Sudan Sovereign Council member Rajaa Abdelmaseeh: ‘This is not the time for reconciliation with wrongdoers’

Those who have committed wrongdoings during the former Sudanese regime must be sanctioned and punished, Sovereign Council member Rajaa Abdelmaseeh told news channel France24 on Wednesday. “This is not the time for reconciliation with those who have been accused of crimes”, she added.

According to Abdelmaseeh punishing those that committed crimes during the former regime “is what the people want”. The punishment must be “without revenge”, she added.

Asked whether the National Congress Party of deposed dictator Al Bashir should be banned, she answered that this has not been discussed in the Sovereign Council yet. Any decision on that topic must be carried by a two-thirds majority in the Sovereign Council, she added.

Laws

Laws  designed to limit the freedom of the Sudanese people should be amended or withdrawn, Abdelmaseeh said.

Abdelmaseeh worked as a lawyer and legal advisor for the Sudanese Justice Ministry for 37 years before being appointed to the Sovereign Council last month.

Woman

As a woman, she says she doesn’t feel discriminated against in the Sovereign Council. She said that she had already met the other members of the Sovereign Council in her previous professional life. “We travelled together to congresses.”

She  highlighted the important role that women played in the revolution, especially at the sit-in in front of the army command in Khartoum.

Two members of the Sovereign Council are women: Abdelmaseeh and women’s rights activist Aisha Mousa. “So it will not be difficult for women to implement their ambitions, to reach justice, and to be appointed to political office and in high-ranking positions in the civil service.” She also noted that the former regime had women ministers as well.

Christian

As a member of the Christian minority in Sudan, she says: “I have an enormous responsibility on my shoulders”. She also said that appointing a Christian member of the Sovereign Council “should serve as an example for other Arab countries”.

The interview can be viewed in Arabic and in English (voiceover).

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