SUDAN NEWS ALERT: Reuters - Sudan talks over coup hit "semi-deadlock", sources from ousted government say

6/11/2021: Reuters - Sudan talks over coup hit "semi-deadlock", sources from ousted government say

Reuters report that talks to resolve Sudan’s political crisis following the military coup hit “semi-deadlock” because the military has refused to return to a path of democratic transition, two sources from the ousted government said.

The sources told Reuters the military tightened restrictions on ousted Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok, further limiting his ability to hold meetings or make political contacts.

Hamdok demanded preconditions that include the release of top civilians detained during the coup and a return to a transition towards democracy that began after the overthrow of long-term autocrat Omar al-Bashir in 2019.

Critics of army chief Abdulfattah al-Burhan accuse the army of fomenting unrest before the military takeover, which they say made the risk of civil conflict more likely and derailed a transition that had offered Sudan a chance to escape decades of isolation and internal wars.

SUDAN NEWS ALERT: AP - Sudan activists reject power-sharing with army, call strikes

6/11/2021: AP - Sudan activists reject power-sharing with army, call strikes, by Fay Abuelgasim and Samy Magdy

AP report that the Sudanese Professionals Association (SPA), the trade union umbrella group that played a leading role in the uprising, rejected internationally-backed initiatives to return to a power-sharing arrangement with the military.

 Calling for the establishment of a civilian government to lead the democratic transition, the SPA said mediation initiatives which “seek a new settlement” between the military and civilian leaders would “reproduce and worsen” Sudan’s crisis.

Under the slogan of: “No negotiations, no compromise, no power-sharing,” the SPA called for strikes and civil disobedience.

Al-Wathig al-Berier, the secretary general of the Umma party, urged the international community to pressure the military to de-escalate, saying that mediation efforts have yet to produce results, blaming the military for that failure. He warned of possible bloodshed since the military and the protest movement have become increasingly entrenched in their positions.

SUDAN NEWS ALERT: Reuters – Coup puts into question Sudan’s debt cancellation, France says

6/11/2021: Reuters – Coup puts into question Sudan’s debt cancellation, France says

 Reuters report that the military coup in Sudan puts into doubt the process that would have seen France cancel $5 billion debt owed by Sudan, France's foreign ministry said.

France, Sudan's second-largest creditor, has been a main actor in backing the interim authorities after former President Omar al-Bashir was ousted in 2019.

Foreign ministry spokeswoman Anne-Claire Legendre said France had been an "unwavering" partner for Sudan and that the general debt cancellation programme as part of the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) initiative was agreed at a conference in Paris in May 2021. "It is clear that the military coup of October 25 calls into question this process,” she said.

At that conference, French president Emmanuel Macron also provided a loan to clear Sudan's arrears to the International Monetary Fund and organised a side event promoting investment into Sudan.

SUDAN NEWS ALERT: Radio Dabanga - SPA: New Sudan parliamentary structure 'will cause complications'

6/11/2020: Radio Dabanga - SPA: New Sudan parliamentary structure 'will cause complications'

 Radio Dabanga report that the Forces for Freedom and Change (FFC) have invited the Sudanese Professionals Association (SPA) to discuss the formation of a parliament in Sudan, according to new percentages agreed in the Juba Peace Agreement.

 The SPA said the current proposed parliamentary structure – exclusively comprising of peace negotiation participants - will lead to “the formation of an ineffective and quarrelsome legislative council” and “complications regarding representation of rebel movements not included in the peace agreement.”

 The SPA called for the inclusion of Resistance Committees, the Families of the December Revolution Victims, and all minority groups in Sudan in the council.

 The added that the FFC Central Council for Freedom and Change is not qualified to lead the formation of the Legislative Council, and criticised the “individual approach followed by the FFC Central Council by inviting revolutionary groups separately for formal consultations while imposing de facto directions”.

SUDAN INSIGHT ALERT: Reuters - Trump says talks with Egypt, Ethiopia, Sudan on dam dispute went well

6/11/19: Reuters - Trump says talks with Egypt, Ethiopia, Sudan on dam dispute went well

 Former US Department of State Officials have had mixed reactions to the US attempt to mediate between Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan over the disputed Renaissance Dam that dam Ethiopia is building on the Nile River.

 Cameron Hudson, currently a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council’s Africa Center, said it was surprising that the mediation was hosted by Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, not Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, since the State Department arguably had more expertise in such issues.  Hudson added that he said he did not expect any breakthroughs, and that the announcement was not coordinated well within the US government.

 Witney Schneidman, now a senior adviser at law firm Covington & Burling, said that a US role in resolving the dispute will be “to everyone’s benefit,” as the dam is “critical to economic progress in the region.”

SUDAN NEWS ALERT: Multiple sources - Africa's largest power dam stokes regional tensions

6/11/19: Multiple sources - Africa's largest power dam stokes regional tensions

AFP

Bloomberg, by Nizar Manek

 AFP and Bloomberg’s Nizar Manek provide context on the tensions behind the Nile Dam dispute involving Sudan, Ethiopia and Egypt.

 Ethiopia's planned construction of the Grand Renaissance power dam on the Blue Nile is raising tensions with Egypt, which depends on the river for 90% of its water supply.

 Egypt is urging parties to respect a 1959 pact on water allowances, which boosted Egypt’s allocation of Nile flow to 66%, with 22% for Sudan. However, Ethiopia says the pact should be reworked as it belongs to the colonial era.

 In 2010, Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Tanzania and Burundi signed the Cooperative Framework Agreement, that allows projects on the river without Cairo's agreement. Egypt and Sudan strongly opposed the move.

 AFP notes that the International Crisis Group warned that the issue raises the risk of violent conflict, although Manek points to Egypt and Ethiopia both dismissing the prospect.

SUDAN NEWS ALERT: AP - Stuck on US terror list, Sudan turns to wealthy Gulf for aid

6/11/19: AP - Stuck on US terror list, Sudan turns to wealthy Gulf for aid, by Samy Magdy

 According to anonymous Sudanese officials, prime minister Hamdok is turning to Saudi Arabia and the UAE to secure the funds to keep his government afloat, as the US is unwilling to delist Sudan as a state sponsor of terrorism.

 Warning that the “empty promises” from Western governments could weaken Sudan’s new civilian leaders, Sudanese officials said that their western counterparts have set conditions “that might take years to address,” such as reaching a peace agreement with rebel groups and addressing the role of the Rapid Support Forces in the transition.

 Sudan expert Alex de Waal warned that “the window of opportunity for the civilian (government) in Sudan to succeed is closing…because the West isn’t helping Sudan out of its financial hole.”

 Sudanese journalist Osman Mirghani said that the West views the Sudanese government as “fragile and unstable,” and that it has made insufficient progress on political, women’s and human rights.

SUDAN NEWS ALERT: Multiple sources - China launches Sudan's first satellite highlighting strong links between Beijing and Sudan's new government

6/11/19: Multiple sources - China launches Sudan's first satellite highlighting strong links between Beijing and Sudan's new government

Telegraph, by Will Brown

AFP

 Sudanese sovereign council chief Abdelfattah al-Burhan has announced that China has launched Sudan's first-ever satellite for conducting research in military, economic and space technology.

 According a statement by the sovereign council, the small probe will mainly be used for economic purposes but that it will also provide intelligence to the military and security services. Sovereign council spokesman Mohamed al-Faki told AFP that the satellite will be monitored from Sudan “in a few months.”

 The launch is a crucial moment for Sudan which has been trying to develop space technologies to get an edge over its rivals for decades. It is unclear if Sudan or China will foot the bill.

 The Daily Telegraph note that Sudan is is increasingly turning to authoritarian players such as China, Russia, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates to keep itself afloat, as the West is unwilling to end Sudan’s pariah status.

SUDAN NEWS ALERT: Sudan Tribune - Sudan’s PM says al-Bashir to be handed over to the ICC

6/11/19: Sudan Tribune -  Sudan’s PM says al-Bashir to be handed over to the ICC

 Sudan Tribune reports that Sudanese Prime Minister Abdallah Hamdok said he would hand over ousted President Omer al-Bashir to the International Criminal Court (ICC) to meet the demand of the internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Darfur.

 In a televised interview, Hamdok said he would spare no efforts to address transitional justice issues.

 "We must achieve what pleases the victims and makes them feel justice [has been achieved]…this is a fundamental demand that no barrier can stop," Hamdok stressed, referring to Darfuri demands that al-Bashir is handed over to the ICC.

 Hamdok’s latest position on the matter departs from his insistence in September that the government would try al-Bashir inside Sudan after Sudan enacts legal and judicial reforms.

SUDAN INSIGHT ALERT: Reuters - "There are problems": Doubts in Darfur as new PM promises peace

6/11/19: Reuters - "There are problems": Doubts in Darfur as new PM promises peace, by Ulf Laessing

 In a feature piece, Reuters spoke to internally displaced people in El Fasher in Darfur, following the visit of prime minister Hamdok, during which he “offered little in terms of concrete new proposals.”

 Saleha Nour, a market trader, dismissed Hamdok’s promise of a brighter new future, saying that she has heard the promises before and given up hope of returning to the village she was forced to flee, due to the continuing fear of militia attacks.

 Saida Ibrahim said: “every time we go back [to our farms], the Rapid Support Forces come and kick us out.”

 21-year old Ahmed Ibrahim told Reuters: “our conditions for a return are security, peace, education, health care,” 21-year Ahmed Ibrahim tells Reuters during the visit. He was 10 when his family fled.