The repatriated Sudanese Prime Minister is defending himself against the military

The newly repatriated Sudanese prime minister of Sudan has defended his agreement with the country’s military, saying compromise was needed to prevent bloodshed and restore the country’s damaged economy.

Troops seized power on October 25 and detained Abdalla Hamdok. On November 21, Hamdok signed an agreement with Abdel Fattah Burhan, Sudan’s top official and leader of the rebels, is restoring civilians to a revolutionary government and opening the way for elections in July 2023.

The 14-point agreement aims to return to the essence of a long-term agreement that brought both men to power in 2019 as part of the militant military regime that controls Sudan after the fall of dictator Omar al-Bashir.

“We have come to an agreement which, in its nature, is a possible union; “” Hamdok told the Financial Times in his office in Khartoum. “These things, if not managed properly, could lead to chaos, civil war,” he said.

The move by the World Bank and the US government to suspend funding after the seizure added to the pressure on the treaty, he said. Sudan, which has been emerging in the decades since independence, is among the a serious financial problems and inflation of more than 360 percent.

About a year ago, US removed Sudan from those who support the government on the terrorist list, and open the way to monitor staff at the IMF and negotiate with Paris Club lenders that could bring relief on foreign debt of $ 56bn.

Hamdok said there were few reasons to cooperate with the military. “One thing was to stop the bloodshed. Second, was to keep track of what has happened over the past few years, and the most important of these is the financial benefits “which, he said, saw him make” difficult decisions that were not popular “, including raising oil and wheat subsidies. all household.

Hamdok hopes the alliance will attract donors to change their decision. “These organizations, in most cases, go to penalties, or ban programs. But they did not, they cooled down which is easier [to revert], ”Said Hamdok.

Hiba Mohamed Ali, a former finance minister in Hamdok, estimates that Sudan needs about $ 10bn in debt, aid and money coming into the run-up to the elections.

Sudanese people can be difficult to prove, however. The agreement states that the new government should be made up of “independent experts” and not politicians.

“In the meantime we must support the coalition to achieve a peaceful transition to elections and a real democracy,” said Siddiq Mohamed Ismail, vice-chairman of the Umma Party, one of the country’s largest, but added that Burhan’s demands “contradict reality, politics. he must be part of the government ”.

Hamdok is in danger of losing the protests that led to the overthrow of Bashir in 2019 and the pressure on the military to reinstate him.

Like many others, Ahmed Salah, a 30-year-old engineer took to the streets of Khartoum on Thursday carrying the Sudanese flag chanting “troops back to safety”.

Swallow with tears in his eyes, he recalls: “Hamdok spoke out against the coup, but he signed a treaty with his own people. We do not support this government because it is the result of coup d’état. ”

But many, including Hamdok, say it is speculative that the military could be removed from office.

“In the 65 years of our independence, more than 52 years were under military rule and although the remaining years were not democratically elected governments, there were changes,” he said.

Hamdok expressed doubts about the agreement. “I used to call this change ‘disruptive’, but after a few months, I realized that showing the change as disruptive was meaningless – even more so,” he said.