The leader of a military junta which seized power in Sudan by forcing civilian politicians in the Transitional Government from office in October 2021 has reportedly been invited to the royal funeral. General Abdelfattah al-Burhan also has a track record in massacres and ethnic cleansing thanks to his role as as a military intelligence colonel during the genocide in Darfur in the early 2000s and his orchestration of the murder of over 100 protesters outside the military headquarters in Khartoum on 3 June 2019.

As trade unionists we are appalled that at a time when the Sudanese people continue to mobilise through protests and mass strikes against Al-Burhan’s military regime under the slogan of “no legitimacy, no partnership, no negotiations”, he is planning to visit Britain as Sudan’s “head of state”. We send a message of solidarity to Sudanese organisations protesting this invitation and affirm our continued support for the struggle for civilian rule, democracy and social justice in Sudan.

>> Watch a video of Anne Alexander from MENA Solidarity reading the letter at a protest organised by the Sudanese Communist Party in Britain and Ireland on Saturday 17 September here

>> Read the statement signed by Sudanese community organisations in the UK on Al-Burhan’s visit here

Signatories include:

National trade union officers and national organisations:

Abdelrahim Abayazeed, Sudanese Communist Party, UK and Ireland

Cecily Blyther, NEC FE Rep of Casualised Members, UCU

Mohamed Elgizouli , Secretary general, University of Khartoum Alumni Association -UK

Martin Empson, Campaign Against Climate Change (pc)

Penny Gower, Edinburgh College EIS branch secretary, EIS-FELA national executive, EIS

David Hughes, Local Government Service Group Executive , UNISON

Bee Hughes, National executive committee Equality – LGBT+ Higher Education, UCU

Katherine Igidbashian, Young member rep NEC, British Dietetic Association

Gawain Little, National Executive member, National Education Union

Rhiannon Lockley, NEC, UCU

Richard McEwan , National Executive Committee member UCU, Branch Secretary Poplar UCU

Matt Perry, NEC & Vice chair Newcastle University UCU (personal capacity), UCU

Emma Rose, NEU Senior Vice President, NEU

Louise Regan, National officer, NEU

Sean Wallis, UCL branch president, NEC member, UCU

Saira Weiner, LJMU branch secretary, NEC member UCU

Regional and local trade union officers:

George Arthur, Secretary , Barnsley TUC

Pete Bicknell, London Region FE Secretary, UCU

Ryan Burns, Branch Chair, University of Brighton UCU

Pat Carmody, Oxford SE/6232 Branch Committee , Unite

Tom Connolly, Branch Secretary, UNISON City of Edinburgh

Emma Davis, Sheffield District VP,  NEU

Katrina Faccenda, Women’s Office (Scottish Divisional Council), TSSA

David Fellows, Chair. Retired members section, Unison. East Sussex Area Branch

Jack Fellows, Branch Secretary , FBU

Nicola Field, Branch committee member (pc), Kingston University

Paul Filby, Vice Chair, construction branch, Unite

Audrey Glover, Membership Secretary Lancaster and Morecambe NEU, National Education Union

Donny Gluckstein, EIS-FELA National Executive member

Julio C Gonzalez , Membership Secretary, job-share , Oxford District Labour Party

Jake Hall, Branch treasurer , Unite

Simon Hester, Chair, Hastings & District Trades Union Council

Margot Hill, Branch Secretary, Croydon College UCU

Michael Hogg, RMT Regional organiser Scotland, RMT

Christian Hogsbjerg, Treasurer, University of Brighton UCU

Donal Hurley, Local Association President, Educational Institute of Scotland

Cee Jackson, Former shop steward , Automotive industry

Steve Johnston, Leeds TUC treasurer, Unite

Peter Jones, Branch Secretary , EIS Fela

Sally Kincaid , Joint District Secretary Wakefield, NEU

Allan King, Vice convener for H&S Place CEC and shop steward , UNISON

Dick Langford , Retired Unite Rep, Unite

Jackie Lederer, Unite Community  Branch Secretary , PCS ARMS and Unite Community

Mary Littlefield , Branch Secretary Norfolk Unite Community , Unite

Des Loughney, Secretary, Edinburgh TUC

David Lowe, Branch Secretary Wigan Trades Council , UNISON

Tamzyn Macfarlane , Sustainability officer, Unison

Neil McAlister, Chair GMMH UNISON Branch , GMMH UNISON Branch

John McLoughlin, Branch Secretary, UNISON Tower Hamlets

Ian Mullen , Health and Safety Officer, UNISON City of Edinburgh Branch

Alison Murphy, Local Association Secretary , Educational Institute of Scotland  – Edinburgh Local Association

John Murphy, Vice-chair, Gt Mcr UNITE community branch

Arthur Nicoll, Co-chair , Dundee City UNISON

Pól Ó Ceallaigh, Secretary, Oxford & District Trades Union Council

Paddy O’Keeffe, Trades Council Delegate, Equity

Kieran Picken , District Secretary, Derby City , NEU

Susan Piper, MEU ISO, NEU

Martin Ralph, branch committee and VP Liverpool TUC, UCU

Claire Robertson, Chairperson , Edinburgh Trade Union Council

Mark Sage, Branch International Officer , UNISON

Miriam Scharf, Newham NEU International solidarity officer , NEU

Atif Seedahmed, Education coordinator officer , Unison

Dave Sherry,  Vice Chair Glasgow Unite RM Branch, Unite

Rana Shihadah, District Officer, NEU

Martin Short, District International Solidarity Officer, NEU

Roddy Slorach, Branch secretary, Imperial College  UCU , UCU

Graeme Smith, Branch convener, Unite the Union City of Edinburgh Council branch

Terence Sullivan, President, Islington, NEU

Tony Staunton, Secretary, CND Plymouth

Martin Thurlow, Branch Chair, UNISON

Susan Tibbles , Branch secretary job share – Administration , UNISON Oxford University & Colleges

Peter Tyack, Rep, Unite

Steve West, PCS DWP Group Assistant Secretary, Branch Secretary PCS DWP Edinburgh, Lothian & Borders, PCS

Jon Woods, Branch Chair, Portsmouth City UNISON

Trade union members and individual signatories

Nassir Abdelgabar, Isam Abdelkarim, Amir Abdelrahim, Khalid Abdoun, Sudan Doctors in UK, NHS Naser Abrahim, Birmingham Sudanese, Salah Abudabeeb, Doctor, Abubaker Abureda, Mogammed Adam, Shareef Ahmed, Wail Ahmed, SDU UK/ BMA Member, Mazin Ahmed, Alaeldien Ahmed , Mawya Ali, Lamiaa Altiraifi , Housewife Hiba Babiker, Sara BENALI , Ruth Bennett,  NEU (retired), Kambiz Boomla, BMA, Shirley Boyt, Member, Unite, Claudia Campbell, Member, Unison, Graham Checkley, Community member, Unite, John Connon , UNISON, Caroline Conway, Unite Community Bradford Branch, Ahmed Elbadawi , Writer, Ali, Eldawi, Sales Assistant, Mohamed, Eldawi, Sales Assistant Walyeldin Elfakey, Sudan Doctors Syndicate Mohamed Elnour, Sudanese engineering Hafiz Elshazali, Member , British Medical Association Nazar Eltahir Marya Elzain, Sharon Fell, Chris Flanagan, Unison Penny Foskett , NEU Jack Foster, Unite Mohayden Hagger, Hisham Hamdalla , Member, Sudan Doctors Union UK Kawther,Hamed, Sudanese Women’s union U.K Omer Hammam, Julia Hammond, Unison Abdel Haroun, Member, BMA Ali Hassan, Omer Hassan, Paul Holborow , UCU Julie Hope, UNITE Yagoub Houd, Rob Hoveman, Unite Ekhlas Husien, Assistant Professor , University of Kasala Nayla Hussein, Celia, Hutchison, Prospect Anjum, Ibrahem, Salah Ibrahim , Elmutwakil Ibrhim , Taissir, Idris, member, Sudanese Doctors Union, Durria Khair, Member , Mansam women group. Mawahib Khairi , Mohamed Khalifa, Moataz Khalifa, Member, Sudanese Doctors Union of Ireland Limia Khalifa, Doaa Khalil , Mike Killian, UNISON Anna Lilley, Gabby Macpherson, UNITE Amani, Mahgoub, Nasir Mahmoud, Sandy Martung, Member, UNISON Carolyn McGrath, Member, NEU Robyn  Mcsharry , Member Unite, ELFATIH MOHAMED, Member, Sudan Doctors Union, Martin Moore, Yasir Muhammed SDU Jan Nielsen , NEU, RANDA OMER, DOCTOR , NHS, Anwar Osman , Hospital Doctor , GMC, Megan Povey, University of Leeds, AbdelRahman Murtada Ramadan, KATHRYN RIMMINGTON, RETIRED MEMBER, UCU Nidal Saad, Elhabeeb Eltalib Ahmedai Saeed, Mahmoud Bushra Saeed , BMA Adam Shaiku, Abdelhfiz Shanan, KHALID SIDAHMED, Member , UNITE Sjoerd Smit , Unite Suad Sulaiman, Member , Sudanese researchers Mona Sulieman, Member , Sudan doctors union Abdo Traifi, Consultant, NHS Carol Williams, Unison Huw Williams, Unison Ismail Yagoub, Human rights activist , Freelance Samah Yousif, Ahmed Yousif , Member , SDU Tawfik Ziada, MOHAMMED GAMIE, Journalist, Sudanese Journalists’ Syndicate, Gary Blyth,Unite Community Mohamed Abdalla , SDUI, Ulster hospital Belfast, Ihsan Eltom, Member, UCU, Stephanie Hunter, Member, Unite, Esraa Elnaiem, John Sinha,Unite Communities, Rania Obead , David Bridge, Unison (retired) Stuart Payne, Member, PCS William Phillips,  , Pharmacy Defense Association Andy Coles, UCU (retired), Julie Hodgetts, Nuha Abdelwahab , HASSAN ELBAKRI,Sudanese Community in the Czech Republic Ümit Yildiz UCU Rachael Smith, Unison, Green Party Frank Mcentaggart, None, Chair, Defend our NHS Wirral Mustafa Orman , David Gardner, Fawzia, Osman, Member of the Sudanese community in Edinburgh Sakina Mekki,  Ammar Sirag, Karen Fletcher, Unite Peter Mcgahan,Unite Paul Browne Member, UNITE Ibrahim Elnigomi, Kamal Ahmed , Philip Gasper,AFT Local 243 (Madison, WI, USA) Niko Chike