The French newspaper Le Monde quoted experts as saying that the Sudanese army, which pledged to hand over power to civilians, has so far been in control of the economy and foreign policy, while civilians find it difficult to organize the transfer of power to them.
In its report, the newspaper recalled that the generals signed a historic agreement with the political factions at the forefront of the popular movement in August 2019, shortly after the revolution that overthrew President Omar al-Bashir after 30 years of authoritarian rule.
She added that the military and civilians decided together a transitional period, which was supposed to last for 3 years, and was later extended after a peace agreement between the government and the coalition of rebel groups, and under the agreement, the army had to share sovereign powers with civilians until the transitional period was completed with an elected government and parliament.
"There are friendly relations between the two camps, but they rarely work hand in hand and the army has kept all its strength," the newspaper quoted Jonas Horner of the International Crisis Group as telling AFP.
And if the military was "slow" in implementing the agreement, the civilians added more "divisions" to their "absence of power" which prevented the transition from starting, according to Horner.
Le Monde highlighted that internal differences are eating away at the body of the forces of freedom and change, the engine of the popular revolution.
More importantly, the paper says, the transitional government led by Abdalla Hamdok has eroded its popularity due to the repercussions of its implementation of economic reforms as well as its failure to bring to justice the cause of the families of the Bashir-era victims.
Control politics and the economy
In this context, Sudan still lacks a legislative assembly, and Horner says that “its formation will be key to monitoring what the army is doing” and explains “security forces as well as historical political parties, which fear losing their current powers, are blocking this crucial reform.” As a result, the army remains He controls the economy, peace management with rebel groups and above all over foreign policy, according to the newspaper.
The army’s conclusion of an agreement to normalize relations with Israel at the beginning of 2020 reflects its sole responsibility for signing peace agreements with armed groups, and the military’s control over foreign policy.
In economic terms, the Sudanese prime minister admitted last year that 80% of the country's resources are still outside the control of the Ministry of Finance, and no one knows the extent of the economy in the hands of the military, but they run many enterprises ranging from poultry farming to construction companies, according to LeMond.
Involving civilians in military affairs is "extremely sensitive" and as a result, the source continues, "calls for civilian reform will continue to face resistance" despite the fact that many Western governments, including That Washington, has been hesitating.
The newspaper concludes its report by saying Horner, "The transfer of power means that civilians will eventually be able to supervise the army, which has not sent any signal that it is ready to abandon its dominant role in the country."