Day: December 5, 2022

The Forces for Freedom and Change-Central Council (FFC-CC) confirmed on Sunday that it has agreed to sign the first phase of a political framework agreement at the Republican Palace in Khartoum at 10:30 today, meanwhile demonstrations against the deal are set to take place in the Sudanese capital.

According to sources, the various political parties and groups will each separately sign the framework agreement, witnessed by the AU-IGAD-UN Trilateral Mechanism.

This weekend, invitations to attend the signing of the first phase of the agreement from the Secretary-General of the Transitional Sovereignty Council, Gen Mohamed El Ghali, circulated on social media.

FFC-CC spokesperson Jaafar Hasan told Radio Dabanga that he does not expect any delay to the set date. In contrast, the Justice and Equality Movement and the Sudan Liberation Movement faction of Minni Minawi proposed to postpone the signing in meetings with FFC representatives on Saturday. The two groups may sign the framework agreement later, according to Hasan.

He said that they spoke with the two rebel groups only. The FFC-CC did not speak with the FFC-Democratic Block (FFC-DB), which includes the National Accord Forces (NAF), the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), and the Sudanese Ba’ath Party, amongst others.

‘No negotiation’

Coordination teams of resistance committees in Khartoum announced that demonstrators will march to the Republican Palace today to protest the signing of the framework agreement.

Grassroots groups in various press statements confirmed their adherence to the slogan of the revolution: “No negotiation, no partnership, no legitimacy” with the military over the weekend.

In a statement issued by its Political Bureau on Saturday, the Communist Party of Sudan said that the framework agreement “is a domestic and foreign conspiracy to block the path of the revolution.” The party called “on all its members, allies, and all forces of the revolution to join the marches on mass.”

The party stated that the framework agreement “aims to reproduce the former regime in a new version to preserve the interests of parasitic capitalism and its allies abroad.” The Alliance for Radical Change, formed earlier this year by the Communist Party, issued a similar statement.

Party positions

In a statement on Sunday, the FFC-Beja Congress Party called on “all forces in eastern Sudan to sign this declaration to complete the process of restoring civilian rule.”

The party has signed the draft of the transitional constitution, developed by the Sudanese Association in August, according to the statement.

Many political parties and groups denounce the contents of the framework agreement, among them members of the FFC-CC who have left the alliance.

The Darfur Bar Association (DBA) also rejects the framework agreement as its members consider it “a deviation from the path of restoring the constitutional life of the country, an entry point for power-sharing between its signatories, and the legalisation of impunity of the security apparatus of the ousted regime [of Omar Al Bashir].”

The DBA said in a statement yesterday that the draft framework “will plunge the country into new disputes and political and security chaos.”

Ammar Daldoum, Secretary General of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North under the leadership of Abdelaziz El Hilu in the Nuba Mountains, also criticised the transitional constitution text because it “does not address the roots of the Sudanese problem.”

According to Daldoum, political alliances such as the FFC-CC “do not care about the core issues and political and economic stability. Their priorities are the seats of power only.”

He said in a speech to the SPLM forces on Sunday that the Trilateral Mechanism does recognise the importance and active role of the movement as a major force in the political scene.

‘Effective communication’

To expedite the agreement to form a new civilian government as soon as possible in Sudan, the AU-IGAD-UN Trilateral Mechanism proposed to postpone talks on four important and contentious issues; justice and transitional justice, security and military reform, empowerment removal*, and the Juba Peace Agreement have been postponed for the final agreement.

In an interview with Radio Dabanga this weekend, El Wasig El Bereir, Secretary-General of the National Umma Party (NUP) and spokesperson for the FFC-CC said that the signing of a final agreement with the junta will take place within three to four weeks.

Gen Mohamed ‘Hemeti’ Dagalo, Commander of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and Vice-President of the Sovereignty Council, stressed the “need for effective communication between the FFC-CC, the FFC-DB, and the other signatory parties to the framework agreement” during a meeting with the Democratic Block on Sunday.

Kholood Khair, broadcaster and managing partner of Insight Strategy Partners, tweeted on Saturday that “no one knows conclusively what they would be supporting, the omerta around the deal is troubling. Confidence in the deal and in phase two (far more difficult phase) will rely on trust. Trouble is, trust is the rarest commodity in Sudan’s political marketplace today.”

According to the political commentator, the “opaque and regionally porous” nature of the framework agreement draws a line between forces supporting El Burhan and forces supporting Hemeti, rather than between pro- and anti-coup forces.

“This can only heighten the stakes for an armed confrontation between the RSF and Sudan Armed Forces, particularly as this deal will give each side more to play for during phase two, when Sudan’s political crisis may well begin in earnest,” she said.

Source: Radio Dabanga

Sudanese stakeholders from the military component and the Forces for Freedom and Change (FFC) on Monday, signed the Political Framework Agreement which to establish a new transitional period.

In accordance with the framework agreement, the signatories agreed to repeal the 2019 constitutional declaration and to review the decisions issued by the military leaders after the October 25, 2021 coup.

In addition, the deal provides that the Transitional Constitution is the supreme law of the state, ending the supremacy of the Juba Peace Agreement.

The agreement reaffirms the establishment of a single professional army and the merger of Rapid Support Forces, prohibiting the military from conducting investment and commercial business except for the military industry.

The signed text reaffirmed the principle of accountability, justice and transitional justice for the war crimes, the attacks on the pro-democracy sit-in and the post-coup killing of protesters.

Based on the principle of the civilian state, the framework agreement provides that the head of state will be the commander-in-chief of the army.

The two-year transition will start with the appointment of the prime minister who will be chosen by the forces of the revolution.

To avoid any confusion as was the case in 2019, the text clearly stipulates that the prime minister will appoint the Director of the General Intelligence Service.

Also, the minister of interior will control all the security forces.

The text acknowledges the plight of the eastern Sudan region and the right to development and political participation.

Concerning the Juba peace agreement, the document reiterated the commitment to implement the Juba peace agreement once it is reviewed.

In addition, the civilian government has to resume talks with the SPLM-N led by Abdel Aziz al-Hilu based on the declaration of principles of March 2021. The cabinet also has to negotiate the SLM of Abdel Wahid al-Nur.

The transitional government will consist of the legislative council, the head of state entity, and the council of minister independent commissions. The text emphasizes that 40% of the parliament’s seats should be allocated for women’s representation.

The framework agreement provides to develop four pillars before forming the transitional authority within a month.

The four issues that need more development are justice and transitional justice, security reform, the review of the Juba peace agreement and the dismantlement of the al-Bashir regime

The framework agreement is being developed with broad public participation from the stakeholders and the forces that signed the political declaration and the forces of the revolution on 4 main issues that need more details, namely:

The Justice and Equality Movement (SLM) and Sudan Liberation Movement- Minnawi (SLM-MM) rejected to sign the agreement as they call to maintain the 2019 constitutional document.

Suleiman Sandal, JEM political official called on the Resistance Committees to take to the streets to reject the agreement.

Source: Sudan Tribune

Wajdi Saleh, a leading member of the mainstream Forces for Freedom and Change for the Arab Socialist Ba’ath Party, was released on bail on Sunday, meanwhile, a trial of four young men accused of killing a police officer was adjourned.

On Sunday morning, the trial session of Mohamed Adam, nicknamed Tupac, and three other young men accused of killing a police brigadier during demonstrations in January was adjourned because Adam showed serious signs of beating.

Adam, Mohamed El Fateh, Musab El Shareef, and Ahmed El Fateh were detained on January 14 on charges of killing a police officer and were subsequently subjected to torture in detention, including severe beatings and electric shocks and were denied medical aid.

Adam, who was brought to the court in chains on Sunday, “showed severe signs of beating on his head and legs, and his mouth was bleeding.” When the court judge ordered the guarding police officers to unchain him, they said they left the key in Kober Prison. He was beaten in the notorious Kober Prison, according to a press statement by Adam’s defence team following the adjourned session.

Judge Zuheir Abdelrazeg ordered Form 8* to be filled out and for Adam to be transferred to hospital. He set the date for the next session on Sunday, December 11.

The defence lawyers have requested for the four men to be transferred to Soba Prison because of their ill-treatment in Kober Prison.

In June, the protestors’ poor treatment inside Kober Prison sparked controversy, not only because of the torture the teenagers were subjected to but also because of inconsistencies in the police statements.

Saleh released

Despite being released after the prosecution ratified the bail for two previous complaints against Saleh, his defence team was surprised to see a new complaint lodged against him.

Adel Khalafallah, spokesperson for the Ba’ath Party, told Radio Dabanga that the new complaint related to the confiscation of hundreds of vehicles without a legal basis by the Empowerment Removal Committee** (ERC).

Jihan Abdelwahhab, Saleh’s wife, told Radio Dabanga that he would not be released until late Sunday.

Saleh was chair of the ERC, established by the government of Abdallah Hamdok in late 2019 to purge Sudan of the remnants of the Al Bashir regime. In an interview with Radio Dabanga last month, spokesperson for the Forces for Freedom and Change-Central Council (FFC-CC), El Wasig El Bereir, said that it would not be possible to sign any kind of agreement before releasing Saleh and other political activists, including resistance committee members.

Source: Radio Dabanga

Sudan’s coup leaders and the country’s main pro-democracy group signed a deal Monday to establish a civilian-led transitional government following the military takeover last year. But key players refused to participate, and no deadline was set for the transition to begin.

The framework — signed by General Abdel-Fattah Burhan, General Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo and the leaders of the Forces for the Declaration of Freedom and Change — appears to offer only the broadest outlines for how the country will resume its progression to democracy. That process was upended in October 2021, when Burhan unseated the civilian half of Sudan’s ruling Sovereignty Council with Dagalo’s backing.

Since the coup, international aid has dried up and bread and fuel shortages, caused in part by the war in Ukraine, have become routine, plunging Sudan’s inflation-riddled economy into deeper peril. Security forces have ruthlessly suppressed near-weekly pro-democracy marches. Deadly tribal clashes have flared in the country’s neglected peripheries.

It’s not clear whether or how quickly the deal signed Monday can offer a way out for Sudan, given that it appears to leave many thorny issues unresolved and doesn’t have the support of key political forces, including the grassroots pro-democracy Resistance Committees. That network’s leaders called for demonstrations against the agreement.

Several former rebel leaders, who have formed their own political bloc, have also rejected the deal.

Many of the points in a draft of the deal were promised in a 2020 agreement that saw Sudan’s previous transitional government make peace with several rebels in Sudan’s far-flung provinces.

According to the draft, the deal envisions Sudan’s military eventually stepping back from politics. The document says it will form part of a new ”security and defense council” under the appointed prime minister. But it does not address how to reform the armed forces, saying only they should be unified and that controls should be imposed on military-owned companies.

It makes specific mention of Sudan’s wealthy paramilitary force, the Rapid Support Forces, headed by Dagalo. The force amassed wealth through its gradual acquisition of Sudanese financial institutions and gold reserves in recent years.

It does not address creating a transitional judiciary system or say when the transitional government will be put in place. Only then will a two-year transition officially begin — the end goal of which is elections.

Analysts have cast doubt over whether the aims of the agreement are achievable, given its lack of detail on key issues and the boycott of key players.

“Realistically none of these complex processes can be dealt with within a transitional time frame of two years,” said Kholood Khair, founder and director of Confluence Advisory, a think tank in Khartoum.

Sudan has been plunged into turmoil since the coup threw off course a democratic transition that began after three decades of autocratic rule by President Omar al-Bashir. The former leader was toppled in April 2019, following a popular uprising.

The U.N. special envoy to Sudan, Volker Perthes, attended Monday’s signing and later, at a speech at the palace, described the deal as “Sudanese-owned and Sudanese-led.”

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres hoped the agreement will pave the way for the return to a civilian-led transition, said U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric.

He called on “all Sudanese stakeholders to work without delay on the next phase of the transition process to address outstanding issues with a view to achieving a lasting, inclusive political settlement,” Dujarric said.

Monday’s development came after months of negotiations between the military and the Forces for the Declaration of Freedom and Change, facilitated by a mediating team of the United States, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Britain.

The hope is the deal could draw in new international aid, after donor funds dried up in response to the coup.

Sudan has also seen a sharp increase in inter-tribal violence in the country’s west and south. In the southern Blue Nile province, two days of clashes between the Berta and Hausa killed more than 170 people in October. Last month some 48 were killed in tribal clashes in Darfur.

Many commentators have attributed the rising tribal violence to the power vacuum caused by last year’s military takeover and the subsequent political and economic crisis.

Source: Voice of America

VIENNA— Major oil-producing countries led by Saudi Arabia and Russia agreed to maintain their current output levels in a climate of uncertainty and ahead of fresh sanctions against Moscow coming into force next week.

The representatives of the 13 members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) led by Riyadh, and their 10 allies headed by Moscow, decided to stick to their course agreed in October of a production cut of two million barrels per day until the end of 2023.

OPEC+ described its October decision to cut as one “which was purely driven by market considerations”, adding that it had been “the necessary and the right course of action towards stabilizing global oil markets”, a statement said.

The next OPEC+ ministerial meeting is scheduled for June 4, 2023.

But the alliance said it was ready to “meet at any time and take immediate additional measures” to address market developments and support the oil market if necessary.

On Friday, the EU, G7 and Australia agreed a $60-per-barrel price cap on Russian oil, which will come into effect on Monday or soon after, alongside an EU embargo on maritime deliveries of Russian crude oil.

It will prevent seaborne shipments of Russian crude to the European Union, which account for two thirds of the bloc’s oil imports from Russia, an attempt to deprive Moscow’s war chest of billions of euros.

While Russia denounced on Saturday the incoming price cap, threatening to suspend deliveries to any country that adopted the measure, Ukraine suggested the cap should have been set even lower.

For OPEC+, the big unknown in the oil equation is how heavily sanctions will hit Russian supply.

“Uncertainty on the impact on Russian oil production coming from the EU ban… and the G7 price cap and some easing of mobility restrictions in China likely supported the decision for a rollover,” UBS analyst Giovanni Staunovo said.

Moscow’s threat to suspend deliveries to countries abiding by the price cap will put “some in a very uncomfortable position”, said OANDA analyst Craig Erlam: “Choosing between losing access to cheap Russian crude or facing G7 sanctions”.

Amid economic gloom fuelled by soaring inflation and fears of China’s weaker energy demand due to its Covid-related restrictions, the two global crude benchmarks remained close to their lowest level of the year, far from their March peaks.

Since the group’s last meeting in early October, Brent North Sea oil and its US equivalent, WTI, have lost more than six percent of their value.

Moving forward, OPEC+ might still feel compelled to adopt “a more aggressive stance” by cutting or threatening to cut production, UniCredit analyst Edoardo Campanella said.

“Russia might also retaliate by leveraging its influence within OPEC+ to push for more production cuts down the road, thus exacerbating the global energy crisis,” he added.

Source: Nam News Network