Sudan’s communist party spokesperson detained

Security officers held Amal El Zein, lawyer and member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of Sudan (CPoS), after a press conference in Khartoum on Sunday afternoon on their cooperation with rebel leaders Abdelaziz El Hilu and Abdelwahid El Nur. The party also launched a sharp attack on the UN-AU-IGAD trilateral mechanism.

El Zein, who is also the party’s spokesperson, was detained whilst sitting in her husband's car, sources reported. Yesterday, it was reported that she was released.

After her detention, the CPoS spoke of the arrest as being “part of the general repression and persecution unleashed by the junta against opposition forces”.

“The detention of comrade Amal is clear proof of the continuation of the attacks perpetuated by the junta directed against the Communist Party”, said spokesperson Fathi Fadul.

CPoS Political Secretary Mohamed Mukhtar El Khateeb and party leader Saleh Mahmoud were held by members of the General Intelligence Service (GIS) on Thursday after a visit to South Kordofan and Juba but were eventually released. They were summoned for more questioning by the security apparatus on Saturday.

At the press conference held by the party at its premises, Mahmoud said that the authorities had told them after their questioning on Saturday that the investigations into their visit and the financing of the trip were closed.

The party delegation had travelled to South Kordofan and South Sudan to talk to Abdelaziz El Hilu, leader of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N), and Abdelwahid El Nur, leader of the Sudan Liberation Movement in Darfur.

Before their arrival in Khartoum, where El Khateeb and Mahmoud were held, South Sudanese security officers briefly detained the delegation members when they were on their way to Juba Airport, coming from Kauda in South Kordofan via Yida in South Sudan.

Building ties with SPLM-N and SLM

The Communist Party said that the delegation's meeting with Abdelwahid El Nur and Abdelaziz El Hilu in Juba and Kauda aimed “to build a coordinating body to lead the revolution to bring about radical change”.

El Khateeb confirmed in the press conference that an agreement was signed with El Nur based on their shared values and objectives.

The agreement stipulates the separation of religion from the state, the hand-over of war criminals to the International Criminal Court, the dissolution of the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces in accordance with the arrangements agreed on in the Juba Peace Agreement signed by the Sudanese government and a number of rebel movements in October 2020, the reform and restructuring of the regular forces according, and the safeguarding of human rights.

No declaration was signed with El Hilu because of the SPLM-N's particular vision for the coordinating body and the movement’s special circumstances. Yet both parties agreed in Kauda “to continue the joint struggle and dialogues and to work together with the revolutionary forces within Sudan in order to achieve radical change”.

On Thursday, El Zein said that the delegation reached “a great agreement” with El Hilu on the current political situation and hopes to establish a unified centre to lead the revolutionary movement. She also explained that they agreed on the separation of religion from politics, an important value for El Hilu’s movement.

Trilateral mechanism

During Sunday’s press conference, Mahmoud launched a sharp attack on the trilateral mechanism of the United Nations Integrated Transition Assistance Mission in Sudan (UNITAMS), African Union, and Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), accusing it of seeking to return the political forces to a partnership with the military “in a twisted way by proposing a settlement”.

He said the Communist Party categorically rejects any external guardianship of Sudan and accused African Union envoy to Sudan Mohamed El Hassan Ould Lebatt of repeating the same role he played in 2019 when he supported the political agreement between the military junta and the Forces for Freedom and Change that lead to the establishment of the Sovereignty Council and the government of Abdallah Hamdok.  

He called on UNITAMS head Volker Perthes to limit himself to supporting the democratic transition and explained that the demand for a return to a military-civilian partnership will never lead to a democratic transition.

Mahmoud further explained that the party’s cooperation with El Nur and El Hilu “will not end with the fall of the current regime but will continue until the construction of a new Sudan”.

He accused the current regime of being involved in committing genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes.

The party had snubbed the trilateral mechanism earlier and is among a range of rebel movements and protest groups that refuse to participate in the tripartite initiative, or take part in any dialogue with the military coup authorities and those who support them, as they fear that this will legitimise the coup.