Day: September 30, 2022

55 resistance committees and revolutionary bodies signed the new Revolutionary Charter for the Establishment of the People’s Authority on Wednesday as a political vision for the resistance committees.

The resistance committees have been working for a while to unify two different charters presented by the resistance committees of Wad Madani and Khartoum.

The Technical Committee of the Charter explained in a press statement that the goals and issues raised by the resistance committees will be the basic building blocks for the formation of a unified body that will include all the revolutionary forces.

The unification attempts came after various calls for unity amongst Sudan’s opposition.

The charter provides for the abolition of the 2019 Constitutional Document, the inclusion of the Juba Peace Agreement protocols, and the establishment of a transitional constitution based on the resistance committees’ revolutionary charter. It also stipulates that the (civilian) prime minister is the commander-in-chief of the armed forces.

The charter adopted a decentralised system of government in the transitional period.

The signatories also affirmed their rejection of any calls for direct or indirect negotiations with the coup plotters and called for the continuation of peaceful resistance.

The charter stipulates the overthrow of the October 25 coup elements and demands accountability of all those involved from both civil and military forces.

Different visions

The unification of the charters comes in a period of great political turmoil in Sudan. Following the coup, Sudan has been in a political crisis and different groups are pulling in different directions to determine the course of Sudan’s political future.

The mainstream Forces for Freedom and Change-Central Council (the coalition split earlier this year) has proposed their vision for Sudan’s political transition and so have various other groups, including supporters of the coup.

Recently, the SBA drafted a constitutional framework for the transitional period that received broad support, but also criticism. A group of Sudanese women also presented a new unified gender-responsive constitutional vision.

Source: Radio Dabanga

On Wednesday evening, a group of armed people in civilian clothes tried to storm the home of Wajdi Saleh, who was the head of the now-dissolved Empowerment Removal Committee* (ERC), a leading member of the Forces for Freedom and Change-Central Council (FFC-CC) and the Arab Socialist Ba’ath Party, and an outspoken opponent of the ousted Al Bashir regime.

Saleh, who is also a supporter of the dismantlement of the ousted Al Bashir regime, told Radio Dabanga that the gunmen tried to break into the house by force and smashed the light bulbs and surveillance cameras. He explained that they attempted to break the door of the house for a long period of time but failed.

After the break-in attempt, the gunmen withdrew to a location close to the house and stayed there for a long time before finally leaving.

Saleh expressed his astonishment that no security forces, police, or other authority of the jurisdiction had arrived at the house to investigate the incident, despite the fact that it had been published in the media since the early hours of Thursday morning

Less than two weeks ago, Saleh called for the restructuring of the military and security apparatus to ‘purify’ it from the remnants of the former regime who still hold a lot of power. He has also been an outspoken opponent of the coup led by Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) Commander Lt Gen Abdelfattah El Burhan, who is also the Chairman of Sudan’s Sovereignty Council.

Saleh was arrested earlier this year along with two other ERC members and was detained for more than two and a half months in a move that was seen by many as an attempt to silence political dissent after the October 25 military coup.

Source: Radio Dabanga

Volker Perthes, United Nations envoy for Sudan said he does not support a party in the Sudanese crisis against another but he would not compromise with regard to the UNITAMS mandate to support a democratic transition.

On September 17, Gibril Ibrahim Finance Minister and Head of the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) slammed Perthes for his (biased) position in the ongoing process to form a civilian government.

“I told him this because he is a non-neutral mediator and does not fit to be a mediator. Several parties told him the same thing,” he added alluding to statements by the leaders of the military component against the UN envoy.

On Friday, Perthes released an editorial where he repeated the UN commitment to support Sudan to achieve a democratic transition. Also, he underscored that UNITAMS works with its regional partners in the Trilateral Mechanism and the international community to facilitate an intra-Sudanese process.

“We in the UN can bring technical expertise and other support to proposals on how to address these questions,” he said.

“We will continue to remain nonpartisan, but we will never be neutral with regard to our values: democracy, human rights and international law, and to the strategic objective defined in the mandate given to me by the Security Council, namely, to assist Sudan on a civilian-led transition towards democracy and peace,” he further emphasized.

The coup leaders and their allied armed groups criticized the positions of the UN envoy backing the need for political, security and economic reforms which are the core of his mandate.

The UNITMAS recently facilitated the efforts of the Sudanese Bar Association to draft a transitional constitution including all the stakeholders. Also, international legal experts participated in this enterprise.

But the outcome of the initiative did not fit in many points with the positions of the military component and allied political and armed groups.

In his article, Perthes expressed hope that Sudanese would reach an agreement over the transitional government despite the strained political situation

“While political polarization continues to intensify, there are many signs of hope in reaching a solution. The multiplicity of national initiatives – with many points of convergence between them – evidence this”.

Source: Sudan Tribune

Thousands of protesters took to the streets in the cities of Khartoum, Wad Madani, Nyala, Dongola, and Atbara yesterday in response to the calls of the resistance committees to demand the overthrow of the coup regime and retribution for the martyrs in new Marches of the Millions.

The Marches of the Millions in Khartoum moved from the Bashdar gathering point in El Deyoum El Shargiya towards the Republican Palace and the participants carried banners.

The regular forces prevented the demonstrators from reaching El Gasr (Palace) Street, close to the Republican Palace, by heavily firing tear gas and using excessive violence. They also tried to run over some demonstrators with security vehicles.

The protesters closed several main roads using barricades and the protests continued until late and turned into a hit and run with the police.

The Socialist Doctors Association (SDA) reported 49 injuries amongst the protesters, including 29 injuries from teargas cannisters.

‘There is no choice for the military but to leave the political scene in order to form a Sudan that enjoys freedom and democracy’

The joint Platform of the Revolutionary Forces in Nyala, capital of South Darfur, organised a march to demand retribution for the martyrs of the glorious December revolution, the departure of the military from power, and a purely civilian government.

Abdelazim Abdallah, spokesperson for the platform, said that the protest in Nyala confirms the Sudanese people’s adherence to their chosen democratic path and their rejection of all attempts to dishonour the legacy of the martyrs. He added that there is no choice for the military but to leave the political scene in order to form a Sudan that enjoys freedom and democracy.

In El Gezira’s capital Wad Madani, the resistance committees organised a procession from El Khair Pharmacy in the market to the house of detainee Mohammed El Fateh, nicknamed ‘El Nana’, demanding retribution for the martyrs and the overthrow of the coup regime.

In Northern state capital Dongola, the resistance committees marched in a four-point convoy that gathered at the military hospital to demand the overthrow of the coup and in solidarity with the doctors’ strike that has been going on for weeks.

Atbara, in the Nile River State, witnessed a similar processions.

Source: Radio Dabanga