Sudan’s Islamists call to expel UN envoy, reject restoration of civilian gov’t
October 29, 2022 (KHARTOUM) – Some thousands of Islamists and allied supporters protested on Saturday to reject the ongoing efforts to reach a political settlement to restore a civilian-led transition in Sudan and called to expel the UN envoy.
The Islamist leaders of the banned National Congress Party (NCP) and allied groups appeared again after the October 25 coup. They seek to pose themselves as an alternative ally to the military leaders and encourage them to refrain from handing over power back to pro-democracy forces.
On Saturday they organized a “Dignity Restoration” rally in the Sudanese capital outside the UNITAMS headquarters in Khartoum to show their opposition to what they called “international interference”.
The protests organized by Sudanese Islamists targeted Volker Perthes UNITAMS head and UN Secretary-General Special Representative as his mission is tasked with supporting transition and now seeks to facilitate a political solution to restore pro-democracy groups.
However, the protesters burned Oerthes’s photos and warned that the Sudanese killed a British governor when the country was colonized by Britain.
The National Commission for Human Rights condemned the threats against the UN envoy and called on the Sudanese authorities to take the required measures against the demonstrators who were heavily protected by the police forces.
Chanting hate speech in demonstrations “is considered a crime in accordance with national and international human rights laws. We call on the government to take all measures to prevent such speech and hold the perpetrators accountable,” read a statement issued by the human rights body.
Burhan told us
Several Islamist leading members such as Ibrahim Ahmed Omer former speaker of the parliament and NCP figure took part in the rally which is officially organized by the People of Sudan Initiative, a pro-Islamist group.
The speakers who addressed the crowd rejected the process facilitated by Trilateral Mechanism, – UNITAMS, AU, and IGAD – between the military component and the Forces for Freedom and Change (FFC).
One of the speakers told the rally, Hassan Osman Rezik Deputy-Head of the Reform Now Party said that they organize this demonstration to show the head of military government Abdel Fattah al-Burhan their supporters in the country.
“We were in a meeting with al-Burhan who told us that “you are not present in the street, and you do not have a (draft) constitution”. Now you have seen the street and these crowds and battalions. Also, our constitution is ready. It is derived from the Qur’an and Sunnah, and we will hand it over in the coming days,” he said.
Nagi Mustafa one of the NCP Islamist leaders said in recent statements to the Islamist Tayba TV that al-Burhan told a delegation of the People of Sudan Initiative he is “under pressure” to negotiate with the FFC to restore a civilian-led transitional government.
In his remarks to the crowd, Mohamed Ali al-Jizouli the head of the State of Law and Development Party, a radical Islamist group, said that they would not allow the FFC to return to power again. He further called for defending national sovereignty and liberating the country from “malign foreign interference”.
The FFC two weeks ago admitted that they consult with the military component on the restoration of a civilian government. But no details about these discussions have been released.
Also, the pro-democracy coalition held a forum for its sections at the state level to brief them on the ongoing process.
The two-day meeting discussed the FFC’s vision to end the military coup, and plans for the next stage.
(ST)