The UN envoy to Sudan on Friday said the country’s political crisis was “not over yet” as many feel “betrayed” by the deal that reinstated Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok, with some people turning to violence.
Volker Perthes said Sudanese campaigners were angered by the new military-led political set-up and are increasingly determined to realise the goals of the unfinished 2019 pro-democracy revolution.
Sudan has been roiled by protests since Gen Abdel Fattah Al Burhan seized power in October, detained Mr Hamdok and former Cabinet members for several weeks before striking a deal last month for his return.
“This crisis is not over yet,” Mr Perthes told the UN Security Council.
“The agreement is far from perfect but can help to avoid further bloodshed.”
The agreement faces “significant opposition” from some Sudanese political factions and the large protest movement that has pushed for democracy since the overthrow in 2019 of former president Omar Al Bashir, he said.
The political coalition Forces of Freedom and Change, Sudan’s resistance committees, activists and others “feel betrayed by the coup and now reject any negotiations or partnership with the military”, said Mr Perthes.
“The Sudanese men and women’s unwavering commitment to realise civilian-led democratic governance cannot be overlooked,” the German academic noted.
“They have remained and seem to remain steadfast in their resolve.”
At least 44 protesters have been killed and hundreds wounded since the coup, said Mr Perthes, who spent weeks shuttling between army chiefs, the detained Mr Hamdok and others in an effort to resolve the coup crisis.
At the weekend, security forces fired teargas to disperse protesters marching near the presidential palace in the capital Khartoum. Rallies were reportedly also held in the cities of Omdurman, Kassala, Sennar and Port Sudan.
Sudan’s military seized power on October 25, dissolving the transitional government, arresting dozens of officials and politicians, and upending a fragile planned transition to democratic rule that was agreed to following the 2019 revolution.
Mr Hamdok was reinstated on November 21 amid international pressure in a deal that calls for an independent technocratic Cabinet under military oversight and the release of government officials and politicians detained since the coup.
The prime minister has yet to announce his Cabinet, which is likely to face opposition from a pro-democracy movement that has rejected last month’s deal and insists on handing power to a civilian government to lead the transition.
Activists seek the restructuring of the military under civilian oversight, purging officers loyal to Al Bashir and disbanding a paramilitary group led by Gen Mohammed “Hemedti” Dagalo, a co-architect of the coup.
Meanwhile, tribal fighting in the western Darfur region has killed more than 130 people in recent weeks, authorities said, after fighting broke out on November 17 between armed Arab camel herders in the rugged Jebel Moon area.
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The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
Three-day coronation
Royal purification
The entire coronation ceremony extends over three days from May 4-6, but Saturday is the one to watch. At the time of 10:09am the royal purification ceremony begins. Wearing a white robe, the king will enter a pavilion at the Grand Palace, where he will be doused in sacred water from five rivers and four ponds in Thailand. In the distant past water was collected from specific rivers in India, reflecting the influential blend of Hindu and Buddhist cosmology on the coronation. Hindu Brahmins and the country's most senior Buddhist monks will be present. Coronation practices can be traced back thousands of years to ancient India.
The crown
Not long after royal purification rites, the king proceeds to the Baisal Daksin Throne Hall where he receives sacred water from eight directions. Symbolically that means he has received legitimacy from all directions of the kingdom. He ascends the Bhadrapitha Throne, where in regal robes he sits under a Nine-Tiered Umbrella of State. Brahmins will hand the monarch the royal regalia, including a wooden sceptre inlaid with gold, a precious stone-encrusted sword believed to have been found in a lake in northern Cambodia, slippers, and a whisk made from yak's hair.
The Great Crown of Victory is the centrepiece. Tiered, gold and weighing 7.3 kilograms, it has a diamond from India at the top. Vajiralongkorn will personally place the crown on his own head and then issues his first royal command.
The audience
On Saturday afternoon, the newly-crowned king is set to grant a "grand audience" to members of the royal family, the privy council, the cabinet and senior officials. Two hours later the king will visit the Temple of the Emerald Buddha, the most sacred space in Thailand, which on normal days is thronged with tourists. He then symbolically moves into the Royal Residence.
The procession
The main element of Sunday's ceremonies, streets across Bangkok's historic heart have been blocked off in preparation for this moment. The king will sit on a royal palanquin carried by soldiers dressed in colourful traditional garb. A 21-gun salute will start the procession. Some 200,000 people are expected to line the seven-kilometre route around the city.
Meet the people
On the last day of the ceremony Rama X will appear on the balcony of Suddhaisavarya Prasad Hall in the Grand Palace at 4:30pm "to receive the good wishes of the people". An hour later, diplomats will be given an audience at the Grand Palace. This is the only time during the ceremony that representatives of foreign governments will greet the king.
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
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Marathon results
Men:
1. Titus Ekiru(KEN) 2:06:13
2. Alphonce Simbu(TAN) 2:07:50
3. Reuben Kipyego(KEN) 2:08:25
4. Abel Kirui(KEN) 2:08:46
5. Felix Kemutai(KEN) 2:10:48
Women:
1. Judith Korir(KEN) 2:22:30
2. Eunice Chumba(BHR) 2:26:01
3. Immaculate Chemutai(UGA) 2:28:30
4. Abebech Bekele(ETH) 2:29:43
5. Aleksandra Morozova(RUS) 2:33:01
More on Quran memorisation:
