Inside Sudan war: ‘Hamdok loses road’

In early October 25, security forces appeared at the home of Sudanese Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok in the capital Khartoum.

“There is a change, you will be in house arrest,” he said. Hamdok remembered In an interview with the Financial Times about a coup that disrupted the democratic transition in Sudan and sparked international outrage.

One month later, the soft-spoken economist has been reinstated through what he called a “possible partnership” with the military to prevent a “catastrophic” disaster. Hundreds have been killed in great demonstrations against the capture of war. But instead of controlling the outrage of the plot, what Hamdok did with officials is threatening technical assistance.

“Even though the protests have lost their power since the agreement was signed,” the streets are saying ‘there is no dialogue, no dialogue, no government agents’ “, said Duaa Tariq, co-founder of CivicLab, a human rights and political activist. . “Hamdok has lost the road. He has lost the privilege of getting people to his side.”

The agreement was signed on November 21 by Hamdok and Abdel Fattah Burhan, Sudan’s prime minister and extremist leader. both to authority during the 2019 Revolution as part of the hybrid government. Under the alliance, the military and the civilian population shared power following the long-term fall of dictator Omar al-Bashir.

Under the agreement signed by Hamdok, the military has strengthened its position, not to deter politicians from the Sudanese prime minister at a time when the country’s $ 30bn economy is collapsing. The war on democracy in Sudan – a country that has encountered 17 criminals since it became independent 1956 – is far away.

But protesters, politicians, and human rights activists are pushing for the military to move to a changed government.

“Anyone who sheds blood is a terrorist who has no legal right and anyone who draws the country to violence opposes the call for peaceful change that has arisen,” said Amjed Farid, a former chief of staff at Hamdok. “It is impossible to rebuild the world, to solve its problems, or to move forward with threats and fears. The world is built on hope, not violence. ”

The two key players in the back of the league are Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, better known as Hemeti, vice president of Sudan and chief of the Rapid Support Forces, and his brother, Abdul Rahim Hamdan Dagalo.

In his opposition to Burhan, Hemeti appeared as the military strengthened the Sudanese reform movement. “I’m very happy, I was part of a partnership with everyone else,” he told FT at RSF headquarters.

Thousands of people took to the streets in protest of the bombing, in line with the 2019 protests that prompted the military to overthrow Bashir. At least 43 people have been killed since the attack, according to a medical committee in Sudan.

Hemeti and Burhan say it was not the military or the RSF who killed the protesters, but they point to something that could happen within the police force. “Weapons” affiliated with other political parties could be found guilty of street killings, Burhan told FT – which has been criticized by Sudanese politicians. Burhan also said 10 people were killed, not many, citing the first attorney general’s investigation.

“Peace demonstrations are already protected by law and order, we have no objection, all soldiers – military, intelligence, police, RSF – all have very strict guidelines to protect peaceful protesters, civilians,” Hemeti said.

The statement came to the attention of Mohammed Abdarhamim’s mother, a 27-year-old computer science student, who said she was shot in the head by security guards on the day of the attack. “Our son died in search of a government and the alliance between Hamdok and Burhan has not changed anything, unless we have a government in which our son died we do not accept that agreement. The one who killed my son cannot rule my country,” said Amel Abbas.

The loss of well-known support is due to the fact that the agreement Hamdok signed forces him to form a government of “independent technologies” and not political ones. Hemeti acknowledges this by pointing to the inactivity of the past two years. Sudan’s economy is at risk and inflation is over 360 percent.

“Here in Sudan, for more than two years every day there have been conflicts with political parties, always competing,” Hemeti said. “During this time we sat down, gave our advice, encouraged them to come together and share the power with everyone but they did not listen.

In fact, one of the reasons Hemeti offered to imprison Hamdok in the domestic prison was to prevent some politicians from influencing him. “Had he been with her, the deal would probably not have seen the light,” he said.

Raja Nicola Eissa, a Coptic Christian, former judge and member of the Sovereign Council of Sudan’s Reformed Government, said that if “most of the problems have not been resolved in the last two years, we want to fix this”.

But in the absence of political presence in the state, it is not known how long it will take. Siddiq Mohamed Ismail, deputy chairman of the Umma Party, one of the largest in the country, said “politicians should be part of the government”. Even Hamdok has expressed skepticism about what it would be like to form a government without politics. “There is a saying that the Sudanese people are poetic or political – and there are few poets,” he said.

Suliman Arcua Minnawi, a former rebel leader, became governor of Darfur known as Minni, also contributed to recent discussions. He commended the prime minister for his signature on the treaty, saying: “This is a recognition of his country. He is not a politician, he does not have to be strong in public, he just needs to pave the way for Sudan to move forward. ”

But for many, the agreement is not enough. “Everyone here does not believe in the treaty. The agreement was not ratified by the streets, “said Imad Hashim, a 40-year-old mechanic and protester, pointing to the recent killing of a fellow protester.” We do not listen to Hamdok. Hamdok should fight for the people, not the army. We will continue to protest until we have a civilian government without soldiers – no longer soldiers. ”