SUDAN INSIGHT ALERT B: Africa Confidential – Sudan: Shuttle diplomacy on a broken loom

12/5/2022: Africa Confidential – Sudan: Shuttle diplomacy on a broken loom

Africa Confidential report on the African Union (AU) and UN’s joint-initiative for Sudan’s post-coup political crisis.

After UN envoy to Sudan Volker Perthes publish a report after meeting Sudanese stakeholders, the second step in his mediation was stopped by AU Commission chair Moussa Faki, who appealed to UN Secretary-General, António Guterres, to link the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) and the AU to the process, with Faki’s chief of staff Mohamed el-Hacen Labatt publically criticising the UN and saying the AU should take the lead in the political mission.

Africa Confidential add that some in Sudan see the rivalry between the AU and the UN as a consequence of Guterres being too weak, or unwilling, to contradict the AU, especially when he has other crises on his plate.

SUDAN INSIGHT ALERT A: Africa Confidential – Sudan: Burhan lets the Islamists back in

12/5/2022: Africa Confidential – Sudan: Burhan lets the Islamists back in

After military leader Abdulfattah al-Burhan proved to be unable to woo the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) or build a front of non-Communist resistance committees, his failure to appoint a civilian prime minister or build a civilian base, has forced the Sudanese coup regime to “fall back on Islamists of all stripes” to shore up the regime, Africa Confidential report.

Islamists are using the justice system to get back their assets and intimidate the Tamkeen Committee that aimed to confiscate them, alongside reinstating 102 diplomats, including 48 ambassadors, 35 junior diplomats, and 19 administrative staff, who were National Congress Party.

Egypt is said to be “sympathetic” to the rehabilitation of Islamist bureaucrats provided the military is in charge, but the UAE are not supportive, with their ruler unconvinced that Islamists would limit themselves to civic duties. In addition, the

Emiratis and Saudis disapprove of the prospect of a Russian naval base at Port Sudan, just across the narrow Red Sea from Saudi Arabia.

SUDAN NEWS ALERT:Multiple sources – Two killed and dozens wounded as Sudanese commemorate June 3 massacre

12/5/2021: Multiple sources – Two killed and dozens wounded as Sudanese commemorate June 3 massacre

• Sudan Tribune

• Radio Dabanga

• AP

• Reuters

Two young men were shot dead and at least 28 others were wounded in front of the army command in Khartoum when army forces dispersed a group of people commemorating the June 3 2019 Khartoum Massacre.

 A large number of activists subsequently gathered in front of the Royal Care Hospital in downtown Khartoum, where protestor Osman Ahmed died of his wounds. They chanted slogans demanding justice. A second activist died in Zaytouna Hospital.

The Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) responded in a statement that “no instructions were issued to the forces protecting the army command to use live ammunition against the people.”

The statement added that “What happened will be subject to investigation. The results will be disclosed to the public, and the perpetrators brought to justice”.

SUDAN INSIGHT ALERT: Telegraph - Sudan's last elected leader calls on Britain to help build democracy on the Nile

12/5/19: Telegraph – Sudan’s last elected leader calls on Britain to help build democracy on the Nile, by Roland Oliphant

Interviewing Sudan’s last democratically elected Prime Minister Sadiq Al Mahdi, The Telegraph’s senior foreign correspondent Roland Oliphant reports on Al Mahdi’s vision for a Sudanese liberal democracy with a healthy welfare state, an Islamic identity that accounts for Sudan’s diversity, and an internationalist outlook.

Al Mahdi proposed that Britain help modernize Sudan’s economy to achieve this goal, adding that the British colonialists “established a modern state with an efficient civil service, a modern economy…viable local government, [and] respected many aspects of Sudanese society,” and that there is “a basis for a special bilateral relationship, especially with education [and] training.”

Oliphant notes that that many young Sudanese protesters are not enthusiastic about Al Mahdi or his Umma Party, although Al Mahdi said that his party would get a majority under free elections.

SUDAN NEWS ALERT: Associated Press - Egyptian actress faces backlash after appearing in blackface

12/5/19: Associated Press – Egyptian actress faces backlash after appearing in blackface, by Samy Magdy

Egyptian actress Shimaa Seif has faced a backlash after appearing on a TV prank show in blackface in a demeaning imitation of a Sudanese woman.

In an episode of the “Shaklabaz” program aired last week, comedian Shimaa Seif tried to annoy people on a microbus by speaking loudly in the Sudanese dialect. She then asked a man for a kiss before revealing her true identity.

Many Sudanese viewers expressed outrage on social media, calling the performance insulting and racist. Others called for boycotting the TV station and the production company, with the hashtag “boycott MBC Masr” in Arabic.