SUDAN INSIGHT ALERT: Washington Post - The world has plenty of wheat. Putin still uses it as a weapon

7/5/2022: Washington Post - The world has plenty of wheat. Putin still uses it as a weapon, by Annia Ciezadlo

The Washington Post quoted analysis on the impact of the Russian invasion of Ukraine on Sudan, with 79% and 2% of Sudan’s 2020 wheat imports coming from Russia and Ukraine respectively. 

With Sudan’s economy “in free fall” amid currency collapse, massive inflation and a government that lacks widespread popular support, Kholood Khair of Insight Strategy Partners think-tank, said that the wheat supply from Russia and Ukraine is an immediate concern, warning that it will run out within two to three months.

Alex de Waal, executive director of the World Peace Foundation and a famine expert, said the situation in Sudan is so bad, that hyperinflation subsided “because no one has any money” culminating in a situation whereby food got cheaper, but because nobody could afford it.

SUDAN NEWS ALERT: Sudan Tribune - UNDP removes job posting for Sudan after criticism

7/5/2020: Sudan Tribune - UNDP removes job posting for Sudan after criticism

Sudan Tribune reports that the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) said took down a Sudan-based job posting for a gender advisor position, after criticism for failing to comply with local hiring rules.

 The position, advertised in late April, said the successful candidate will work in the office of Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok "to ensure gender and women’s issues are well incorporated into his agenda.”

 Sudan Tribune note that critics suggest that the position infringes on the power of Hamdok’s office to pick its staff. UN Women apologised “for any misunderstanding.”

SUDAN POLITICAL ALERT: UN Population Fund - The fight to ban FGM in Sudan isn’t over

7/5/2020: UN Population Fund - The fight to ban FGM in Sudan isn’t over

 The UN Population Fund (UNPF) says it “will continue to lead efforts to fully ban FGM” in Sudan.

 Massimo Diana, the UNPF Representative in Sudan, said: “when the law criminalizing FGM is approved the work needs to continue. We need to work with communities in Sudan to make sure practice follows policy.”

 The key to ending FGM in Sudan even after its criminalization is using behavioural change principles," said Giulia di Porcia e Brugnera, a UNPF programme associate who works on the Sudan Free of Female Genital Mutilation program.

 "FGM is a taboo topic, but if the community hosts a large celebration, and religious and community leaders publicly support its abandonment then the whole community will get behind it,” Brugnera added.

SUDAN NEWS ALERT: Sudan Tribune - Sudan's SCoP reiterates no concession over power transfer to civil rule

7/5/19: Sudan Tribune – Sudan’s SCoP reiterates no concession over power transfer to civil rule

The leader of the Sudanese Congress Party (SCoP), Omar Al Digair, said that the handover of power to a civilian entity remains an undisputed goal that the forces of the Declaration of Freedom and Change are resolved to reach.

"There is no concession or compromise on this matter," Al Digair said, adding that "negotiations with the Transitional Military Council have one goal: to transfer power to civilians from the revolutionary forces to implement the Declaration of the Forces of Freedom and Change."

Al Digair also said that "the revolution did not win completely…there are cells that are still living in the body of the system representing the deep state, and must be removed," he said.

SUDAN INSIGHT ALERT: Reuters - Sudan protesters' sit-in inspires cultural outpouring

7/5/19: Reuters – Sudan protesters' sit-in inspires cultural outpouring, by Umit Bektas

Umit Bektas feature piece spoke to Sudanese protesters curating art-work at the sit-in outside the Defence Ministry headquarters.

 Artist Rashid Drar said that drawing is his way of “being part of the revolution,” adding that he draws “for the Sudanese people.”

 Journalist Amna Almahi, who has used much of her time to make murals, said that she sees the artwork as an expression of the wounds from three decades of autocratic rule under Bashir, adding that  “the people of Sudan…want freedom, equality and democracy. The political content of these wall paintings is exactly an expression of these demands.”

 Alaa Khojaly, who is holding art, reading and writing classes in a tent school her and her friends set-up for street children said: “democracy does not mean only freedom. If it comes, we believe we will have a higher grade of education, better healthcare.”

SUDAN INSIGHT ALERT: Reuters - Gulf pledges offer scant reprieve for Sudan's economy

7/5/19: Reuters – Gulf pledges offer scant reprieve for Sudan’s economy, by Patrick Werr

 Patrick Werr’s feature piece finds that pledges of assistance from the Gulf are expected to provide only short-term relief for Sudan’s economy, with banks short of foreign exchange and farmers searching for summer growing season supplies.

Werr attributes Sudan’s banking crisis to its designation as a state sponsor of terrorism by the US, leaving Sudan unable to tap the IMF or World Bank for support, and Sudanese banks struggling to build trust among foreign banks.

 Werr notes that the US said it will not remove Sudan from the terrorism list while the military holds power.

 The article notes that Sudan’s spending on military and paramilitary forces is very high, with Sudanese economist Ibrahim Elbadawi estimating that security and subsidies combined eat up more than 75% of Sudan’s budget.

 Elbadawi said access to a World Bank programme for demobilising militias, would need US support and more financial backing from the Gulf.

SUDAN NEWS ALERT: Multiple sources - Sudan’s military council hints at early election in six months

7/5/19: Multiple sources – Sudan’s military council hints at early election in six months

Reuters

Sudan Tribune

Sudan’s ruling Transitional Military Council said on Tuesday it had the option to call for early elections within six months if they did not reach an agreement with the opposition on the structure and details of an interim government.The council also said that former intelligence chief Salah Gosh was under house arrest and that more than four members of the council had resigned.

SUDAN NEWS ALERT: Multiple sources - Sudan military rulers want Sharia law to guide legislation under interim government

7/5/19: Multiple sources: Sudan military rulers want Sharia law to guide legislation under interim government

Reuters

BBC

AFP

Telegraph

Sudan’s military rulers said on Tuesday they generally agreed with proposals made by protest leaders on the structure of an interim government, but want Islamic Sharia laws and local norms to guide legislation.

 Responding to a draft constitutional document presented by a coalition of protest groups and political parties, the ruling Transitional Military Council (TMC) noted that the document omitted Sharia law.

 “Our view is that Islamic Sharia and the local norms and traditions in the Republic of Sudan should be the sources of legislation,” TMC spokesman Lieutenant General Shams El Din Kabbashi told reporters.