SUDAN NEWS ALERT: AP – Sudan minister: Return to pre-coup arrangement ‘unrealistic’

17/11/2021: AP – Sudan minister: Return to pre-coup arrangement ‘unrealistic’, by Fay Abuelgasim and Samy Magdy

 

AP report that Jibril Ibrahim, the pro-military finance minister and leader of the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM), says time is running out for deposed prime minister Abdalla Hamdok to agree to take a post in a military-led government.

 

Negotiations have focused on convincing Hamdok to lead a technocratic Cabinet that runs day-to-day affairs, he said.

 

 Ibrahim said calls by some pro-democracy groups, the United States and its western allies to return the pre-coup transitional government, or a fully civilian-led democratic transition, are “unrealistic,” given that the military has tightened its grip on power.

 

Hamdok is currently under house arrest. He and over 100 other government officials detained during the coup, with many kept in undisclosed locations.

SUDAN NEWS ALERT: Multiple sources – 15 shot dead in crackdown on Sudan anti-coup protests

17/11/2021: Multiple sources – 15 shot dead in crackdown on Sudan anti-coup protests

 

The death toll in Sudan’s anti-coup protests in Khartoum alone rose to at least 39, after security forces shot dead at least 10 protesters and wounded at least 70, in the bloodiest day since the 25 October military coup.

 

Security forces fired on demonstrators with live ammunition and tear gas in marches held in Khartoum, Khartoum North (Bahri) and Omdurman.

SUDAN INSIGHT ALERT: Project Syndicate - An Appeal for Sudan’s Future

17/11/19: Project Syndicate - An Appeal for Sudan’s Future, by Ibrahim Elbadawi and Jeffrey D. Sachs

 Sudanese finance minister Ibrahim Elbadawi, and Jeffrey D. Sachs, a Sustainable Development Goals Advocate for UN Secretary-General António Guterres, call for “vital and timely international assistance to Sudan” to guarantee the success of the transitional government’s reforms.

 Elbadawi and Sachs call for the US to lift its designation of Sudan as a state sponsor of terrorism, thereby removing remove regulatory barriers to commerce, finance, and the movement of people.

 To enact the Sudan Economic Revival Plan that is based on UN Sustainable Development Goals, the authors call for immediate debt relief, via Sudan’s inclusion in the IMF-World Bank Heavily Indebted Poor Country (HIPC) programme.

 Elbadawi and Sachs argue that such support would enable Sudan to evolve towards peace and democracy, warning that Sudanese instability and violence would engulf many other countries in the Horn of Africa and the Middle East.  

SUDAN POLITICAL ALERT: Human Rights Watch – Justice Needed for Protester Killings

17/11/19: Human Rights Watch – Justice Needed for Protester Killings

 Human Rights Watch call for Sudan’s transitional authorities to commit to genuine accountability for unlawful violence against protesters since December 2018.

 HRW call for the replacement of the committee formed by Prime Minister Hamdok to investigate the June 3 massacre, given its inclusion of officials linked to the military, despite exempting women and sexual violence experts.

 HRW call for a committee that will not hesitate to identify members of the government responsible for the massacre, including Himedti, and other military leaders who are sovereign council members.

 HRW also call for the transitional government to enact legal reforms to bring Sudanese laws in line with international standards, and ratify key human rights treaties, as well as the hand-over of Omar al-Bashir and four other men with arrest warrants from the International Criminal Court.

SUDAN NEWS ALERT: Radio Dabanga - SPLM-N Agar: Darfur should be granted autonomy

17/11/19: Radio Dabanga - SPLM-N Agar: Darfur should be granted autonomy

 Radio Dabanga reports on the leadership conference of the Sudan Peoples Liberation Movement-North faction under the leadership of Malik Agar (SPLM-N Agar). The rebel movement in called for the region of Darfur to be granted autonomy with broad authorities.

 The SPLM-N Agar leadership conference also called for the inclusion of displaced persons, refugees and civil society in the peace process.

 In addition, the SPLM-N Agar called for wanted persons to be handed over to the International Criminal Court immediately, including the ousted al-Bashir, and for Darfur’s executive and legislative authorities to be shared with the Forces of the Freedom of Change, with an 80-20 split in favour of rebel movements.

 The conference also advised the reconstruction of agricultural projects in Darfur by allocating 70% of Darfur’s resources towards development for 10 years, with 50% allocated thereafter.  

SUDAN NEWS ALERT: Radio Dabanga - Activists ‘degraded’ in Sudan police custody

17/11/19: Radio Dabanga - Activists ‘degraded’ in Sudan police custody

 Radio Dabana reports that police detained 10 members of Resistance Committees in Mayo, El Salama, and El Azhari districts in the southern part of Khartoum. The activists were later released on bail after street protests in Mayo.

 The detention followed a complaint by the Islamic Dawa Organiation (OIC) that the activists allegedly assaulted and forcefully took over the headquarters of the organisation. The police opened charges against the activists under article 183 of the Sudanese Criminal Code.

 The Islamic Dawa Organisation is an international NGO that has strong ties to al-Bashir’s regime and the Muslim Brotherhood.