Khartoum - Al Jazeera Net got the most prominent points of the papers presented by the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces in the security and military reform workshop held within the work of the final phase of the political process between the military and civilians, and led to the divergence of the positions of the two parties to postpone the signing of the agreement, which was scheduled for Saturday.
The security and military reform workshop concluded last Wednesday – the fifth and last – by discussing the outstanding issues stipulated in the framework agreement signed last December between the military component and the Alliance of Freedom and Change Forces - Central Council, and army representatives withdrew from the closing session, which was absent from the President of the Sovereignty Council Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan and his deputy, Commander of the Rapid Support Forces Mohamed Hamdan Daglo "Hemedti" due to differences over the integration of the Rapid Support Forces into the army.
A military expert attended the sessions of the workshop – which was closed and hit a fence of secrecy around – for Al Jazeera Net that the members of the workshop of the army 20 senior officers, including experts, and like them for the police, security and rapid support forces, and 30 retirees of the regular forces (army, police and security), along with two members of each group signatory to the framework agreement.
Security and military reform comes within the framework agreement signed between the Sudanese parties (Reuters)
Participation of foreigners
He added that army representatives initially reserved the presence of foreigners among the applicants and participation in the workshop, but agreed after clarifications that there are foreign experts who will present papers on the experiences of other countries in security and military reform, and that what they issue is not binding, in addition to that their papers will not carry recommendations, and that the period of their stay in the hall is linked to the time of submission of their papers.
He noted that the army representatives were concerned by the invitation of foreign experts Simon Yazigi and Chris Volkham, who were involved in the security arrangements for the 2005 north-south Sudan peace agreement that ended with the secession of South Sudan in 2011, and who had a hardline stance towards the Sudanese Armed Forces.
In addition to the army's main paper on security reform, Major General Abu Bakr Faqiri, former commander of the Nimeiri Military Academy, presented a paper on security arrangements that include the forces of the armed movements that signed the Juba Peace Agreement for Sudan, a police reform paper presented by Major General Mahmoud Suleiman, director of the Supreme Police Academy, and a paper on reforming the General Intelligence Service under a democratic system presented by Major General Makki Awad Mohamedain.
Army Paper
The Commander of the Command and Staff College, Major General Diaa Al-Din Ahmed Al-Awad, Brigadier General Mudassir Ibrahim, and Naval Colonel Ali Tabiq, according to the same sources, presented the reform paper of the armed forces.
The paper suggested that the process of integrating the Rapid Support Forces into the army take place during the transitional period set by the framework agreement (24 months) and that it be implemented in conjunction with the security arrangements of the armed movements that signed the Juba Agreement for peace in Sudan according to specific timetables.
The paper called for setting controls and standards for RSF officers similar to those of the Military Academy regarding the conditions for joining it, including academic qualification, medical fitness and others, and the dismissal of officers who were appointed and promoted after April 11, 2019, the date of the fall of the regime of former Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir.
The paper called for stopping recruitment and armament and opening new training camps for the employees of the Rapid Support Forces and the deployment of their forces, except in coordination with the teams and units of the armed forces, starting from the signing of the final agreement.
The paper also called for subjecting the investments and companies of the Rapid Support to the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Finance and National Economy, stopping foreign contracts, limiting the supply of military tasks, armament and ammunition from the army, banning political activity and committing to the exit of the military from the political scene.
The paper called for dismantling the tribal structure of the forces produced by the mass recruitment of individuals and ethnic groups to ensure the nationality of the forces in accordance with the law establishing them, and canceling all subsequent amendments to the Rapid Support Forces Law approved by Parliament in 2017.
Quick Support Sheet
Brigadier General Omar Hamdan presented a paper carrying the vision of the Rapid Support Forces for security and military reform, and Major General Mohammed Ahmed Abbas and Major General Muhammad Or Nasser commented on it.
The paper recommended criminalizing military coups, provided that the constitution stipulates that the military institution should refrain from interfering in politics, stressing the need for civilian oversight of the military institution through parliament.
The paper called for subjecting the defense budget to review and accountability by parliament, reviewing and developing military doctrine and including human rights and gender in military law, noting the importance of training, rehabilitation and psychological preparation of elements of military institutions for issues of democratic transition and the new political stage in the country.
The paper identified steps it considered necessary for the reform process, most notably the liquidation of the army and the Rapid Support Forces from elements of the former regime and those with political ideologies.
She called for reviewing the curricula of the Military Academy and the conditions for admission to it, setting new standards, including granting the regions equal opportunities in the college according to their population, and abolishing the requirement of acceptance of the recommendation of senior officers in the army to ensure the nationalism of graduated officers, calling for the involvement of rapid support officers in projects to improve the work environment like their colleagues from the armed forces, and improve conditions of service.
Sources in the Rapid Support Forces told Al Jazeera Net that the consensus on the recommendations exceeded 90%, explaining that the technical committees narrowed the gap in the points of disagreement.
Ahead of the closing session of the workshop last Wednesday, the army representatives sent the recommendations to their leadership, which asked them to withdraw from the session immediately, and it was likely that their leadership was dissatisfied with the recommendations, or that they did not include issues that they wanted to be among the main recommendations.
Political disagreement
Sources at the UN-African Tripartite Mechanism, which is sponsoring the political process, said the disagreement between the army and the RSF was not significant over the process of integrating the RSF into the army.
The sources told Al Jazeera Net that there is consensus on the principle of merger, but the dispute is over the time period, as the military institution believes not to exceed two years, while the Rapid Support Forces put forward 10 years, while other experts believe that it should be within 5 years.
Political analyst Mohamed Wad Abok said – in a statement to Al Jazeera Net – that "the dispute in the issue of integrating rapid support into the army is not a technical dispute, but rather political because of the intersection in the positions of army commander Abdel Fattah Burhan and Rapid Support Commander Mohamed Hamdan Hemedti towards the political process and future alliances."
He added that there is ambiguity in the fate of the two men after the end of the political process and the handover of power to civilians and their return to the barracks, and called on them to take a clear position on their role in the next stage, as it is the uncertainty that raises disputes and raises questions.