Protests: Civilians refuse to cooperate with the military in Sudan

Sudan’s main civilian camp on Tuesday rejected a proposal by putschist General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan to give way to a civilian government, denouncing a “tactical retreat” aimed at maintaining military influence in the country.

The Forces for Freedom and Change (FLC), the backbone of the civilian government that was ousted in a military-led coup on October 25, 2021, called for “maintaining popular pressure” against military force in its sixth anti-coup entry. During the day in the capital and its suburbs.

During the “revolution” that ousted another soldier dictator, Omar al-Bashir, in 2019, protesters continued their sit-in for eight months. They received from the military that they would share power with the citizens of the FLC to lead the country towards its first democratic elections. The resignation of General Burhan in October turned the situation cruelly.

Fresh barricades were erected in the capital and its suburbs after his speech on Monday evening, following his announcement to make way for a civilian government – effectively a return to his pre-coup status.

The movement is now spreading to other cities as well. On Tuesday, hundreds of protesters began a new sit-in at Wat Madani, 200km south, witnesses said. “We will not leave here before we get a civilian government,” one of them, Mahmoud Mirkhani, told AFP.

“We started this sit-in in response to the Burhan rulers’ speech that we want freedom, peace, justice and a civil government,” said Safa Abdarrahim, another demonstrator. The FLC, they saw in General Burhan’s announcement “a betrayal” and a way for the military – whose command of Sudan has been almost uninterrupted since independence in 1956 – to keep the upper hand politically and ‘economically’.

Because General Burhan announced that the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces would sit alongside the civil government, whose prerogatives he did not define. “This is a way for Burhan to stay in power forever,” said one protester in Khartoum, who asked not to be named.

Kholood Kair, a Sudan expert for Insight Strategy Partners, said, “Burhane is now shifting the pressure on the citizens,” while the country has lost international aid and is stuck between more than 200% devaluation and inflation. Above all, he adds, “His Supreme Council will allow the maintenance of the economic privileges” of the army and paramilitary.

With 80% of resources still outside the control of the Ministry of Finance, “all Sudanese people have seen the economy collapse since the coup,” said one protester in Khartoum. It is not clear what role the military plays in the economy, but they own many businesses, from poultry farming to construction. The army will have a freer hand as the Bashir regime “reinstates the Islamists in their operations” under a civilian government deposed by the junta, Qolud Khair assures.

The street wants justice for the 114 dead and thousands injured in the crackdown on the pro-democracy movement, say doctors. However, Qolud Khair said General Burhan “did not raise the question of legal or financial responsibility” for the victims of the crackdown.

“All those (protesters) who killed Burhan should be brought to justice, and he is the first among them,” said a protester in Khartoum, who wished to remain anonymous. Hundreds of protesters were on the streets defying efforts by law enforcement, pro-democracy doctors said.

“We don’t trust (Burhan) and we want him to leave once and for all,” said Mohannath Othmane, sitting at one of the barricades in Khartoum. Foreign capital has been pushing civilians and soldiers for months to negotiate a return to a democratic transition that began in 2019 and was interrupted by the regime.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, in a statement released on Tuesday, said he hoped General Burhan’s announcement “creates an opportunity to secure an agreement” while calling for an “independent investigation into the violence”. State Department spokesman Ned Price urged all parties to seek consensus toward a citizen-led government with “free and fair elections,” and the US said it was “too early” to assess the impact.