Tag: Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok

Sudan’s Hamdok Quits as Premier After Failing To Restore Civilian Government

The announcement throws Sudan’s political future even deeper into uncertainty, three years after an uprising that led to the overthrow of long-time leader Omar al-Bashir.

Khartoum: Sudanese Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok said on Sunday he was resigning, six weeks after returning to his post in a deal with military coup leaders he argued could save a transition toward democracy.

Hamdok, who had failed to name a government as protests continued against the military takeover in October, said a roundtable discussion was needed to produce a new agreement for Sudan’s political transition.

“I decided to give back the responsibility and announce my resignation as prime minister, and give a chance to another man or woman of this noble country to … help it pass through what’s left of the transitional period to a civilian democratic country,” Hamdok said in a televised address.

The announcement throws Sudan’s political future even deeper into uncertainty, three years after an uprising that led to the overthrow of long-time leader Omar al-Bashir.

An economist and former United Nations official widely respected by the international community, Hamdok became prime minister under a power-sharing agreement between the military and civilians following Bashir’s overthrow.

Also read: The Khartoum Massacre: When the Sudanese Revolution Lost Its Innocence

Ousted and placed under house arrest by the military during a coup on October 25, 2021, he was reinstated in November.

But the deal for his return was denounced by many in the civilian coalition that had previously supported him and by protesters who continued to hold mass demonstrations against military rule.

On Sunday, Hamdok said he had tried in vain to forge a consensus between deeply divided factions that would have allowed for the completion of a peace process signed with some rebel groups in 2020, and the preparation of elections in 2023.

“I have tried as far as I am able to spare our country the danger of slipping into disaster,” Hamdok said. “Despite all that was done to bring about the desired and necessary agreement to fulfil our promise to the citizen of security, peace, justice and an end to the bloodshed, this did not happen.”

In the latest rallies on Sunday, hours before Hamdok‘s speech, security forces fired tear gas at demonstrators in Khartoum as protesters marched toward the presidential palace.

At least three people were killed, bringing to 57 the death toll in protests since the October 25 coup, a doctors’ committee aligned with the protest movement said. Six died and hundreds were injured in nationwide demonstrations on Thursday.

The military has said it will allow peaceful protests and will hold to account those found responsible for the violence.

Among the economic reforms that Hamdok oversaw were the removal of costly fuel subsidies and a sharp devaluation of the currency.

Those enabled Sudan to qualify for relief on at least $56 billion of foreign debt and a long-running economic crisis had shown signs of easing. The coup put the debt relief deal in doubt and froze extensive Western economic backing for Sudan.

On his return as prime minister in November, Hamdok said he wanted to preserve the economic steps taken by the transitional government and halt bloodshed after rising numbers of casualties from the crackdown on protests.

(Reuters)

Sudan Military Reinstates Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok, But Protests Continue

The deal faces opposition from pro-democracy groups that have demanded full civilian rule since Bashir’s ouster and have been angered by the deaths of dozens of protesters since the October 25 coup.

Khartoum: Sudan’s military reinstated Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok on Sunday and promised to release all political detainees after weeks of deadly unrest triggered by a coup, although large crowds took to the streets to reject any deal involving the army.

Under an agreement signed with military leader General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, Hamdok, first appointed after the overthrow of autocrat Omar al-Bashir in a 2019 uprising, will lead a civilian government of technocrats for a transitional period.

A hero for the protest movement, Hamdok quickly became the villain for some.

Also Read: Sudan: Amid Ongoing Protests Against Military Coup, Al Jazeera Says Bureau Chief Arrested

Tens of thousands of people joined scheduled rallies in the capital, Khartoum, and its twin cities of Omdurman and Bahri. Security forces fired bullets and tear gas to disperse them, witnesses said. A 16-year-old protester in Omdurman died from a bullet wound, the Central Committee of Sudanese Doctors said.

The United States, Britain, Norway, the European Union, Canada and Switzerland welcomed the reinstatement of Hamdok and in a joint statement urged the release of other political detainees. The United Nations also welcomed Sunday’s deal

Western powers had condemned last month’s takeover and suspended economic assistance to Sudan, which has been trying to recover from a deep economic crisis.

The coup triggered mass demonstrations against the military, and medics aligned with the protest movement say security forces have killed 41 civilians in increasingly violent crackdowns.

Hamdok said he agreed to the deal to prevent more casualties

“Sudanese blood is precious. Let us stop the bloodshed and direct the youth’s energy into building and development,” he said at a signing ceremony broadcast on state television.

Burhan said the deal would be inclusive. “We do not want to exclude anyone except, as we’ve agreed, the National Congress Party,” he said, referring to Bashir’s former ruling party.

But the agreement made no mention of the Forces of Freedom and Change (FFC), the civilian coalition that shared power with the military before the coup. A number of people at the signing ceremony had political ties to Bashir.

‘No Legitimacy’

The FFC said it did not recognise any agreement with the military. The Sudanese Congress Party, a leading FFC member, several of whose leaders are detained, described Hamdok joining the deal as “illegitimate and unconstitutional” and providing political cover for the coup.

Several of the resistance committees that have been organising protests also put out statements rejecting any deal with the military.

Hamdok was placed under house arrest when the military seized power, derailing a transition towards elections in 2023.

The military dissolved Hamdok’s Cabinet and detained a number of civilians who held top positions under the power-sharing deal agreed after Bashir was toppled.

Politicians Omer Eldigair, Yasir Arman, Ali Alrayah Alsanhouri and Siddig al-Mahdi would be released on Sunday night, a government source said. Only Arman is among the former sitting officials, many of whom had engaged in a war of words with military leaders before the coup.

Under Sunday’s deal, a constitutional declaration struck between the military and civilians in 2019 will remain the foundation in further talks.

“The next government will focus on limited issues, chiefly the democratic transition,” Al Jazeera quoted Hamdok as saying in an interview. Hamdok said elections would take place before July 2023, the channel added.

World Bank Halts Sudan Operations in Blow to Coup Leaders, Strike Calls Gain Support

After isolation from the international financing system across three decades of Bashir’s rule, Sudan had achieved full re-engagement with the bank in March and gained access to $2 billion in financing.

Khartoum: The World Bank halted disbursements for operations in Sudan on Wednesday in response to the military’s seizure of power from a transitional government, while state oil company workers, doctors and pilots joined civilian groups opposing the takeover.

Thousands of people have taken to the streets since Monday’s coup led by armed forces Chief General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, and several have been killed in clashes with security forces.

He said he acted to stop the country slipping into civil war, but the World Bank decision to pause payments and stop processing new operations is a setback to his plans for one of Africa’s poorest countries.

After isolation from the international financing system across three decades of Bashir’s rule, Sudan achieved full re-engagement with the bank in March and gained access to $2 billion in financing.

Also Read: Sudan Military Chief Burhan Says Army Ousted Government To Avoid Civil War

“I am greatly concerned by recent events in Sudan, and I fear the dramatic impact this can have on the country’s social and economic recovery and development,” World Bank President David Malpass said in a statement from Washington.

Abdalla Hamdok, prime minister in the deposed transitional government, had touted World Bank re-engagement as a major accomplishment and was depending on the funding for several large development projects.

The government had instituted harsh economic reforms that succeeded in achieving rapid arrears clearance and debt relief and renewed financing from the World Bank and IMF.

An IMF spokeswoman said the fund was monitoring developments but it was “premature” to comment.

Hamdok, who was detained on Monday and is under guard at his home, was in good health when visited by envoys from France, Germany, Norway, the UK, the United States, the European Union and the United Nations, the UN mission in Sudan said on Twitter on Wednesday. The West has called for restoration of the council and the release of civilian leaders.

Hamdok says any retreat from the path to democracy threatens stability and development in Sudan and he warns against the use of violence against protesters, a source close to him said.

Late on Wednesday, Sudan state TV reported that Burhan had relieved six Sudanese ambassadors from their posts, apparently because they rejected the military takeover. The six were envoys to the United States, the European Union, China, Qatar, France and the head of mission to Geneva.

March of Millions

Scattered protests took place in Khartoum on Wednesday and intensified at night across the capital, although no new bloodshed was reported.

In one Khartoum neighbourhood, a Reuters journalist saw soldiers and armed people in civilian clothes removing barricades erected by protesters. A few hundred metres away, youths built barricades again minutes later.

“We want civilian rule. We won’t get tired,” one said.

In Bahri across the river, witnesses told Reuters protesters were met with tear gas and heard gunshots on Wednesday evening as protesters came out across the capital’s three cities.

In the northeastern city of Atbara, protesters marched and chanted, “Down with the military regime”.

Neighbourhood committees announced plans for protests leading to what they said would be a “march of millions” on Saturday.

Workers at state oil company Sudapet said they were joining the civil disobedience campaign to back the stalled democratic transition and pilots from the national carrier Sudan Airways have gone on strike, as have pilots from carriers Badr and Tarco Airlines.

Sudan’s armed forces sacked Ibrahim Adlan, head of the county’s civil aviation authority, sector sources said.

Central Bank employees have also stopped work in a further setback for the functioning of the economy.

Doctors belonging to the Unified Doctors’ Office group of unions also said they were striking. The doctors were one of the driving forces behind the uprising that brought down Bashir.

Power-sharing between the military and civilians had been increasingly strained over several issues, including whether to send Bashir and others to the International Criminal Court, where they are wanted for alleged atrocities in Darfur. Military commanders now leading Sudan also served in Darfur.

At his first news conference since announcing the takeover, Burhan said on Tuesday the army had no choice but to sideline politicians who he said were inciting people against the armed forces.

UN Special Representative Volker Perthes met Burhan on Wednesday and told him the United Nations wants to see a return to the transition process and the immediate release of all those arbitrarily detained, UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric told reporters in New York.

Serious Risk 

Events in Sudan – Africa’s third largest country – mirror those in several other Arab states where the military has tightened its grip following uprisings.

Willow Berridge, a Sudan expert at Newcastle University, said it would be difficult for Burhan and the army to suppress street mobilisations against the takeover because of the presence of resistance committees in many neighbourhoods.

“My greatest fear is that he will fall back even further on the only legitimacy he can depend on – violence. It is a very serious risk,” Berridge said.

Burhan has close ties to states that worked to roll back Islamist influence and contain the impact of the 2011 Arab Spring uprisings, including the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Egypt.

Seven Killed, 140 Hurt in Protests Against Sudan Military Coup

General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan nnounced a state of emergency, saying the armed forces needed to protect safety and security. He promised to hold elections in July 2023 and hand over to an elected civilian government then.

Khartoum: Sudan’s military seized power from a transitional government on Monday and a health ministry official said seven people were killed by gunfire and 140 injured in clashes between soldiers and street protesters.

The leader of the takeover, General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, dissolved the military-civilian Sovereign Council that had been established to guide the country to democracy following the overthrow of long-ruling autocrat Omar al-Bashir in a popular uprising two years ago.

Also Read : Sudan Military Coup: Here’s What Is Happening

“What the country is going through now is a real threat and danger to the dreams of the youth and the hopes of the nation,” he said.

The UN Security Council was likely to discuss Sudan behind closed doors on Tuesday, diplomats said.

White House spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre said, “We reject the actions by the military and call for the immediate release of the prime minister and others who have been placed under house arrest.”

Youths opposed to the coup barricaded streets and clashed with troops. The main opposition coalition, Forces of Freedom and Change, which pushed for Bashir’s removal and negotiated the military-civilian council, said on Twitter it was calling for peaceful actions in the streets to overthrow the military takeover, including demonstrations, the blocking of streets and civil disobedience.

Hamdok, an economist and former senior UN official, was detained and taken to an undisclosed location after refusing to issue a statement in support of the takeover, the information ministry said.

The ministry urged resistance and said tens of thousands of people opposed to the takeover had taken to the streets and had faced gunfire near the military headquarters in Khartoum. Central bank employees announced a strike to reject the coup, the ministry said.

Troops had arrested civilian members of the Sovereign Council and government figures, the ministry said. Also detained was the news director of state TV, his family said.

The US State Department said Washington had nothing to share on Hamdok’s whereabouts and condition. A department spokesman said it was pausing $700 million in economic support for Sudan.

In Khartoum’s twin city Omdurman, protesters barricaded streets and chanted in support of civilian rule.

“Burhan cannot deceive us. This is a military coup,” said a young man who gave his name as Saleh.

People gather around as smoke and fire are seen on the streets of Kartoum, Sudan, amid reports of a coup, October 25, 2021, in this still image from video obtained via social media. RASD SUDAN NETWORK via REUTERS

People gather around as smoke and fire are seen on the streets of Kartoum, Sudan, amid reports of a coup, October 25, 2021, in this still image from video obtained via social media. RASD SUDAN NETWORK via REUTERS

‘Raise Our Voices’

Sudan has been ruled for most of its post-colonial history by military leaders who seized power in coups. It had become a pariah to the West and was on a US terrorism list under Bashir, who hosted Osama bin Laden in the 1990s and is wanted by the International Criminal Court in the Hague for war crimes.

The country had been on edge since last month when a failed coup plot, blamed on Bashir supporters, unleashed recriminations between the military and civilians.

In recent weeks a coalition of rebel groups and political parties aligned themselves with the military and called on it to dissolve the civilian government, while Cabinet ministers took part in protests against the prospect of military rule.

Sudan is also in an economic crisis. Helped by foreign aid, civilian officials have claimed credit for some tentative signs of stabilisation after a sharp devaluation of the currency and the lifting of fuel subsidies.

Washington had tried to avert the collapse of the power-sharing agreement by sending a special envoy, Jeffrey Feltman. The director of Hamdok’s office, Adam Hereika, told Reuters the military had mounted the takeover despite “positive movements” towards an agreement after meetings with Feltman in recent days.

The military had been meant to pass on leadership of the Sovereign Council to a civilian figure in the coming months. But transitional authorities had struggled to move forward on issues including whether to hand Bashir over to the Hague.

Burhan said it was incumbent on the armed forces to act to halt “incitement to chaos and violence”.

The United Nations, Arab League and African Union all expressed concern. Political leaders should be released and human rights respected, AU Commission Chair Moussa Faki Mahamat said in a statement.

Britain called the coup an unacceptable betrayal of the Sudanese people. France called for the immediate release of Hamdok and other civilian leaders. Egypt called on all parties to exercise self-restraint.

The Sudanese Professionals Association, an activist coalition in the uprising against Bashir, called for a strike.

Two main political parties, the Umma and the Sudanese Congress, condemned what they called a coup and campaign of arrests.

Sudan Becomes Third Arab State to Set Aside Hostilities With Israel This Year

US President Donald Trump sealed the agreement in a phone call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Sudanese Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok.

Washington: Israel and Sudan agreed on Friday to take steps to normalise relations in a deal brokered with the help of the United States, making Khartoum the third Arab government to set aside hostilities with Israel in the last two months.

US President Donald Trump, seeking re-election on November 3, 2020, sealed the agreement in a phone call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Sudanese Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok and Transitional Council Head Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, senior US officials said.

Trump’s decision this week to remove Sudan from the US list of state sponsors of terrorism paved the way for the accord with Israel, marking a foreign policy achievement for the Republican president as he seeks a second term trailing in opinion polls behind Democratic rival Joe Biden.

Netanyahu hailed it as a “new era” for the region, but the Palestinian leadership, watching as more of their Arab brethren appear to give their quest for statehood a lower priority, called it a “new stab in the back.”

“The leaders agreed to the normalisation of relations between Sudan and Israel and to end the state of belligerence between their nations,” according to a joint statement issued by the three countries that also promised US help for Khartoum to secure international debt relief.

Israel and Sudan plan to begin by opening economic and trade links, with an initial focus on agriculture, the joint statement said. A senior US official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said such issues as the formal establishment of diplomatic ties would be resolved later.

Trump touted the deal to reporters in the Oval Office with the Israeli and Sudanese leaders on the line in a three-way phone call, saying at least five other countries wanted to follow suit and normalise relations with Israel.

“Do you think ‘Sleepy Joe’ could have made this deal?” Trump asked Netanyahu, using the president’s pejorative nickname for Biden a day after their final, rancorous debate of the 2020 presidential campaign. “Somehow I don’t think so.”

Netanyahu, reliant on bipartisan support for Israel in Washington, responded haltingly: “Well, Mr President, one thing I can tell you, is, um, uh, we appreciate the help for peace from anyone in America.”

Trump’s aides view his pro-Israel policies as appealing to Christian evangelical voters, who are among his biggest supporters.

In recent weeks the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain became the first Arab states in a quarter of a century to agree to formal links with Israel, forged largely through shared fears of Iran.

Trump insisted the Palestinians also “are wanting to do something” but offered no proof. Palestinian leaders have condemned recent Arab overtures to Israel as a betrayal of their nationalist cause and have refused to engage with the Trump administration, seeing it as biased in favour of Israel.

Also read: Breaking Taboo, UAE, Bahrain Sign Formal Agreements With Israel at White House

“No one has the right to speak in the name of the Palestinian people and the name of the Palestinian cause,” Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said in a statement.

Terrorism list

Trump announced on Monday he would take Sudan off the terrorism list once it had deposited $335 million it had pledged to pay in compensation. Khartoum has since placed the funds in a special escrow account for victims of al Qaeda attacks on U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania in 1998.

The White House called Trump’s intention to remove Sudan from the terrorism list a “pivotal turning point” for Khartoum, which is seeking to emerge from decades of isolation.

The military and civilian leaders of Sudan‘s transitional government have been divided over how fast and how far to go in establishing ties with Israel. A sticking point in the negotiations was Sudan‘s insistence that any announcement of Khartoum’s delisting from the terrorism designation not be explicitly linked to relations with Israel.

The Sudanese premier wants approval from a yet-to-be formed parliament to proceed with broader, formal normalisation, and that may not be a quick process given sensitivities and civilian-military differences. It is still unclear when the assembly will be created.

“Agreement on normalisation with Israel will be decided after completion of the constitutional institutions through the formation of the legislative council,” Sudanese Foreign Minister Omar Gamareldin said on state television shortly after Friday’s announcement.

The new agreement was negotiated on the US side by a team that included Trump son-in-law and senior adviser Jared Kushner, who called the normalisation deals the start of a “paradigm shift” in the Middle East.

He said Sudan‘s decision was symbolically significant because it was in Khartoum in 1967 that the Arab League decided not to recognise Israel‘s right to exist.

Sudan‘s designation as a state sponsor of terrorism dates to its toppled ruler Omar al-Bashir and has made it difficult for its transitional government to access urgently needed debt relief and foreign financing.

Many in Sudan say the designation, imposed in 1993 because Washington believed Bashir was supporting militant groups, has become outdated since he was removed last year.

US congressional legislation is needed to shield Khartoum from future legal claims over past attacks to ensure the flow of payments to the embassy bombing victims and their families.

(Reuters)