Sudan: agreement reached with the army for the return of the Prime Minister to power

Published on : 11/21/2021 – 12:00

Almost a month after the military coup in Sudan, an agreement was reached between the army and the dismissed Prime Minister Abdallah Hamdok for the latter’s return to his post. But supporters of civilian power have maintained calls for demonstrations on Sunday, November 21.

Under the agreement announced by mediators, the ministers and civilian leaders imprisoned on October 25 by the army chief and perpetrator of the coup, General Abdel Fattah al-Burhane, must also be released.

Since the putsch, Western ambassadors, UN or African negotiators and personalities of Sudanese civil society have increased the number of meetings with civilians and soldiers in Khartoum while in the street, the repression of anti-putsch demonstrators has killed 40 people, according to a doctors’ union. pro-democracy.

>> To read also: Who is Abdel Fattah al-Burhane, sponsor of the coup in Sudan?

On October 25, General Burhane arrested almost all civilians in power and declared a state of emergency. He then placed Abdallah Hamdok, who headed the transitional government installed alongside the military in 2019 after the overthrow of General Omar al-Bashir, dismissed by the army under pressure from the streets, under house arrest.

“A political agreement has been reached between General Burhane, Abdallah Hamdok, political forces and civil society organizations for the return of Abdallah Hamdok to his post and the release of political detainees,” the mediator told AFP. Sudanese, Fadlallah Burma, a leader of the big Umma party.

A date of entry into force still unknown

According to a statement from a group of Sudanese mediators, the agreement also includes the return to the agreement which provided for in 2019 a sharing of power between civilians and the military to lead Sudan to its first free elections in 2023 after 30 years of dictatorship. military-Islamist Omar al-Bashir.

“The agreement will be officially announced later today, after the signing of the terms of the agreement and the accompanying political declaration,” the statement added. The date of the start of application of this agreement was not immediately known.

A few days before this announcement, General Burhane seemed determined to keep power in the hands of the military despite calls from the international community and demonstrators in Sudan for a return of civilian power.

>> See also: In Khartoum, the agricultural district of Tuti wants to continue the resistance against the putsch in Sudan

He was thus renamed to the head of the Sovereignty Council, the highest authority in the transition, with his second, General Mohammed Hamdane Daglo. He replaced the pro-civilian members with other civilians with no known political background or position taken.

Despite the announcement of Abdallah Hamdok’s return, supporters of a complete transfer of power to civilians have called on Sudanese to take to the streets to shout “No to military power” and “Burhane back off” in a country almost continuously under the rule of the army since its independence 65 years ago.

The FLC refuse “negotiation” with “the putschists”

The Forces for Freedom and Change (FLC), the main pro-civilian bloc in Sudan, rejected the announcement made with the army on the return of Abdallah Hamdok.

“We clearly reaffirm that there is no negotiation, no partnership” with “the coup plotters”, they said, calling for the generals to be brought to justice for their bloody repression of the demonstrations.

On Sunday, the FLC pledged, the protests will be an “epic moment” in the struggle to end the ruling military who have already erased all mention of the FLC in the transition roadmap.

Many other pro-democracy organizations have called on social media for massive demonstrations after the telephone and internet were restored, which had been cut off for three weeks.

Since October 25, the Sudanese have taken to the streets several times by the thousands to scold the army and demand the return of civilian power. And the international community has regularly denounced the repression, calling for the democratic transition to be put back on track.

On Saturday, hundreds of demonstrators marched in the northern suburbs of Khartoum, particularly bereaved since the start of the anti-coup mobilization. The police assures she never opened fire and officially lists only one dead and 30 wounded among the demonstrators due, according to her, to tear gas.

With AFP