Prime Minister of Sudan Abdullah Hamdok, under house arrest since the October 25 coup, estimated Sunday October 31 that “The way out of the crisis” was going through the return to business of his cabinet. According to a statement posted on Facebook, the ousted head of government also called for the release of the civilian leaders during a meeting with the American, British and Norwegian ambassadors, members of the “troika” in the maneuver in Sudan.
Civilian officials arrested during General Abdel Fattah Al-Bourhane’s putsch can still be found, their lawyer Kamal Al-Jizouli told AFP, demanding that “Make public the place where ministers and politicians are detained”.
“Grotesque act”
Held for a time with the new strongman of the country before being finally brought home, where he is under “Close monitoring”, Abdallah Hamdok has been speaking since Monday via press releases which are published on the Facebook page of the Ministry of Information which has entered into dissent.
The former UN economist, who embodied the civilian face of Sudan’s difficult transition to democracy after thirty years of Omar Al-Bashir’s dictatorship, has been able to meet diplomats since his arrest. He also spoke on the phone with the head of US diplomacy, Antony Blinken, but has so far not been allowed to receive his few ministers who have not been arrested.
In recent days, General Al-Bourhane has said he has no problem with Hamdok finally retaining his post and he has pledged a government “Under a week”, according to an interview with the Russian press published on Monday. But Mariam Sadeq Al-Mahdi, Sudanese foreign minister still at large, told AFP on Saturday that neither she nor the prime minister will agree to “Participate in this grotesque act, this betrayal carried out by the putschists”.
UN envoy to Sudan Volker Perthes met Abdallah Hamdok on Sunday and discussed possible “Mediations” to get the country out of the deadlock. The US envoy for the Horn of Africa is also due to return to Khartoum on Tuesday, according to the information ministry.
The country, mired in political and economic slump for decades, is now at a standstill between intransigent soldiers and anti-coup demonstrators in ” civil disobedience “.
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