The head of the Sudanese Sovereignty Council, Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan, said - in an interview with Al-Jazeera after the signing of the political framework agreement - that what happened today is not an agreement between the military component and political forces, but rather a consensus, as he put it.
Al-Burhan, commander of the Sudanese army, confirmed that the framework agreement "is open to all revolutionary forces that are not signatories to the Declaration of Freedom and Change," and that "no one is excluded."
However, he said at the same time that the groups that reject the framework agreement may have an external agenda, and accused some political forces of being "arrogant and demanding to be in the leadership cabin."
The head of the Sovereignty Council pledged to address what he described as the mistakes of the previous regime with regard to the military institution.
He said that groups belonging to "Islamic organizations that want to restore power by exploiting the armed forces" have been monitored, stressing that no party will be allowed to use the army to seize power, as he put it.
Al-Burhan refused to talk about the existence of external dictates behind the signing of the framework agreement, saying that this "contradicts logic and reality," adding, "We waited a whole year for the agreement of the political forces, and that did not happen."
For his part, Muhammad Hamdan Dagalo (Hamidti), Vice President of the Sovereignty Council, said that what happened on October 25, 2021 was a political mistake and opened the door to more divisions, referring to the army commander's decisions to dissolve the government at the time and declare a state of emergency.
Hamidti stressed the importance of the framework agreement to transition Sudan towards democracy.
During a ceremony held in Khartoum today, Monday, the military signed a framework political agreement with civilian forces to establish a new transitional period of 24 months.
The agreement stipulates that the transitional phase begins from the date of the appointment of a prime minister, and ends with holding comprehensive elections, integrating the Rapid Support Forces into the armed forces, and criminalizing military coups and any political change outside the constitutional frameworks.
opposition and welcome
Some civil forces rejected this agreement, and warned against repeating the experience of previous agreements. Demonstrations also took place in Khartoum to protest, raising the slogans "The military is for the barracks" and "Oh, military, there is no immunity."
For its part, the United States and its partners welcomed the framework agreement and urged all parties to make efforts to complete negotiations on a new civilian-led government.
"We are working with partners to coordinate significant economic support for a civilian-led transitional government to help address the challenges facing the people of Sudan," said a joint statement signed by the United States, Britain, Norway, Saudi Arabia and the UAE.
In the context, European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell welcomed the framework agreement in Sudan and praised the signatories.
Borrell said that the agreement is "a milestone on the road to restoring the transition to democracy," and stressed that "it is important to redouble efforts to form a civilian transitional Sudanese government that can hold free and fair elections."