Sudan PM Abdalla Hamdok to lead government after deal: mediators
Sunday November 21 2021
Sudan's Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok (left) and General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan at a past event. PHOTO | ASHRAF SHAZLY | AFP
Khartoum,
Sudan's General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok have reached a deal for his return and the release the civilian leadership detained since last month's military coup, mediators said Sunday.
"A political agreement has been reached between General Burhan, Abdalla Hamdok, political forces and civil society organisations for Hamdok's return to his position, and the release of political detainees," senior Sudanese mediator Fadlallah Burma, who is also the acting head of Sudan's Umma political party, told AFP.
Burhan on October 25 declared a state of emergency, ousted the government and detained the civilian leadership.
The military takeover upended a two-year transition to civilian rule, drew international condemnation and punitive measures, and provoked large protests.
A group Sudanese mediators -- including academics, journalists and politicians -- who have been locked in talks to mediate a deal since the outbreak of the crisis, released a statement outlining the main points of the deal.
It includes the restoration of Hamdok as prime minister, the release of all detainees, and what it said was the resumption of the constitutional, legal and political consensus governing the transitional period.
A statement from the mediators said the deal was reached following an agreement among political factions, ex-rebel groups, and military figures.
"The agreement will be officially announced later today (Sunday), after the signing of its terms and the accompanying political declaration," the statement said.
The comprehensive national initiative in Sudan announced the approval of the military component and the ousted Prime Minister, Abdallah Hamdok, for his return as Prime Minister during the transitional period.
A statement from the initiative, a copy of which was received by Nation.Africa, stated that the agreement includes the release of all political detainees, the completion of consultations with the political forces, with the exception of the National Congress, in addition to continuing the procedures for constitutional, legal and political consensus that govern the transitional period.
The statement of the initiative - which consists of various political forces and parties and armed movements that signed the Juba Peace Agreement - stated that the agreement will be announced later Sunday, after signing its terms and the accompanying political declaration.
Release detainees
Night demonstrations took place in a number of neighbourhoods and suburbs of the Sudanese capital, Khartoum, in rejection of the decisions previously taken by the Sudanese army chief, Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan, and to demand the release of detainees.
Eyewitnesses said that the Sudanese police fired tear gas at protesters in the Sixtieth Street area (east of Khartoum) after they tried to block part of the street. The Sudanese police fired tear gas to disperse demonstrators in Khartoum North.
The designated governor of Khartoum, Ahmed Othman Hamza, issued a decision to form a committee to investigate the events that accompanied the demonstrations last Saturday and Wednesday, to investigate the causes of deaths and injuries that accompanied the demonstrations and to reach the perpetrators, according to the decision.
Sudanese police spokesman said that demonstrators burned a police station in the city of Khartoum North according to the national TV.
The demonstrators demanded the return of Hamdok to carry out his duties and the release of political detainees. The US Embassy in Sudan advised American nationals to stay at home.
The embassy indicated in a statement that despite the peaceful nature of the calls by the organisers, the previous demonstrations witnessed violent confrontations.
US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken called for an end to violence against protesters in Sudan and the release of all detainees.
US Senator Chris Coons said that the United States should not allow the coup to succeed in Sudan, as he put it.
Mr Coons warned Sudan's military leaders of dire consequences if they did not allow the civilian-led democratic transition to resume. He had submitted a proposal to the US Senate to impose sanctions on military leaders in Sudan.
The European Union ambassadors in Khartoum renewed their support for the Sudanese people's demands to achieve democracy, freedom, peace and justice, as well as respect for human rights.
The envoys expressed their readiness to support dialogue in order to find a settlement to the current crisis, according to a press statement after their meeting in Khartoum with former Sovereign Council member Mohamed Hassan Al-Taishi and Minister of Justice in the ousted government Nasr El-Din Abdel Bari, in addition to the ousted Governor of Central Darfur, Adib Youssef.
The meeting also discussed the importance of returning the democratic path in accordance with the constitutional document, in addition to restoring Hamdok as Prime Minister.
The African Union condemned the killing of at least 10 people and wounding others in demonstrations in Khartoum, and elsewhere in the country, calling for the restoration of constitutional order and the democratic process there.
A statement by the Chairperson of the African Union Commission, Moussa Faki, said, Saturday, that "the African Union condemns in the strongest terms the killing of at least 10 people and the injury of several others during the demonstrations in Khartoum and other cities across Sudan in the November 17 demonstrations and the continuing violence against activists” opposition."
Mr Faki called on the “Sudanese authorities to restore constitutional order and democratic transition in line with the Constitutional Declaration of August 2019 and the Juba Peace Agreement in Sudan signed on October 3, 2020.”
"We extend our sincere condolences to the families of the victims," the chairperson of the African Union Commission added.
He stressed the need for the security forces to refrain from the excessive use of force against civilians who are exercising their basic political rights.