SUDAN NEWS ALERT: Sudan Tribune - Military component has no guardianship over transition in Sudan: civilian forces

25/9/2021: Sudan Tribune - Military component has no guardianship over transition in Sudan: civilian forces

Sudan Tribune report that Mohamed al-Faki, the civilian spokesman of the Sovereign Council, rejected the council’s chairman, Sudanese Armed Forces commander-in-chief Abdulfattah al-Burhan’s statement that the military are the guardians of the democratic transition.

"No, you are not a guardian. The guardian is the people,” al-Faki stressed, adding that al-Burhan’s comments about divisions in the Forces for Freedom and Change (FFC) aim to give the military the control of the transition in Sudan.

 Al-Faki also disclosed that deteriorated relations between the military and civilians are contributing to “a complete stalemate in transitional reforms” of the security sector, with the military obstructing the appointment of the new chief justice and other major reforms, including the sacking of Islamists from the army.

SUDAN INSIGHT ALERT: Foreign Policy – The United States Should Lift Sanctions on Sudan

25/9/19: Foreign Policy – The United States Should Lift Sanctions on Sudan, by Cameron Hudson

 Cameron Hudson of the Atlantic Council warns that unless the US and other international partners acknowledge that Sudan is no longer a state sponsor of terrorism and remove its existing sanctions, the military will gain and keep power.

 To prevent those who benefited under Al Bashir’s rule from standing in the way of reform, Hudson suggests that activists and governments must embrace the opportunity to empower the rise of Sudan’s new generation of moderate voices.

 Thus, Hudson calls for the international community to support Sudan’s new leadership to help build and reform its “crumbling” institutions, re-establish development assistance, and create a pathway for retiring Sudan’s external debt.

SUDAN NEWS ALERT: Sudan Tribune - SRF rejects al-Mahdi proposal for peace conference inside Sudan

25/9/19: Sudan Tribune - SRF rejects al-Mahdi proposal for peace conference inside Sudan

 Sudan Tribune reports that Gibril Ibrahim, Sudanese Revolutionary Front (SRF) Secretary-General, on Sunday rejected a proposal by Umma Party leader Sadiq al-Mahdi to hold a peace conference inside Sudan that would engage political parties in tackling issues that led to the wars.

Gibril told Sudan Tribune that "there are general issues that cant be addressed at a general conference, including freedoms, identity, human rights, the relationship between religion and the state.”

 Gibril added that the process is intertwined with military issues that must be addressed by the warring parties, as well as the issues of war-affected areas.

 Nonetheless, Gibril denied that the SRF will try to break away from the Forces of Freedom and Change civilian opposition coalition, despite their differences over achieving peace.

SUDAN NEWS ALERT: Multiple sources – Egypt, Qatar, former US president call for Sudan’s removal from US terror list

25/9/19: Multiple sources – Egypt, Qatar, former US president call for Sudan’s removal from US terror list

• Sudan Tribune

• Radio Dabanga

 Qatari emir Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, Egyptian president Abdelfattah Al Sisi, and former US president Jimmy Carter have called on the US President Donald Trump administration to remove Sudan from its terror list to allow international support for its fragile transitional government.

 In their speeches at the 74th UN General Assembly, al-Thani and Al Sisi both expressed their support for the Sudanese people, with Al Sisi stressing that “it is important to help Sudan to address the economic challenges through interaction with the international financial institutions to fulfil hopes of its people.”

 Meanwhile, in a statement to CNN, Carter noted that amid Sudan’s dire economic situation, countries cannot support Sudan without incurring US sanctions, warning that the US continue terror designation may pave the way for the Islamist military and associated militias to abort the Sudanese revolution and destabilise the country and the region.

SUDAN NEWS ALERT: Radio Dabanga – Agreement signed for UN Human Rights Offices in Sudan

25/9/19: Radio Dabanga – Agreement signed for UN Human Rights Offices in Sudan

 Radio Dabanga reports that the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet signed an agreement with the government of Sudan to open a UN Human Rights Office in Khartoum and field offices in Darfur, Blue Nile, Southern Kordofan and East Sudan.

 Bachelet said the Office will support the democratic transition in four critical areas:

1.     Combatting social, economic and gender inequality

2.     Legal and institutional reform to protect human rights

3.     Transitional justice to ensure accountability and reconciliation, with the participation of victims

4.     Strengthening the democratic and civic space through stronger women and minority participation.