SUDAN INSIGHT ALERT: Independent - Sudan’s military and opposition forge power-sharing deal to end months of unrest

5/7/19: Independent - Sudan’s military and opposition forge power-sharing deal to end months of unrest, by Borzou Daragahi

The Independent’s international correspondent Borzou Daragahi’s feature piece on the Sudanese power-sharing deal argues that the military junta “has the upper hand.”

 Joseph Siegle, director of research at the Washington-based Africa Center for Strategic Studies, told The Independent that it is questionable whether the military will step down, adding that “it’s very consistent with Sudanese politics to make promises and concessions and appear moderate at one point, and then as time passes, to renege on that.”

 However, H.A. Hellyer, a Middle East and north Africa specialist at the Atlantic Council and the Royal United Services Institute, told The Independent that “the deal is not what many in the protest movement will have hoped for, while there will also be those who consider it the least bad of all options.”

SUDAN INSIGHT ALERT: Financial Times - Sudan protest leaders celebrate power-sharing deal with military

5/7/19: Financial Times - Sudan protest leaders celebrate power-sharing deal with military, by David Pilling and Siddarth Shrikanth

David Pilling and Siddarth Shrinkanth’s feature piece highlights reactions to the Sudanese power-sharing deal.

 Sudanese Congress Party chief and “prominent protest leader” Omar Al Digair said “[the agreement] opens the way for the formation of the institutions of the transitional authority, and we hope that this is the beginning of a new era.”

 However, Murithi Mutiga, a Sudan expert at the International Crisis Group, said “it’s important to know that the Sudan regime is a past master at extending talks indefinitely and using negotiations to buy time and stay in power.”

 Mutiga added that although the deal “will disappoint a lot of people on the street…the protest movement might have thought this is the best they can get.”

Mutiga called for the international community to be steadfast in insisting that the sacrifices of protesters are not in vain. 

SUDAN INSIGHT ALERT: Telegraph - Sudanese celebrate as protesters reach deal with generals after bloody crackdown

5/7/19: Telegraph - Sudanese celebrate as protesters reach deal with generals after bloody crackdown, by Roland Oliphant

 Roland Oliphant’s article highlighted both praise and criticisms of the power-sharing deal which the Sudanese Professionals Association claimed is a “victory”.

 "I feel cheated," said Dinan Alasad, a Sudanese Canadian doctor who took part in the protests. "The SPA were very adamant about not negotiating with the people who killed our family and friends,” she said, adding that “this would have been a great agreement before the [June 3] massacre. But these are the same people who did terrible things to civilians. They've lied before and they will lie again.”

 However, Haafiz Mohammed, director of Justice Africa Sudan, a human rights group that has backed the protests, called it “a step in the right direction." He said: “It is not what we want…but given the current political situation it is reasonable. It will put the country on the right track for a transition to democracy.”

SUDAN INSIGHT ALERT: New York Times - In Sudan, a Power-Sharing Deal Propelled by a Secret Meeting and Public Rage

5/7/19: New York Times - In Sudan, a Power-Sharing Deal Propelled by a Secret Meeting and Public Rage, by Declan Walsh

 Declan Walsh’s feature piece reports on a “tense” secret meeting in Khartoum which “shaped” the Sudanese power-sharing agreement, as diplomats from the US, UK, UAE and Saudi Arabia convened Sudan’s military and protest leaders for their first meeting since the June 3 massacre.  

 Walsh writes that “the sudden interest of the Saudis and Emiratis in bringing the two sides together was prompted by [Himedti’s] brutal tactics, which apparently went too far.” Saudi and Emirati officials “claimed to be aghast at suggestions that they had greenlighted the violence,” and thus “quietly” joined Western diplomatic efforts to find a negotiated Sudanese solution.  

SUDAN INSIGHT ALERT: Guardian - The secret Sudan safe house where injured protesters are treated

5/7/19: Guardian - The secret Sudan safe house where injured protesters are treated, by Zeinab Mohammed Salih

 Zeinab Mohammed Salih’s feature piece tells the stories of innocent, politically disengaged Darfuri children who both lost a leg during the recent state-sanctioned violence.

 The children are staying in a safehouse in Khartoum that is funded by anonymous Sudanese diaspora.

 14-year-old Faisal was shot by a man in military uniform when everyone in his village began running towards the National Intelligence and Security Service building.  He was unable to get military treatment in Darfur, and when he finally arrived in Khartoum he was told his leg must be amputated.

 16-year old Ahmed had just left his work at a café, when he became collateral damage after military man shot at a crowd that was running towards him. After his leg had to be amputated, his mother fell into shock and could no longer feed her newborn baby breastmilk.

SUDAN INSIGHT ALERT: Washington Post - Sudan may follow a perilous Arab Spring playbook: The strongman falls, his allies remain

5/7/19: Washington Post - Sudan may follow a perilous Arab Spring playbook: The strongman falls, his allies remain, by Adam Taylor and Claire Parker

 Following the Sudanese power-sharing agreement, Adam Taylor and Claire Parker argue that former Sudanese president Omar Al Bashir’s allies have learned a critical post-Arab Spring lesson: stepping-in to “preserve” the revolution often means clinging to power and blocking democratic reform.

Khalid Mustafa Medani, an associate professor at McGill University, said that while the power-sharing agreement give cause for optimism, the worry is that regime figures might be able to use delay tactics or try to divide and co-opt the civilian opposition before the planned handover, emphasizing the role of the international community.

Political analyst H.A. Hellyer said that Arab Spring pro-democracy movements often fail to make a compelling argument for why they should oversee reform.

SUDAN NEWS ALERT: Reuters - UAE says it will stand with Sudan in "good times and bad times" -official on Twitter

5/7/19: Reuters - UAE says it will stand with Sudan in "good times and bad times" -official on Twitter

 Reuters reports that UAE Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Anwar Gargash has congratulated Sudan after its military council and opposition reached a power-sharing deal and said the UAE would stand with Khartoum in “good times and bad times.”

 “We hope that the next phase will witness the foundation of a constitutional system that will strengthen the role of institutions with broad national and popular support.”

SUDAN NEWS ALERT: Multiple sources - Sudan celebrates power-sharing deal with military

5/7/19: Multiple sources - Sudan celebrates power-sharing deal with military

 Sudanese protest leaders and protesters welcomed the Sudan’s ruling military junta agreement to a power-sharing arrangement and road-map to civilian rule.

 Hundreds of people celebrated on the streets of Khartoum after the Transitional Military Council and the Declaration of Freedom and Change announced the deal. 

 "Today, our revolution has won and our victory shines," the Sudanese Professionals Association said in a Facebook statement.

 Military deputy chief Himedti said “this deal will be comprehensive and will not exclude anyone and will meet the ambitions of the Sudanese people and their victorious revolution.”

SUDAN NEWS ALERT: Multiple sources - Sudan military council, opposition reach power-sharing agreement

5/7/19: Multiple sources – Sudan military council, opposition reach power-sharing agreement

Sudan’s military council and the Declaration of Freedom and Change have provisionally agreed to share power for three years, agreeing to establish a sovereign council that will be Sudan’s highest authority.

 According to a statement from the Sudanese Professionals Association, the council will be led for the first 21 months by the military, and for the final 18 months by civilians and it will comprise five military members and five civilian appointees, with an additional civilian member agreed by the two sides. The deal will be finalised by Monday (June 8).

 The deal includes the formation of a technocratic government beneath the council, and an independent investigation into recent violence, but postpones the establishment of a legislative council - on which the DFC was due to take two-thirds of the seats before the June 3 massacre.