SUDAN INSIGHT ALERT: Responsible Statecraft – Strongmen, coups, corruption drive Horn of Africa to the brink

4/5/2022: Responsible Statecraft – Strongmen, coups, corruption drive Horn of Africa to the brink, by Alex de Waal

World Peace Foundation executive director Alex de Waal argues that the October 2021 coup leaders have “no political plan other than survival”, citing their inability to form a government and resorting to rehabilitating Islamists from the deposed Omar al-Bashir regime.

De Waal argues that the coup regime has no plan for the economic crisis as the suspension of international assistance contributed to a worsening economic meltdown accompanied by a nationwide food crisis, with the military “well aware that any meaningful economic reform requires the dismantling of the military-owned corporations and their kleptocratic stranglehold over the economy.”

De Waal adds that the leader of the military-led sovereign council Abdulfattah al-Burhan appreciates the need to repair relations with western financial institutions, while his deputy-cum-rival Himedti “appears to see the future of Sudan as a transnational enterprise in illicit commerce, including exporter of mercenaries, the welfare of its 40 million citizens be damned.”

SUDAN INSIGHT ALERT: Newlines Magazine - How a Human Rights Report Could Upend Sudan

4/5/2021: Newlines Magazine - How a Human Rights Report Could Upend Sudan, by Mat Nashed

Mat Nashed’s feature piece spoke to Nabil Adib, who leads committee investigating the June 3 2019 massacre.

With Adib saying “whatever we decide will destabilise the country,” Nashed writes: “if Adib presses charges against senior security officers in the Military Council [they] may try to overthrow the civilian half of the government and consolidate power,” although “many fear that Adib will reinforce a climate of impunity if he absolves senior military officers from blame”.

Despite open-source investigations by the BBC, Human Rights Watch and The Sentry claiming evidence of Rapid Support Forces (RSF), military and police participation in the massacre, Adib “speculates” that al-Jazeera “which provides favourable coverage to the Muslim Brotherhood” may have aired videos of government forces taking part in the massacre to “shield the real culprits: Islamist cells from the former regime”. Nashed adds that the RSF “propagates a similar conspiracy”.  

SUDAN NEWS ALERT: Radio Dabanga - World Press Freedom Day in Sudan: still a lot of work to do

4/5/2021: Radio Dabanga - World Press Freedom Day in Sudan: still a lot of work to do

Radio Dabanga report that Sudanese journalist networks called for more press freedom and made statements against the repression of journalists.

The Sudanese Journalists Union (SJU) criticised the ongoing operations of the National Press and Publications Council, “a repressive institution established by the defunct regime”.

The press council oversees the grant of licenses for newspapers, can impose huge fines on publishing houses, and “often hinders the establishment of new newspapers or restricts media outlets’ ability to ‘open up’ since the revolution.”

Newspapers in Sudan still operate under the “repressive” 2009 law that “the former regime put in place to protect itself, silence mouths and deny press freedom”, according to the SJU.

The law, which the SJU labels “an obstacle to revolutionary journalism”, enables strict state control over the press and journalism with licensing and approval powers, heavy fines, and criminal sanctions for media outlets and journalists.

Newspapers affiliated to the former regime continue to obtain the largest share of government advertisements, the SJU add.

SUDAN NEWS ALERT: Radio Dabanga - PM Hamdok: Sudan press freedom still needs work

4/5/2020: Radio Dabanga - PM Hamdok: Sudan press freedom still needs work

Radio Dabanga reports that Sudanese Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok said that press freedom in Sudan is “still below the standards set by the transitional government, that was founded on freedom, peace and justice.”

 Sudan’s Ministry of Culture and Information said that Sudan no longer being at the “absolute bottom” of Reporters Without Borders’ World Press Freedom Index “constitutes a motivation to further improve press freedom in Sudan.”

 The Sudanese Journalists Network (SJN) called on the government to create press institutions that are “satiated with the values of the revolution,” noting that the vast majority of the press institutions still lack health insurance for their journalists and other employees.

 Publishers still violate labour laws, illegally depriving journalists of money, the SJN claims.

SUDAN INSIGHT ALERT: Sudan Tribune - Sudan needs more reforms to address discriminations against women: SIHA

4/5/2020: Sudan Tribune - Sudan needs more reforms to address discriminations against women: SIHA

 Sudan Tribune report that the Strategic Initiative for Women in the Horn of Africa (SIHA) says that the criminalisation of FGM should not draw attention away from reforms that need to address many laws that remain strongly prejudiced against women in Sudan.

 In a statement, SIHA argue that FGM’s criminalisation “might seem well-intended” but “does not address the root causes of women’s subordination in Sudan which are deeply ingrained in misogynistic attitudes.”

 SIHA Regional Director Hala Alkarib emphasises that “"Sudan’s legal framework is notoriously patriarchal and discriminatory against women. Without addressing the framework as a whole as well as the misogynistic beliefs and practices that maintain

SUDAN INSIGHT ALERT: Sudan Finally Banned Female Genital Mutilation. But Will This Be Enforced?

4/5/2020: Newsweek - Sudan Finally Banned Female Genital Mutilation. But Will This Be Enforced?, by Siddharth Chaterjee

 Siddharth Chatterjee, the UN Resident Coordinator to Kenya, suggests ways that Sudan can enforce its criminalisation of FGM, given the culture of fear and secrecy protecting perpetrators which leaves FGM “notoriously difficult to prosecute.”

 Chaterjee calls for a widespread awareness campaign engaging with communities, “particularly men,” religious leaders, as well as local and regional ambassadors, to highlight FGM’s adverse health impacts and the “baseless superstitions about its benefits.”

 Chaterjee also calls for the large reservoir of army veterans from all parts of Sudan to be utilised as “agents of positive change in their villages and communities.”

 Chaterjee concludes that Sudan’s criminalisation of FGM presents an opportunity for Sudan to act as a regional and global leader on women's rights issues.

SUDAN NEWS ALERT: Associated Press - Sudan protesters say security attempted to break up sit-in

4/5/19: AP – Sudan protesters say security attempted to break up sit-in

 AP reports that the the Sudanese Professionals Association, which has spearheaded more than four months of protests, said security forces and “remnants of the ousted regime” tried to forcibly disperse protesters outside a military facility in the city of Nyala, in Darfur.

 Activist Mustafa Baz said clashes erupted when marchers from a refugee camp in Darfur attempted to join the sit-in. The SPA said “many” protesters were wounded.

 South Darfur governor Hashim Mahmoud said around 5,000 people marched from the Otash camp and clashed with troops outside the military facility. He said security forces used tear gas to disperse the protesters, and that at least four shoulders were wounded, with no wounded protesters

SUDAN NEWS ALERT: Associated Press - Sudanese take aim at Islamist 'deep state' left by al-Bashir

4/5/19: AP - Sudanese take aim at Islamist 'deep state' left by al-Bashir

 AP reports that Sudanese protesters say their revolution won't be complete until they have dismantled what many describe as an Islamist-dominated "deep state" that underpinned his 30-year rule.

 Omar Al Bashir and the Islamists "went to great lengths to create an Islamist deep state," by establishing multiple security forces and shadow party militias, said Dame Rosalind Marsden, an expert on Sudan at Chatham House.

Marsden added that they "politicized the army and other state institutions and enabled regime insiders to take control of key sectors and companies within the economy…this Islamist deep state constitutes a formidable barrier to real change."

"Most of the Islamist groups have been supporting a strong role for the military in the transitional period, probably because they see them as a potential shield against secularists in the opposition." said Willow Berridge, a professor at Newcastle University who has written a book about Sudan's Islamists.

SUDAN NEWS ALERT: Reuters - Sudan faces fuel crisis and worsening cash crunch

4/5/19: Reuters – Sudan faces fuel crisis and worsening cash crunch , by Khalid Abdelaziz

 Reuters reports that Sudan is facing a pre-Ramadan fuel crisis and a worsening cash crunch. Cars queued at almost every petrol station in Khartoum on Saturday as motorists waited for fuel for several hours. Soldiers manned the stations to ensure order.

 At least a dozen ATMs in a commercial area in central Khartoum had no cash. A Reuters witness counted 88 customers in one line on a main road in central Khartoum.

 Queues had previously been shorter and more ATMs held cash. The maximum daily withdrawal has long been set at 2,000 Sudanese pounds ($45). Some have set up several bank accounts to try to circumvent the limit.

 Omar Al Bashir’s government had run up enormous budget deficits by subsidising fuel, bread and other products. To cover the deficit, it expanded the money supply.