Military coup in Sudan: The dictator is gone, the dictatorship remains

The rule of the new rulers in Sudan has begun with a lie: the regime has been "uprooted," former Vice President and Defense Minister Ahmed Awad Ibn Auf announced on Thursday afternoon in a televised address.

But the regime is by no means uprooted: rather, the army that forms the backbone of the regime in Khartoum has sacrificed the president in order to secure his own political survival. The military has deposed and arrested the dictator Omar al-Bashir, who ruled since June 1989. Thus, the armed forces have met the highest demand of the hundreds of thousands of protesters who had been on the streets since December across the country.

The military relies on the "Egyptian solution"

At the same time, the TV speech made clear that the army is not willing to fulfill the other demands of the protest movement - including "freedom", "revolution", "justice", "democracy". Instead, the Minister of Defense's agenda reads like the program of a military dictatorship:

• The constitution is overruled.
• Parliament and the previous government have been dissolved and the office of President has been abolished provisionally. For two years, a military council takes over the rule. After that, "free and fair elections" should take place.
• The military council has imposed a three-month emergency. The border crossings and the airspace of the country were closed. Every day from 10 pm to 4 am there is a nocturnal curfew.

Apparently, the regime in Khartoum is relying on an "Egyptian solution". In 2011, after weeks of protests and the overthrow of the long-time ruler Hosni Mubarak, an army council had also taken control and thus secured the long-term preservation of power of the military regime.

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The reign of Islamist President Mohammed Morsi after the first and only free elections in 2012 was in the end nothing more than an episode that was violently ended by the military after a year.

The opposition wants to continue the protests

The mere fact that it was Defense Minister Ibn Auf who spoke to the Sudanese people in army uniform on Thursday makes it clear that the regime is unlikely to be interested in any fundamental change. He himself is deeply involved in Bashir's crime:

• As a former chief of military intelligence and chief of staff of the military, he is said to have coordinated the terrorist campaigns of the Dschanschawid militias in Darfur at the beginning of the 2000s.
• The militias, acting on behalf of the Khartoum regime, had defeated the rebellion of the rebels in Darfur, committing war crimes and crimes against humanity.
• The now fallen Bashir is therefore sought since 2009 by an international arrest warrant.

Representatives of the protest movement have made clear in a first reaction that they are not sufficient to dismiss the long-term ruler. The organizers of the sit-in in front of the Army headquarters are calling on the demonstrators to ignore the curfew and continue the protest.

Sudan's problems are huge

Even the most famous face of the protests, Alaa Salah, expressed disappointment at the explanation of the military. Change will not happen if Bashir's entire regime deceives Sudanese civilians with a military coup, we want a civilian council to lead the transition, "Salah tweeted.

The people do not want a transitional military council. Change does not happen with Bashir's entire regime hoodwinking Sudanese civilians through a military coup. We want a civilian council to head the transition. #Sudan

The 22-year-old student had become world famous in recent days because she had climbed a car during a rally in Khartoum and had protests against the regime. Photos and videos of the scene drew the attention of many around the world for the first time ever to the demonstrations in Sudan.

Taken by me @ lana_hago # 8aprile pic.twitter.com/o7pDUsQg84

The protest has been smoldering in the country for months: In December, the demonstrations against Bashir began. The riots triggered the government's decision to triple the price of one loaf of bread to three Sudanese pounds - that's about five cents. But actually the problems of the country are much deeper:

• With the independence of South Sudan in 2011, Sudan lost about three quarters of its oil wells, making it one of the main sources of revenue.
• The health situation is disastrous and the education system miserable.
• And while many African countries are making slow progress, in Sudan, for years, little has changed for the better. There is nothing to suggest that the new, old rulers have the ability, let alone the will, to change that.

Since the protests began in December, at least 60 people have been killed in clashes between demonstrators and security forces. With its statement on Thursday, the military council has planted the seed for another escalation.