Netanyahu’s issue widens gaps between Sudan’s civil and military forces
February 5, 2020 (KHARTOUM) – Sudan’s civilian and military components of the transitional government Wednesday exchanged hot statements over al-Burhan’s meeting with the Israeli Prime Minister that may affect the relative entente between them.
“I informed Hamdok (about the meeting) 48 hours before visiting Uganda and meeting with Netanyahu, and he said Go ahead,” al-Burhan said in a briefing to some journalists on Wednesday.
On Tuesday evening, the head of the collegial presidency issued a statement saying that he had not informed the government about the meeting and he exceeded his powers in the transitional constitution.
Al-Burhan statements trigged another statement by the cabinet’s Spokesman Faisal Mohamed Saleh denying that Hamdok had been aware of the meeting.
“The Prime Minister was not informed about the visit of the Chairman of the Sovereign Council to Entebbe or his meeting with the Israeli Prime Minister. Accordingly, there was no notification or consultation regarding this matter,” said Saleh.
The information minister further recalled that the Constitutional Declaration is the legal framework governing the transitional period as it was agreed in a joint meeting held between the Sovereign Council, the cabinet and leaders of the ruling coalition.
Some political forces rejected the meeting based on their support to the Palestinian people and Netanyahu’s rejection of an independent state for them.
However, the major point of divergence was who does what.
On Wednesday, al-Burhan said his meeting with Netanyahu did not encroach on the powers of the government he said contradicting his statement on Tuesday.
“I agreed with Netanyahu on the future cooperation between the two countries but it is for the executive authorities to take the next steps,” he added.
Al-Burhan also was keen to underline that the divergence with the government was about not informing them but there was no objection in principle over Netanyahu or Israel.
On this point, the information minister said in his statement on Wednesday evening that their government is a government of the Sudanese revolution and repudiating the cause of the oppressed people was not its priority.
“The relationship with Israel is an issue that transcends the competences of the transitional government which has a limited mandate, and it must be considered by the legislature and the constitutional conference,” said the government.
Before to hold his briefing al-Burhan met with the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) military command and briefed them about his meeting with Netanyahu.
SAF spokesman told reporters after the meeting that the Sudanese army approved al-Burhan initiative and reiterated its support for him.
(ST)