In Sudan, he stuck to the rejection of the Hamdok Al-Burhan agreement… and an international movement

With some civil forces in Sudan sticking to their demand of rejecting the agreement signed between Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok and the head of the new Sovereign Council, Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan, despite all the assurances issued by the two men, the UN envoy, Volker Peirce, started meetings with a number of what is known as “” Resistance Committees.

The Special Envoy of the Secretary-General of the United Nations in Sudan confirmed, in a tweet on his Twitter account yesterday evening, that he is keen to meet with the resistance committees, describing them as the original part of the diverse movement that works to ensure a democratic transition process in the country.

He also pointed out that these meetings also affect other key parties in the country, in order to listen to their visions and opinions, and to discuss ways to move forward.

Refusal to partner with the military

Simultaneously, the “Forces of Freedom and Change” are moving to drop the agreement that was signed in the presidential palace on November 21 (2021), arguing that it perpetuates the authority and dominance of the armed forces over political decision, and a demand for civilian rule.

It is also working on developing programs for purely civilian rule, away from partnership with the military.

Abdullah Hamdouk and Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan after signing the political agreement in Khartoum (AFP)

This was announced by the head of the Executive Office of the Federal Assembly, Babiker Faisal, in a press conference yesterday, stressing that the option of returning the forces of freedom and change to the constitutional document is out of the question.

This came after the Association of Professionals, which played a prominent role in the widespread protests that led to the ouster of former regime President Omar al-Bashir, stressed its rejection of this agreement and the position of the United Nations in support of it. He condemned the comments of the United Nations Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, who urged the Sudanese to support the agreement to return Hamdok to the government, so that the country can “transition peacefully towards real democracy.”

Guterres’ position was also considered a “moral and political failure”, as he described it.

It is noteworthy that a source close to Hamdok revealed a few days ago that the latter linked his stay in his position (head of the government) to the consensus between the political forces in the country. And he was quoted as saying, according to what Reuters reported, that he will not remain in his position except by implementing the political agreement with the army, according to which he returned to the prime ministership, and by consensus between the political forces.

democratization

Hamdok had previously confirmed more than once that he had signed the agreement to prevent bloodshed in the country, and to preserve the gains that had been achieved, the most important of which was the democratic transition that Sudan has witnessed since 2019, after the removal of al-Bashir, and the sharing of power between the military and civilian components.

It is noteworthy that the political agreement signed by the two parties on November 21 (2021) at the presidential palace in Khartoum, restored Hamdok to his position in order to form a new government, instead of the previous government that the armed forces announced their dissolution on October 25.

It also established the partnership between civilians and the military in managing the country, and stipulated the building of a unified national army, and the restructuring of the committee to dismantle the Bashir regime with a review of its performance.

It also included a call for a dialogue between all political forces to establish the constitutional conference, as well as expediting the completion of all institutions of transitional governance.

However, he was criticized by the civilian incubator of Hamdok, despite the international welcome he received.