{"id":20065279,"date":"2024-01-02T13:18:11","date_gmt":"2024-01-02T12:18:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.dabangasudan.org\/?p=20065279"},"modified":"2024-01-08T10:29:05","modified_gmt":"2024-01-08T09:29:05","slug":"sudan-activists-el-burhan-and-hemedti-speeches-deny-reality-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.dabangasudan.org\/en\/all-news\/article\/sudan-activists-el-burhan-and-hemedti-speeches-deny-reality-2","title":{"rendered":"Sudan activists: El Burhan and Hemedti speeches \u2018deny reality\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The speeches of Lt Gen Abdelfattah El Burhan, commander of the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) and chair of Sudan\u2019s Sovereignty Council, and Lt Gen Mohamed \u2018Hemedti\u2019 Dagalo, commander of the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), to the Sudanese people on the eve of the\u00a068th anniversary of the country\u2019s independence, triggered widespread criticism.<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Human rights defender Majdi El Naeem described the speech of El Burhan<\/a> on Sunday as \u201ccontradictory\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The army commander<\/a> \u201cfluctuates in his positions from welcoming peace to calling for war,\u201d El Naeem told in an interview Radio Dabanga yesterday. \u201cHe denounced advocates for stopping the war and at the same time he said that he supports calls for peace.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMoreover, he criticised countries<\/a> that recently received Hemedti within the framework of the mandate of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) to organise peace negotiations<\/a> between the warring parties, and at the same time kept silent about countries providing the RSF with weapons<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

No explanations<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cEl Burhan directed his speech to the Sudanese people, who want to see an end to the war, whether it comes with the victory of the army or in agreement with the RSF, but his words did not confirm either path. It seems that El Burhan and his army commanders are neither capable of achieving victory nor able to decide to enter into negotiations that achieve peace and restore safety to civilians.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

His address to the Sudanese confirms that he is to a large extent disconnected from reality, the human rights defender stated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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<\/p>\nEl Burhan appears to be a leader unable to unite his people and even his army, who has no plan to stop the war and no plan to win it – Majdi El Naeem<\/em><\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe cost of war on the Sudanese increases daily, and that according to data, an average of four deaths occurs in each battle between the SAF and the RSF, most of them civilians. Furthermore, crimes are being committed against civilians daily in the areas under control of the RSF, but El Burhan did not say anything about this.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

El Naeem further criticised the speech for not explaining the reasons for \u201cthe weak performance of the SAF, the abominable political performance of the Sovereignty Council and the acting government, and the fluctuation of its leader between one position and its opposite.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThus, he appears to be a leader unable to unite his people and even his army, who has no plan to stop the war and no plan to win it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Civil war<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The lawyer warned of a civil war. \u201cThe worst of the future scenarios is the loss of both parties\u2019 control over their forces and the expansion of the armament of tribal warriors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhat makes it even worse is that El Burhan\u2019s speech seems to want to incite the people against each other. If the leadership style presented by El Burhan and his allies continues as it is, this will only prolong the war with very strong possibilities of it turning into a civil war.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cEl Burhan calls for more armament<\/a> of specific political groups, some of which brag about violating the instructions of the army commanders. This just confirms the loss of his command over the army forces.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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<\/p>\nIf the leadership style presented by El Burhan and his allies continues as it is, this will only prolong the war with very strong possibilities of it turning into a civil war<\/em><\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

\u2018Denial of reality\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Journalist and activist Shamayel El Nour called El Burhan and Hemedti \u201ccompletely disconnected from the reality the Sudanese are now experiencing in all parts of the country. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

She told Radio Dabanga yesterday that \u201cboth speeches contain an evasion of responsibility and a denial of reality in a way that hardly deserves comment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI was surprised by El Burhan\u2019s talk about Sudanese rallying around army forces and encouraging them to carry weapons to protect them, which is the responsibility of the army in the first place. At the same time there is hardly no army left for the Sudanese people to rally around,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAlthough speeches are routine on such occasions, the Sudanese were waiting for courageous decisions from the two generals to move forward to achieve an agreement that would stop this hell in which all Sudanese live.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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<\/p>\nWhat is wanted now from Hemedti is not an apology but a ceasefire, even unilateral – Shamayel El Nour<\/em><\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

RSF apologies<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

El Nour described Hemedti\u2019s apology to the residents of El Gezira, West Darfur, and other areas that were subjected to widespread human rights violations, as \u201cirresponsible in the literal sense.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cTalking about attackers and armed robbers not belonging to the RSF is completely unacceptable, because what the RSF paramilitaries did in Khartoum is what they did in Darfur is what he did in some areas of Kordofan and are now doing in El Gezira with the highest level of ugliness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhat is wanted now from Hemedti is not an apology but a ceasefire, even unilateral,\u201d she stressed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cStopping the war and the disastrous situation the Sudanese are experiencing now is in the hands of the RSF. They can halt their operations and stop expansion on the ground, and this, at the very least, could represent a practical apology. But issuing a speech each time carrying an apology to the Sudanese, while the violations continue, and whoever dies, whoever kills, whoever kills, and whoever rapes, is unacceptable.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2018War of gangs\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

She repeated \u201cwhat the Sudanese are asking now and that is for the two generals to take serious steps and courageous decisions to stop this hell in which we live. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis is what the two generals could do at this time, at the very least. No more procrastination, no more apologies, and no more SAF calls for armed resistance against the RSF on grassroots level that is now happening throughout Sudan, headless and leaderless, which may make the matter slip away from everyone and becomes a gangs-fighting-gangs-war in the country.\u201d<\/p>\n