April 19, 2024

Sudanese Democracy is Hanging in the Balance

On Oct. 25, the head of the Sudanese Armed Forces, Gen Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, seized power from Sudan’s transitional government, established after mass protests in 2019 ousted longtime dictator Omar Hassan al-Bashir. The Sudanese people and the international community promptly condemned Burhan’s coup. Now, an agreement between Burhan and the prime minister of the transitional government, Abdalla Hamdok, purports to reverse the coup. In reality, it entrenches military rule.

The Sudanese people did not hesitate in calling out the duplicitous nature of references to democracy in the agreement, signed Nov. 21. Tellingly, 12 ministers of the pre-coup government resigned in response to the signing. And the Sudanese streets have sustained their courageous nonviolent resistance movement; 44 protesters have been killed, and hundreds injured, since the coup began. The international community, by contrast, has equivocated. Continue reading here.

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