Asmaa El-Husseini desperately looks for a way out of Sudan's impasse Sudan is not just about to break up after the referendum. The scope of its multi-faceted ailments is so extensive that, unless urgent action is taken, Sudan's troubles may spill over throughout the Arab region and Africa. Sudan is an exceptional country going through exceptional circumstances and it is wrong to try to solve its problems through portioning alone. Partitioning, something the international community seems to favour over anything else, is not going to end Sudanese problems. It's not going to bring about democracy. It's not going to address the multi-layered problems of that country. And, indeed, it's not going to be just the beginning of a sad story. Sudan's problems, few would dispute the point, are too big for the National Congress (NC), the ruling party of President Omar Al-Bashir, to address. The NC has been in power for 21 years and things have got only worse in its watch. Sudan shouldn't be left only with the two horrific options of partition and war. There is another option available: national reconciliation. This "third way", so to speak, has the support of the Ummah Party leader, Sadeg Al-Mahdi, and the majority of Sudanese. Some may argue that it is too late for reconciliation to take root, but just consider the possibility. Just consider the fact that Sudan is heading to an unimaginable catastrophe unless something is done about it. Many in Sudan now blame Al-Bashir for the near-certain secession of the south, and the possible hostilities that may break out in the near future. In fact, Al-Mahdi has given the NC until 26 December to pursue this "third way". More specifically, Al-Mahdi wants to get the main players in Sudan to sit together and agree on a solution to the country's problems. If he fails in this quest, Al-Mahdi says he would have to join the opposition or step down from his party's leadership and allow a new leadership to take over. Sudan's economy is getting worse by the day. Price increases in Khartoum in the past few months have fuelled public anger. As disturbance abound, especially in Darfur where various armed groups are calling for confrontation with the regime, Hassan Al-Turabi, leader of the Popular National Congress and a former ally of Al-Bashir, called on the Sudanese to stage an uprising. He said that unless Al-Bashir's regime is brought down, areas in western and eastern Sudan may secede. Al-Bashir doesn't seem to care. He recently said that following the secession of the south, he would adopt an Islamic constitution in the north, one that would allow him to create an Arab and Islamic state devoid from ethnic or cultural diversity. Non-Arab and non-Muslim Sudanese were shocked. Some pointed out that Al-Bashir is flouting Islam's tradition of ethnic diversity. Others pointed out that Al-Bashir is contradicting himself, for he had only recently offered the southerners the North's share in oil if only they were to vote for unity. The repeated references by opposition parties to a possible confrontation with the regime cast a shadow over Sudan. We don't know whether the opposition is organised enough to mount a concerted action against the regime. What we know is that many in Sudan expect days and months of turmoil to follow the secession. It doesn't have to be this way. The "third way" is still an option. Or is it?
