The international community should support military-appointed cabinet in Sudan
November 17, 2021 (KHARTOUM) – The international community should continue to support transition in Sudan despite the military takeover and whoever is the prime minister, Gibril Ibrahim Sudan’s Finance Minister on Wednesday.
After the October 25 coup, the U.S. suspended direct financial assistance to Sudan amounting to $700 million. In the same vein, the World Bank suspended some $3bn in aid to Sudan to support agriculture, transport, health care, and education. In addition, it stopped the disbursement of a safety net fund to support poor families.
In an interview with the Associated Press, Ibrahim who joined the transition after the Juba peace agreement said that the international support to Sudan should not be linked to the position of Prime Minister Abdallah Hamdok from the coup.
“The country cannot wait forever, so if he doesn’t take the job, then someone else will definitely take it,” said the leader of the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) who voiced his support to the military takeover since the first hours.
Hamdok who is under house arrest calls to restore the constitutional order as it was before the coup, after what the transitional government and its FFC coalition negotiate with the military on the needed reforms.
Ibrahim pointed out that the situation has changed now and described as “unrealistic” this demand and similar calls by the international community, according to the AP.
“It is rather unrealistic to say, ‘Either we turn to October 23rd or 24th or we are not going to talk to you,’” he said. “There is a new reality, and we need to look into it.”
Instead, the former Darfur rebel leader said the international community should evaluate the policies of the military-appointed government regardless of who is the prime minister.
“If the policies are good, then Sudan should receive financial support,” he concluded.
During the past two years, leaders of the FFC coalition were at odds with the military over several files including the reform of the security sector, the handover of al-Bashir to the ICC, the bloody attack on a pro-democracy sit-in in June 2019, women rights, among others.
Also, the military component wanted to remain at the chairmanship of the Transitional Sovereign Council but the FFC forces refused to renegotiate this issue saying this would be a violation of the constitutional text governing the transition.
For their part, the generals accused the FFC forces saying they appointed politicians in the second cabinet and transgressed the constitutional declaration too.
(ST)