Sudanese army rejects bidding with its position, stresses commitment to political process
March 11, 2023 (KHARTOUM) – The Sudanese army, on Saturday, renewed its commitment to the political framework agreement and rejected what is called “bidding” with its positions to achieve political gain.
The political crisis in Sudan has entered a new phase since last February after a rift over the framework agreement between the chairman of the Sovereign Council and the commander-in-chief of the Sudanese army and his deputy and the commander of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF).
The position of army leaders has evolved from calling for the acceptance of more forces to demanding the RSF integration and criticizing the business activities of its leader. The latter, on the other hand, repeated accusations that they want to hold on to power and stressed his support for power handover to civilians.
The Sudanese army spokesman on Saturday stressed “the commitment of the army and its leadership to the course of the ongoing political process and strict and complete compliance with what was agreed upon in the framework agreement”.
“The bidding of some with the positions of the armed forces (…) and talk about the unwillingness of its leadership to complete the process of change and democratic transformation are open attempts for political gain and sympathy, and to obstruct the transition process,” he further stressed.
The statement pointed out that the Sudanese people will not be deceived by these attempts, and the army will fulfil the hopes of the Sudanese to complete the revolution’s march.
The military spokesman was responding to remakes by SRF Commander Mohamed Hamdan Daglo on March 7 where he accused the army leaders of clinging to power.
Signatories applaud
The civil forces that signed the framework agreement welcomed the statement issued by the official spokesman of the army. They said that it carried important and positive messages.
“The statement affirmed the commitment of the Sudan Armed Forces to the ongoing political process and to the framework agreement, which reinforces the commitment of all parties to the process to move forward and overcome the challenges it faces in a patriotic and responsible spirit,” read the statement.
The signatories called to complete the discussions of the final stage as soon as possible, in order to establish a stable and successful transitional period that will eventually lead to free, fair and transparent elections.
The non-signatory group issued a statement on Friday expressing concern over the escalating rift within the military component and appealed for restraint and dialogue to end the current crisis in the country.
The non-signatories further spoke about what they called the “bias of some international and regional mechanisms” toward one political group. They appealed to the international and regional community facilitating the ongoing efforts to end the Sudanese crisis to “be neutral and to stand at the same distance from all political and civil forces”.
Following a meeting in Cairo facilitated by the Egyptian government last February, the Democratic Bloc formed a broader coalition called the National Coordination for Democratic Transition.
(ST)