Crowds of pro-democracy activists continued to rally in Sudan’s capital to reject a deal between military leaders and civilian factions aimed at ending the crisis since last year’s military coup.
Sudan has been rocked by near-weekly protests since Burhan’s coup which halted a period of democratic reform and severely damaged its economy, Sudan has been suffering from escalating turmoil.
On December 5, 2022, the military and civilian leaders signed an initial deal to end a deep crisis that has absorbed the north-eastern region.
This deal was part of the two-phase political process notably the Forces for Freedom and Change, ousted in last year’s coup.
At the signing, Sudanese Army Chief, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan says it “affirms the complete withdrawal of the military from the political process.
Al- Burhan adds that “this step should be accompanied by the withdrawal of political forces from the transitional period, as a response to the revolutionaries’ demands.
He added that the “military [must] go back to the barracks while political parties head to elections.”
On his part, Parliamentary Commander, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo affirms the solid commitment, both on personal and institutional levels, to a democratic transition and to safeguarding the transitional period, as agreed, until the upcoming elections.”
Barely a week after the tentative deal was signed, pro-democracy activists hit the street to reject the agreement.
The protesters waved Sudanese flags and carried posters with images of people killed during anti-coup demonstrations since October 2021.
Speaking with reporters, one of the protesters, Ahmed Essmat, says they completely reject the framework agreement and the settlement adding that they repeated a hundred times over that this is not called a settlement, because a settlement should be that two parties divide things equally.
Essmat adds that “what is happening now is surrender and submissiveness to the military and making concession without any return.”
The protest coincides with the fourth anniversary of the beginning of the lengthy, massive protests that forced Omar Al-Bashir to step down as long-time leader.
After Bashir’s tenure, there was a brief transition to civilian administration, which was overthrown in October 2021 by a coup led by the army chief Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan.
The framework agreement is based on the draft transitional constitution proposed by the Sudan Bar Association’s steering committee, which was supported both internationally and locally, including by the military forces, who did express some qualms about a few of its elements.
According to pro-democracy doctors, a crackdown on protesters has resulted in at least 122 deaths.
