these parties stood, \u201cstrangely,\u201d alongside those who violated civilians, displaced them, and devastated the country. \u201cThis is a position with serious consequences,\u201d he concludes, \u201cand political parties must bear responsibility for it\u2014legally and morally.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Chairman of Sudan\u2019s Sovereign Council and Commander of the Armed Forces, General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, called on Sudanese citizens to return and rebuild their homes, urging them not to listen to what he described as rumors spread by \u201ctraitors and agents\u201d who oppose the return of civilians. He said that returning home is a …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":18703,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-60429","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-reports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sudanevents.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/60429","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sudanevents.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sudanevents.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sudanevents.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sudanevents.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=60429"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/sudanevents.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/60429\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":60430,"href":"https:\/\/sudanevents.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/60429\/revisions\/60430"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sudanevents.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/18703"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sudanevents.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=60429"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sudanevents.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=60429"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sudanevents.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=60429"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}