The agreement between deposed Sudanese Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok, and the leaders of the military coup which overthrew his government on 25 October has been angrily rejected by major networks of Resistance Committees, the neighbourhood-based revolutionary organisations which have been leading resistance to the military takeover. “This agreement means nothing, we continue to hold to our position: no negotiations, no participation, no settlement”, a statement signed by coordinating committees linking Resistance Committees in Khartoum City, Bahri, Greater Omdurman, South East Nile and El-Haj Youssef said on 22 November. “We call on revolutionaries and the masses of our people to rally round the leadership of the revolution in the streets, represented by the Resistance Committees and the neighbourhoods, until the goals of the revolution are met by the downfall of the coup and the installation of a popular, civilian transitional authority.” 

The agreement which was announced on Sunday, reinstates Hamdok as Prime Minister, but leaves the power of the generals who arrested him, and ordered troops into the streets in an attempt to crush protests, untouched. General Abdelfattah al-Burhan will remain at the head of the Sovereign Council which oversees the work of the Transitional Government and vets the appointment of ministers. General Mohamed Dagalo (Hemedti) who commands the brutal Rapid Support Forces militia has been confirmed as al-Burhan’s deputy. 

The Sudanese Professionals Association, a coalition of trade unions and professional bodies which played a major role in the popular uprising against the former dictator Omar el-Bashir in 2019 said in a statement on 21 November: 

“This treasonous agreement is totally and completely rejected: it concerns only its signatories. … The agreement meets the declared goals of the putschists by empowering the remnants of the old regime and perpetuating the authority of el-Bashir’s murderous Security Committee. It is a betrayal of the blood of the martyrs.” 

Sudanese Professionals Association

Activists working to rebuild the Sudanese trade union movement have also spoken out against the deal. The Sudanese Workers’ Alliance for the Restoration of Trade Unions (SWARTU) said in a statement on its Facebook page “Whoever wants a truce now wants to save al-Burhan, not protect the revolution.” Repression in the streets has intensified in recent days, with around a dozen young protesters killed on the streets of Bahri on 17 November, bringing the total dead since the coup to over 40. 

The workplaces have also been targeted by the military in a bid to install their supporters in positions of power. Twenty-five independent unions released a joint statement on 18 November documenting some of these abuses, including the arrest and detention of the president of El Gezira University, the arrest of the head of the trade union for Nyala University teaching staff, the arrest and torture of teachers in Kosti, White Nile State, and the arrest of workers and managers at the Sudapet oil company, including the chair of the preliminary committee of independent oil workers’ union Petro-Energy. 

Activists are mobilising for another round of major demonstrations on 25 November, marking one month since the coup and remembering protesters slain by the military.

What you can do: 

• Pass this resolution in your union branch
• Sign our open letter from trade unionists and activists against the coup in Sudan https://www.change.org/NocoupinSudan
• Rush protests to the Sudanese Embassy in London, calling on the military to immediately cease all forms of repression and restore civilian rule. https://www.sudan-embassy.co.uk/contact/
• Join local protests organised by Sudanese activists