Agrees On Transitional Technocrat Civilian Government, Sudanese Military Releases Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok

PM Sudan Abdalla Hamdok. (Wikimedia Commons/Ola A.Alsheikh)

JAKARTA - Sudan's military released Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok on Sunday, pledging to release all political prisoners after weeks of deadly unrest sparked by a coup.

Nevertheless, demonstrations are still ongoing, rejecting any agreement involving the army. Under the agreement signed with military leader General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, PM Hamdok, who was first appointed after the ouster of autocrat Omar al-Bashir in the 2019 uprising, will lead a civilian technocrat government for a transitional period.

The deal has faced opposition from pro-democracy groups who have demanded full civilian rule since Bashir's ouster, as well as angered by the deaths of dozens of protesters since the October 25 coup.

A hero of the protest movement, PM Hamdok quickly became a villain to some.

"Hamdok has sold the revolution," protesters chanted after the deal was announced, citing Reuters November 22. The Sudanese Professionals Association (SPA), a leading protest group, called it "dangerous".

Meanwhile, PM Abdalla Hamdok said on Sunday the political deal he signed with the military gave him complete freedom in forming a technocratic government.

"We agreed to hold elections before July 2023," he was quoted as saying by Al Jazeera.

Tens of thousands of people joined the scheduled rallies in the capital, Khartoum, and its sister cities Omdurman and Bahri. Security forces fired bullets and tear gas to disperse them, witnesses said. A 16-year-old protester in Omdurman died of gunshot wounds, the Sudanese Doctors' Central Committee said.

"Hamdok has let us down. Our only option is the way (of the demonstration)," said Omar Ibrahim, a 26-year-old protester in Khartoum.

The United States, Britain, Norway, the European Union, Canada, and Switzerland welcomed the release of PM Hamdok and in a joint statement urged the release of another political prisoner. The UN also welcomes Sunday's deal

Western powers have condemned last month's takeover and suspended economic aid to Sudan, which has been trying to recover from a deep economic crisis.

The coup sparked mass demonstrations against the military, with medics aligned with the protest movement saying security forces had killed 41 civilians in an increasingly violent crackdown.

PM Hamdok said he agreed with the deal, to prevent more victims.

"Sudan blood is very precious. Let's stop the bloodshed and direct the energy of youth to development and development," he said at a signing ceremony broadcast on state television.

Meanwhile, General Burhan said the deal would be inclusive. "We don't want to exclude anyone except, as we have agreed, the National Congress Party," he said, referring to Bashir's former ruling party.

But the deal did not mention the Forces of Freedom and Change (FFC), the civilian coalition that shared power with the military before the coup. A number of people at the signing ceremony had political ties to Bashir.

The FFC said it did not recognize any deals with the military. The Sudanese Congress Party, a prominent FFC member, whose leaders have been detained, described PM Hamdok joining the deal as "illegitimate and unconstitutional" and providing political cover for the coup.

Several resistance committees that had organized the protests also issued statements rejecting any agreement with the military.

To note, PM Hamdok was placed under house arrest when the Sudanese military seized power, thwarting the transition to general elections in 2023. The military dissolved PM Hamdok's Cabinet and detained a number of civilians who held top positions under a power-sharing deal agreed after Bashir was ousted.

Politicians Omer Eldigair, Yasir Arman, Ali Alrayah Alsanhouri, and Siddig al-Mahdi will be released on Sunday evening, government sources said. Only Arman is among former officials in office, many of whom had engaged in a war of words with military leaders before the coup.

Under Sunday's deal, constitutional declarations made between the military and civilians in 2019 will remain the basis for further talks.

"The next government will focus on limited issues, especially the democratic transition," said PM Hamdok.