Asmaa Al-Husseini (Cairo, Khartoum)
At a time when intense international and regional mediations are interacting to resolve the Sudanese crisis, the US envoy to the Horn of Africa, Jeffrey Feltman, called yesterday, the commander of the Sudanese army, Lieutenant-General Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan, to take steps to restore the civilian government and release detainees.
Feltman, in a telephone interview with journalists, denied the news that he had arrived in Khartoum, and confirmed his presence in Washington.
He said that the Sudanese army showed “restraint” in its response to the demonstrations last Saturday, and the demonstrators also moved away from sensitive military sites, which reduced the possibility of violence, considering it a sign of the possibility of re-sharing power with civilians.
“I think that showed a realization on the part of the Sudanese people themselves that they have to be vigilant and find a way to return to the civil-military partnership that this transition requires,” he added, reiterating the United States’ call for Sudanese army chief Lieutenant General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan to restore the civilian-led government. He stressed that the current situation will not contribute to the stability of Sudan and the region, and we are in contact with them and others to restore partnership in Sudan between civilians and military on the basis of equality between them.
For his part, the head of the United Nations Mission in Sudan, Volker Peretz, revealed that the United Nations supports two of the many mediation efforts currently being proposed to resolve the crisis in Sudan, and that the United Nations proposes initiatives and ideas, and coordinates with some mediators.
Peretz told reporters in New York, via video link from Sudan: that the United States and regional powers are making efforts to resolve the crisis in Sudan, and that mediators hope that the features of a way out of the crisis in Sudan will emerge in the coming days.
He explained that larger packages were being offered for negotiation, and that there was a general feeling that a way out should be found. Peretz stated that he cannot talk about the demands, conditions, or positions of Hamdok and Al-Burhan, while mediators switch between the two parties.
For his part, the ousted Sudanese Prime Minister Abdullah Hamdok confirmed that the release of the detained ministers and the conduct of his government’s work will be an entry point for resolving the crisis in Sudan.
This came during his meeting yesterday evening with the ambassadors of the Troika countries, the United States, the United Kingdom and Norway to Sudan, according to a statement by the government spokesman’s office. The statement added: Hamdok stuck to the legitimacy of his government and the transitional institutions, and considered that the release of the ministers and the practice of the Council of Ministers with its full membership for its work is an entrance to resolving the crisis in the country.
The statement confirmed that Hamdok stressed that he would not be a party to any arrangements, in accordance with the coup decisions on the 25th of last month, and that he stressed the need to restore the situation to what it was.
For his part, Tut Galwak, the security advisor to the President of South Sudan, said that he met Hamdok, and that he is in good health and spirits, and that matters are heading towards a satisfactory solution for the benefit of the Sudanese people, and he expected promising news soon.
He pointed out that Hamdok and Al-Burhan will sit together soon, and the arrested officials will be released soon. Sudanese writer and political analyst Zine El Abidine Saleh told Al-Ittihad: If Al-Burhan and Hamdok accept the principle of mediation, by internal and external parties, this means that the two sides accept the principle of concession to the solution, and this means that the situation will not return to before January 25, And it will create a new reality.
On the other hand, the United Nations Human Rights Council will hold an extraordinary session on Sudan on Friday, after 48 countries, including 18 members of the Council, called for an emergency session on the recent developments in Sudan and the implications for human rights due to the current situation.
While the civil disobedience and strike announced by the Forces of Freedom and Change, the Resistance Committees and the Sudanese parties continued, the Director-General in charge of the Ministry of Education, Qareeb Allah Muhammad, issued a decision yesterday, to resume studies in all stages in the state of Khartoum next Sunday.
The Sudanese authorities have also assigned Azhari Idris as Director General of the Ministry of Finance to conduct business until a new undersecretary is appointed.
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