Several civil groups are preparing to protest in the streets of Khartoum and other cities today, Thursday, demanding a full return to civilian rule in the country. They are reiterating their rejection of the agreement signed on November 21 (2021) between Prime Minister Abdullah Hamdok and army commander Abdel Fattah al-Burhan. The movement is also calling for continued pressure on the newly reshaped military-civilian authorities, following the dissolution of the previous Sovereign Council and government by the armed forces.
Today's protests come after several calls were made on social media in recent days to organize a "Martyrs' Day" in honor of the victims who fell since October 25, the day the army imposed exceptional measures in the country, alongside a campaign of detentions that included politicians and activists, as well as Hamdok himself, who was released the next day but remained under house arrest for weeks.
**Testing the Hamdok-Burhan Agreement**
In this context, the United Nations Special Representative to Sudan, Volker Perthes, wrote on his official Twitter account in Arabic on Wednesday, “Thursday’s marches in Sudan represent another test of the credibility of the November 21 agreement.” He added, “The right to peaceful assembly and freedom of expression must be protected. The voices of resistance committees, youth, women, and political forces must be heard without bloodshed or arbitrary arrests.”
Hamdok himself considered the marches set to take place today as “the biggest test” for the political framework agreement he signed with the army commander last Sunday.
**Killing Protesters Will Not Go Unpunished**
Moreover, he emphasized that the right to protest is guaranteed to the Sudanese people. He remarked, “We have communicated firmly with security agencies not to interfere with the peaceful demonstrations” that will take place in Khartoum and other cities today, asserting that this would be a real test and could jeopardize the agreement if any harm came to the protesters.
He also affirmed that the killing of protesters in the past cannot go without accountability. His office announced in a statement yesterday that the Prime Minister ordered measures to secure the scheduled protests.
**Terms of the Agreement and Bloodshed Prevention**
It is noteworthy that the agreement signed last Sunday stipulated the release of all political detainees and the initiation of dialogue among all political forces to establish a constitutional conference, along with the cancellation of the army commander's decision to dismiss the Prime Minister. It also called for the expedited completion of all transitional government institutions.
The agreement included provisions for building a unified national army, as well as restructuring the Commission for the dismantling of Bashir's regime with a review of its performance. However, the signing of this agreement has raised several criticisms from Hamdok's political base, specifically various groups within the Forces of Freedom and Change, highlighting the visible divisions within these groups in recent times.
