SUDAN INSIGHT ALERT: Africa Report – Sudan’s dreams of freedom, peace and justice need putsch protection

19/11/19: Africa Report – Sudan’s dreams of freedom, peace and justice need putsch protection, by Jihad Mashamoun

 Jihad Mashamoun, a PhD candidate of Middle East Politics at the University of Exeter, provides three strategies for Prime Minister Hamdok’s government to protect itself against a potential coup by Islamists seeking to exploit Sudan’s economic problems to stir up opposition to the civilian government.

 Mashamoun suggests that the transitional government stops spending energy convincing the US to remove Sudan’s terrorism designation, and instead prioritise the raising of finance from programmes that are independent of US support.

 Secondly, Mashamoun suggests that the government and Forces of Freedom and Change establish discussion forums to find out about people’s priorities and expectations of economic change in the transition period.

 Finally, Mashamoun calls for the government and the FFC to work closely with the Sudanese Professionals Association and resistance committees to ensure that any Islamist coup would meet coordinated mass resistance that would render Sudan ungovernable.