Sudan coup leader agrees with US to speed up new gov’t formation | News

The Sudanese military leader has agreed with the United States on the need to hasten the formation of a new government after ordering the release of four ministers from the now deposed government, Sudan’s state news agency reported.

General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan’s office released a statement Thursday after speaking on the phone with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken. The Al-Burhan office said the two parties agreed that the formation of the government must be accelerated.

“The two parties agreed that the path of democratic transition must be maintained, the structures of the transitional government completed and the formation of a government accelerated,” said his office.

State Department spokesman Ned Price said Blinken called on al-Burhan in the appeal to promptly release all political figures arrested since the coup and to “return to a dialogue that will restore Prime Minister Hamdok to office and the civilian-led government restored in Sudan ”.

“We are considering all internal and external initiatives to serve the national interest,” said Taher Abouhaga, al-Burhan’s media advisor, on Thursday. “The formation of a government is imminent.”

Meanwhile, mass protests are expected in the Sudanese capital Khartoum and other major cities on Friday.

The United Nations tried to broker an end to the political crisis that followed the coup in which senior civilians were arrested and Hamdok was placed under house arrest.

The UN Special Envoy for Sudan, Special Envoy Volker Perthes, said the talks had resulted in the draft of a possible agreement on a return to power-sharing, including the reinstatement of the deposed prime minister.

But he pushed for an agreement “in days not weeks” before both sides’ positions hardened.

Developments came as the country’s leading generals and former civilian leaders were embroiled in tense negotiations over a way out of the crisis sparked by the military takeover last week.

On October 25, al-Burhan dissolved the interim government and arrested other government officials and political leaders in a coup.

Hamdok, who was released within two days of his arrest and has since been under guarded house arrest, was allowed to meet UN diplomats and international diplomats as part of a mediation effort.

Release of the ministers

SUNA news agency announced on Thursday that al-Burhan had made the decision for Hamza Baloul, Minister of Information and Culture, Hashim Hasabel-Rasoul, Minister of Communication, Ali Gedou, Minister of Trade and International Cooperation, and Youssef Adam, Minister of Youth and sport to let go.

Al Jazeera’s Hiba Morgan reported Friday from Khartoum that the four ministers had been released.

She added that several other ministers remained in custody.

“The four ministers are just a few of those arrested on the morning of the coup. Activists and lawyers were also arrested. But the release comes amid talks to form a new government and because Hamdok, who remains under house arrest, insists on the release of detainees, ”Morgan said.

Hamdok also called for the coup to be lifted as a prerequisite for further negotiations with the military.

Moez Hadra, a defender of the deposed officials, said the four ministers were among the 100 government officials and political leaders arrested during the coup. Half of them are said to be held in Khartoum, the others are said to be scattered across the country’s provinces.

He said around 25 officials and politicians are charged with inciting rebels.

Many were taken from their homes in the early hours of the morning and held in unknown locations. The military also raided state news television headquarters and cut cellular and Internet communications across the country. Tens of thousands of people protested. Internet services were still limited.

Sara Abdelgalil, a spokeswoman for the Sudanese professional association, the key force behind the 2019 uprising and anti-coup protests, estimates hundreds of protesters and opposition activists have been arrested in the past week. Some have disappeared, others were interrogated and later released, she said.

Ali Agab, a well-known Sudanese human rights attorney, said he had heard reports that security forces identified and forcibly detained protesters from their homes based on photos taken during demonstrations.

Abdelgalil said the near-failure of communications made it difficult to know how many people are missing or held in secret prisons, often used by longtime strongman Omar al-Bashir, who was overthrown from the military after protests in 2019 became .

“We don’t know what happened in the last 10 days,” she said.

International pressure

Meanwhile, the international community continues to push for de-escalation that can get Sudan back on the road to democracy. The United Nations Human Rights Council will hold an emergency meeting on Friday on the situation.

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres called on General al-Burhan in a phone call on Thursday to take measures to “resolve the political crisis in Sudan and urgently restore constitutional order and the transition process in Sudan,” said UN spokeswoman Eri Kaneko.

Alex De Waal, the executive director of the World Peace Foundation, told Al Jazeera that the US could use economic leverage to expedite the formation of a civilian government.

“The US has considerable influence because of the very deep economic and financial hole that Sudan is,” he said.

“Other countries might have managed to bail out the Gulf states, but in the case of Sudan, the only real way to stabilize its economy is with the huge help, debt rescheduling, debt relief, World Bank and IMF help that the United States requires.”

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/11/5/sudan-coup-leader-us-new-government