Speaking during a civil service conference in Port Sudan on Monday, al-Burhan stated that the era of protests involving tire burning and road blockades had ended with the former regime. “These experiences have taught us that glory is not in burning tires,” he said. “Glory belongs to the rifle.”
His comments sparked immediate condemnation from several resistance committees, particularly in the capital. The Khartoum Resistance Committees 1 and 2 issued a strongly worded statement accusing al-Burhan of distorting recent history and attempting to criminalize the 2018-2019 uprising that led to the removal of former President Omar al-Bashir.
“The general is skipping over the facts and falsifying our recent memory,” their statement read. “He is trying to criminalize the revolution and its heroes.”
The committees reminded al-Burhan that the revolution and the protest methods he now criticized were instrumental in his ascent to power.
“We would like to remind the general that it was the revolution and the burning tires, not anything else, that brought him to his current position. He once stood behind the slogans of the street, even saying: Salute to the rascals, the tire burners, and those who stood firm,” he added.
The committees further accused al-Burhan of evading responsibility for Sudan’s current turmoil and continuing a pattern of political deception since taking power in April 2019.
“He has consistently shirked accountability for the crisis we face and continues to rely on misdirection and manipulation,” the statement said.
The statement also highlighted the early warnings issued by the revolutionaries regarding the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), previously known as the Janjaweed militia.
“From the beginning, the December revolution called for the disbanding of the Janjaweed militia and warned about the threat it poses to national unity,” the committees wrote, recalling that al-Burhan once described the RSF as a legitimate extension of the army.
Despite their criticism, the committees reaffirmed their support for a professional national army, asserting that revolutionaries never opposed the existence of proper military institutions.
“We are not and have never been against a national, professional army. We continue to fight for a single, unified national force that doesn’t interfere in politics or overthrow the people’s will. We want a Sudan free of militias and armed groups operating outside the state’s legal framework,” they stated.
In a separate statement, the coordination of Resistance Committees in El Fasher also rejected al-Burhan’s remarks.
“We are the sons and daughters of the revolution of burning tires,” the group declared, emphasizing that protestors were driven by patriotism and rose up when the nation was under threat.
“We did not take up arms for power,” the statement added. “We took a stand so that we wouldn’t become refugees in a land we were building with our own hands.”
The resistance committees’ statements underscore the growing divide between the army leadership and the revolutionary forces that once helped bring it to prominence – a division that continues to shape Sudan’s political landscape amidst ongoing conflict and a humanitarian crisis.
