LONDON: Sudan’s feuding centers of power may have signed a framework deal to bring the country back toward a democratic administration following the military coup of October 2021, but NGOs and academics, as well as continuous public protests, warn against over-optimism.
Signatories to the agreement, which was unveiled on December 5 in Khartoum, include Sudan’s ruling generals Abdel-Fattah Burhan and Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo, also known as Hemeti, as well as the leaders of the country’s largest pro-democracy party, Forces of Freedom and Change, and 40 other groups.
The framework agreement specifies the necessity for full civilian control over all elements of life, with a security and defense council headed by the prime minister, as a path to a civilian-led transition comprised of democratic elections and the return of the military to their barracks.
In response to the news, Volker Perthes, the director of the UN Integrated Transition Assistance Mission in Sudan, called the agreement a “courageous move,” while US Ambassador to Sudan John Godfrey tweeted his support for the accord, calling it a “credible path… out of the political crisis.”
Despite receiving strong backing from the international community and the generals — Burhan screamed one of the demonstrators’ slogans, “the military belongs in the barracks” — the agreement has yet to elicit enthusiasm from many segments of Sudanese civil society.
Source: Arab News
