Burhan: Sudanese Army Must Stop Supporting Dictatorships

Arab World

March 27th, 7:38am

Khartoum – Mohammed Amin Yassin

The head of Sudan's Sovereign Council, commander of the Sudanese army, Lieutenant General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan (AFP)

The head of Sudan's Sovereign Council, and commander of the Sudanese army, Lieutenant General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, called on his forces to stop supporting dictatorships, as they have done in recent decades. He indicated that Sudan would build a military force that would not intervene in politics and would be trusted by the Sudanese people to make a modern and democratic state. Burhan affirmed the commitment of the armed forces to move forward with the Framework Agreement and the democratic transition, explaining that security and military reform is a complex process that requires laying the correct foundations for establishing professional armed forces without involving them in political battles. The commander spoke at the opening of the "Military and Security Reform" workshop as stipulated by the Framework Agreement, signed between the military and civilians on December 5, as an essential element in the political process to return civilians to power. "The process of security and military reform is a long and complicated process that cannot be bypassed," he said. "We want to enable any elected civilian authority to have the armed forces under its command," he added. Burhan stressed that the armed forces would not stand in the way of reforming the state, noting that the conference was an opportunity to lay the foundations for security and military reform and establish the state's police, judicial, and security agencies. The official called on the political forces that reject the political framework agreement to join the political process, assuring that everything proposed in the political process is a national action formulated by the Sudanese. Burhan welcomed everything that can reform the military institution and put it on the right path: "We are working to build armed forces which have the trust of all Sudanese." Meanwhile, Deputy head of Sudan's sovereign council and head of Rapid Support Forces (RSF), General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, said that his forces are "unequivocally committed" to siding with the democratic transition and integration into one professional army, demanding that reform include all state agencies. Dagalo, also known as Hemedti, stressed that the security and military reform process should not be subject to any political agendas, asserting the necessity to reach a single army as agreed between the parties. Hemedti called for benefiting from the experiences and models of merging armies in some countries, recalling that the Rapid Support Forces were formed according to the law that regulated and defined their tasks. He added that the security and military reform process needs to develop legislation and laws, which is the task of the Ministry of Justice and the Legislative Council. The RSF commander explained that reforming the security and military system is a complex and sensitive technical process, stressing that the workshop is the beginning of security and army reform. The Sudanese military and civilian parties have formally engaged in talks to discuss the security and military reform processes, including the parties expected to reach an agreed formula for integrating the RSF into one army. Furthermore, the Quartet and the Troika welcomed the launch of the security and military reform conference, which discusses the fifth issue of the Final Phase of the political process in Sudan. A statement stressed that addressing legal, constitutional, and political issues around the role of the armed forces and other security forces is a vital element of any transition from authoritarian rule to democracy. "We commend all the parties present today for their commitment, recorded in the Framework Political Agreement, to the vision of a single, national, unified professional army, reformed and modernized, under democratic civilian control." The Quartet and the Troika said that the workshop is merely the start of a process and cannot be expected to develop detailed long-term plans. "We respectfully encourage the participants to focus on building the minimum necessary consensus around both the long-term vision and the immediate next steps following the creation of a new civilian-led transitional government," read the statement. The statement added that the National Security and Defense Council, led by the Prime Minister, should undertake more detailed work following the Framework Political Agreement and the Juba Peace agreement as a basic reference. The statement urged all signatories to engage fully in these processes, adding that the Quad and Troika stand ready to offer technical support while respecting Sudanese leadership. The statement urged those who have not yet joined the process to consider how they may do so, noting that expectations are high. The UN Security Council is following the matter closely following last week's briefing by the Special Representative of the Secretary-General, Volker Perthes.

from Asharq AL-awsat https://english.aawsat.com/home/article/4235891/burhan-sudanese-army-must-stop-supporting-dictatorships