SUDAN NEWS ALERT: Sudan Tribune - NCP’s Ghandour voices support for al-Burhan coup, saying Sudan is now better

9/4/2022: Sudan Tribune - NCP’s Ghandour voices support for al-Burhan coup, saying Sudan is now better

 

Sudan Tribune report that the former head of the Islamist National Congress Party (NCP), Ibrahim Ghandour, voiced his support for the October 25 coup, saying that it was not a coup, and that it was a “step in the corrective path”.

 

Ghandour said that Sudanese army commander-in-chief Abdulfattah al-Burhan “made a mistake when he signed an agreement with four political parties as representing the Sudanese revolution,” in reference to the constitutional declaration signed with the Forces for Freedom and Change (FFC) in August 2019.

 

Ghandour also stressed that the NCP will now challenge by all legal means the decision that dissolved and prohibited his party, adding: “No one can block our freedom of association.”

SUDAN INSIGHT ALERT: International Politics and Society - What comes after the revolution,

9/4/2021: International Politics and Society - What comes after the revolution, by Philipp Jahn and Gerrit Kurtz

 

Philipp Jahn of Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung and Gerrit Kurtz of the German Council on Foreign Relations call for Sudan’s “extremely volatile political transition” to be supported via an inclusive political process whereby “participation, dialogue and political organisation cannot be limited to negotiating access to institutions within elites.”

 

Arguing that the emergence of stable and legitimate elected government requires properly functioning competition among political parties, the authors propose the government establishes a state-funded independently controlled mechanism to strengthen political party development, potentially funded from the profits of enterprises that the Finance Ministry takes from security forces or Sudan’s established business families, which the elected government may transform into a permanent form of democratically secured party funding.

 

The authors also suggest international actors support training courses and projects for self-organisation and participation down to the constituency level, with incentives for participation, dialogue and debate “needing to be essential components of international cooperation with Sudan”.

SUDAN POLITICAL ALERT: Human Rights Watch - Sudan: A Year On, Justice Needed for Crackdowns

9/4/2020: Human Rights Watch - Sudan: A Year On, Justice Needed for Crackdowns

 Human Rights Watch (HRW) call for Sudan’s transitional government to accelerate efforts to investigate and prosecute crimes against protesters by government security forces since December 2018.

 HRW cite “wide criticism” of the committee investigating the June 3 2019 crackdown for its slow pace and inaccessibility, “especially for victims of gender-based violence.” HRW also note that Sudanese prosecutors lack resources and technical capacity to investigate violations, and rely on victims’ families to collect evidence.

 Thus, HRW call for the government to form a special entity “such as an investigation committee or special court,” to investigate cases, with the international community, including donors, seeking to provide technical and financial support.

 HRW also call for the government to cooperate with the International Criminal Court in its Darfur investigation, which includes executing outstanding arrest warrants against al-Bashir

SUDAN INSIGHT ALERT: Foreign Policy - How To U.S. Presidents Reshaped America's Policy Toward Sudan

9/4/19: Foreign Policy – How Two U.S. Presidents Reshaped America’s Policy Toward Sudan, by Justin Lynch and Robbie Gramer

 Foreign Policy examines the “secrecy and contradiction” of US relations with Sudan, arguing that “Washington has helped legitimise the [Sudanese] regime.”

 After Sudan halted intelligence cooperation with the US in 2015, the article highlights Obama administration plans to drop sanctions and remove Sudan’s State Sponsor of Terrorism designation, in exchange for improving counterterrorism cooperation, access to humanitarian aid, and other priorities. The Trump administration has continued this policy, but “has been hobbled by a chaotic decision-making process and vacancies in key senior roles across government,” according to 3 anonymous US officials.

 A senior US State Department official attributed Omar Al Bashir’s “relatively restrained” reactions to the ongoing protests to increasing US engagement, adding that the process to remove Sudan’s terror designation is “slowly” moving forward, and that repaired US-Sudan relations hinge on progress in human rights, religious freedom, and other issues.

SUDAN POLITICAL ALERT: UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet appeals for dialogue in Sudan

9/4/19: UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet appeals for dialogue in Sudan

Ravina Shamdasani, the spokesperson for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet called on the Sudanese government and security forces to ensure that the rights to peaceful assembly and freedom of expression are fully respected, and that a genuine dialogue is undertaken to resolve “this very complex situation with very real economic and social grievances of the public.”

 Bachelet said that Sudanese authorities have an “over-arching responsibility” to protect protesters.

 Shamdasani said that Sudanese authorities have invited the UN High Commission for Human Rights to visit, and that they are currently in discussions about the situation.

SUDAN NEWS ALERT: Multiple sources – Inspiring protester becomes symbol of resistance for Sudanese women

9/04/19: Multiple sources – Inspiring protester becomes symbol of resistance for Sudanese women

A woman standing proudly before crowds in Khartoum to sing revolutionary songs has become a symbol for the protest movement in Sudan. Lana Haroun's image, captured on the third day of mass demonstrations against President Omar Al Bashir, has been shared thousands of times and shows the woman, now identified as 22-year old architecture student Alaa Salah, dressed in white with large golden earrings.

SUDAN NEWS ALERT: Multiple sources - Sudan police orders forces not to intervene against protests

9/04/19: Multiple sources – Sudan police orders forces not to intervene against protests

Sudan's police have ordered officers not to intervene against thousands of protesters who have demonstrated outside the army HQ in the capital, Khartoum, since Friday. The protesters demand the resignation of President Omar Al Bashir. Earlier, heavy gunfire was heard outside the HQ and there were reports soldiers protecting protesters had shot at government security agents.