El Burhan calls on political parties to exit alongside military, Hemeti calls coup ‘political mistake’

Chairman of the Sovereignty Council and military leader Lt Gen Abdelfattah El Burhan said that “the military’s final exit from the political process must be accompanied by the exit of the political parties from participating in the government of the transitional period”. Deputy Chairman Mohamed ‘Hemeti’ Dagalo surprisingly called the coup ‘a mistake’.

El Burhan, who is also Commander-in-Chief of the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) and led the October 25 military coup that put an end to the previous transitional period, gave a speech during the signing ceremony of the long-awaited framework agreement, the first of two parts, at the Republican Palace in Khartoum yesterday.

In the speech, he said that approving the framework agreement does not mean ‘an agreement with a party’, but rather an agreement on national issues for which solutions must be developed with broad participation.

He also stressed that the new transitional government should be one of technocrats. “The military’s final exit from the political process must be accompanied by the exit of the political parties from participating in the government of the transitional period, according to the slogan ‘the military to the barracks and the parties to the elections’”.

'The military’s final exit from the political process must be accompanied by the exit of the political parties' – El Burhan

He emphasised that other parties and groups are welcome to sign the framework agreement too. “There is no restriction on revolutionary groups to join the framework agreement at any time.”

Military reform

According to the new agreement, the army will be reformed into one institution subject to the constitution and the law and values of elected democratic institutions. Any politicisation of the military must be prevented.

The civilian government will be responsible for setting the goals of national security and linking them to foreign and military policies, El Burhan explained.

He added that the military will be commited to address the issues raised in the framework agreement “with the necessary speed”.

El Burhan further called for lifting the suspension of Sudan's membership of the African Union, the normalisation of relations with international financial institutions and the return of economic support, and regional support with completing the transitional period, especially regarding the implementation of the October 2020 Juba Peace Agreement and its possible amendments.

Thorny issues postponed

Five important contentious issues still have to be discussed further as there are differing opinions within the coalition. The outcomes will be laid down in a ‘final agreement’, which is still expected to be reached at the end of this December.

The thorny issues are concerned with justice and transitional justice, security and military reform, approaches to empowerment* removal, possible amendments to the Juba Peace Agreement, and governance issues regarding eastern Sudan.

The issue of transitional justice is also concerned with the military’s demand for impunity; which could mean immunity from prosecution for crimes committed since the 2019 coup, including the June 3 Massacre.

There has been widespread resistance within and outside of the Forces for Freedom and Change-Central Council (FFC-CC), which took a leading role in negotiations with the military, to this possibility.

At least 7,000 protesters were injured between the October 25, 2021, coup and August 2022, and the Resistance Committees of Khartoum reported that at least 120 protesters have been killed since the 2021 coup.

After the 2019 coup that took place during the revolution that toppled the Al Bashir regime, the military used extremely violent tactics to disperse a sit-in in front of the General Army Command in Khartoum in what became known as the June 3 Massacre, killing at least 186 whilst another 100 went missing and many more were injured.

Hemeti: ‘October 25 is a political mistake’

Deputy Chairman of the Sovereignty Council and Commander-In-Chief of the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) Gen Mohamed Hamdan ‘Hemeti’ Dagalo also gave a speech at the ceremony.

He acknowledged that the military taking power in a coup on October 25 last year was “a political mistake that opened the door for the return of the counter-revolutionary forces,” referring to affiliates of ousted President Omar Al Bashir.

Earlier this year, Radio Dabanga reported on practices from the Al Bashir era reappearing in Sudan as reports of violent suppression of freedoms that characterised the 30-year regime of Al Bashir were increasing again in all levels of society, and so were friendly ties between the military and Al Bashir's ousted National Congress Party (NCP).

Since the coup, El Burhan and the military have reintegrated civilian remnants of Al Bashir’s fallen regime into the government, including members of the former ruling NCP and its affiliates, Salah Ben Hammou wrote in his analysis in The Washington Post. “These measures include appointing party members to ministerial positions, unfreezing their financial assets and stacking the civil service with NCP loyalists,” he stated.

'The October 25 coup was a political mistake that opened the door for the return of the counter-revolutionary forces' – Hemeti

In his speech, Hemeti called on “everyone to acknowledge and apologise for the state's violence and mistakes made towards communities across various historical eras”. He also called for justice and transitional justice.

These are interesting remarks from the leader of Sudan’s most infamous and notorious paramilitary. The RSF is widely believed to be responsible for atrocities in the Kordofan and Darfur regions in the past years and is also widely condemned for their role in the October 25 military coup and subsequent violence against pro-democracy protesters. 

A national, professional, independent, and unified army is to be built, Hemeti said, whilst calling on political forces “to refrain from using the military to reach power”. Last year, rumours spread that El Burhan and Hemeti had fallen out over military unification plans.

The priorities of the coming government are to implement the provisions of the Juba Peace Agreement, complete peace talks with the non-signatory movements, work on the return of the displaced and refugees to their places of origin, and address land problems and nomads’ issues, Hemeti stressed.

He further called for placing special importance on the political problems in eastern Sudan, that should be solved “with the participation of all social and political components of the East”.

Addressing the deteriorating economic situation, insecurity and the weak rule of law, confronting racism and hate speech, and strengthening peaceful coexistence were stressed as important by Hemeti.

As for the political groups and youth activists opposing the framework agreement, such as the Resistance Committees, Hemeti told them “to commit to dialogue” in order to achieve a full civilian government.

“This agreement will give you the opportunity to divert your energies to building and participating in governance and decision-making, especially at the level of local government.”

FFC praises military's 'sincere response'

During the ceremony, Secretary-General of the National Umma Party and leading member of the FFC El Wasig El Bereir praised the military side for “displaying patriotic spirit and sincere response to the people’s desire for democratic rule” and lauded the political forces’ “sublimation over the bitterness of the past and humility for the sake of the homeland” in a speech on behalf of the signatories.

The framework agreement will be “completed with a clear and precise programme for the process of reforming the armed forces in a way that achieves the slogan of our people's eternal revolution: One People, One Army”.

The Juba Peace Agreement will be subject to review, El Bereir said, “to ensure a supportive public momentum”. He, too, stressed the necessity of addressing the issues of eastern Sudan.

The dismantling of the empowerment (tamkin) system involving members of the National Congress Party of ousted President Al Bashir should take place “for the purpose of reform, not revenge,” El Bereir added.

‘Complete implementation of the Juba Agreement’

El Hadi Idris, head of the Sudan Revolutionary Front rebel alliance that signed the Juba Peace Agreement with the government of Abdallah Hamdok in October 2020 and that supported the military coup against the same government a year later, stated in his speech that the agreement is part of all documents, including the constitutional declaration, and should be fully implemented to reach overall peace in the country.

The Eastern Sudan Protocol as laid down in the Juba Peace Agreement “achieved great gains for all the people in the region that can be built upon to achieve the hopes and aspirations of the citizens of eastern Sudan, he said, though he also warned of “excluding the people of the East from political participation”.

Idris urged the political forces that did not sign the framework agreement to review their stance. “There is still room for all of us to sit down for dialogue and consultation to produce a Sudanese approach that will save our country and achieve stability for our people.”