Burhan's moves make return to Sudan's constitution harder, U.N. says
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[November 12, 2021]
CAIRO (Reuters) - The Sudanese army
chief's decision to appoint a new ruling council that he leads makes it
harder to return to the constitutional order, a U.N. envoy said,
underlining the growing obstacles facing those trying to reverse last
month's coup.
General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan was sworn in on Thursday as head of the
new Sovereign Council, replacing the power-sharing body he dissolved
last month in a coup that derailed Sudan's transition to civilian rule.
Volker Perthes, the U.N. special representative for Sudan, said the
unilateral decision "makes it increasingly difficult to return to the
constitutional order", his office wrote on Twitter, citing a briefing he
gave to the U.N. Security Council on Thursday.
Perthes has been involved in mediation efforts aimed at securing the
release of detainees and finding a negotiated way out of the crisis
through a return to power-sharing between the military and civilians.
But these efforts have stalled amid signs that the army is moving to
consolidate control.
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The new 14-member Sovereign Council includes civilians representing
Sudan's regions but none from the Forces of Freedom and Change (FFC)
political coalition that had been sharing power with the military since
2019, effectively dissolving the transitional partnership. One member
has yet to be named.
Abdalla Hamdok, the prime minister ousted on Oct. 25, remains under
house arrest. Part of the mediation efforts has focused on bringing him
back to lead a technocratic government.
Hamdok has in turn demanded the release of top civilians and a return to
the transition that began after the overthrow of long-term autocrat Omar
al-Bashir in 2019.
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![](../images/111221PIX/news_t37.jpg)
Sudan's General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan attends a news conference in
Paris, France, May 17, 2021. REUTERS/Sarah Meyssonnier/Pool/File
Photo
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Western donors including the United States which
supported Sudan's transition have frozen aid in response to the
takeover.
French President Emmanuel Macron wrote on Twitter overnight that
events in Sudan were very worrying. "We demand the immediate freeing
of all those who embody the spirit and hope of the Sudanese
revolution, which must not be betrayed," he wrote.
Opponents of the army's move have called for big protests on
Saturday. Security forces shot dead three people during the last big
protest against the takeover on Oct. 31. In total, 15 protesters
have been killed since the coup.
Ahead of the protests, the spokesperson for the U.N. High
Commissioner for Human Rights called on military leaders to allow
people freedom of expression and peaceful assembly.
(Reporting by Nafisa Eltahir in Cairo, Stephanie Nebehay in Geneva
and Christian Lowe in Paris; Writing by Tom Perry; Editing by Hugh
Lawson)
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