Sudan won’t get elected national government through protests, says chief of staff

An elected national government Sudan will not be achieved by calls for protests and sabotage, the Sudanese chief of staff, Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan, said yesterday. The de facto head of state made his comments days after the Sudan’s foreign minister summoned the UN representative, Volker Peretz, following his statement about popular demonstrations today to demand civilian rule.

“The armed forces will not sacrifice their duty to achieve and sustain the security and stability of Sudan,” insisted Al-Burhan. He added that they are “looking forward to the day of having an elected national government to run the country.”

He stressed that there is no objection per se to exercising the right of free expression through peaceful demonstrations that preserve public and private property and do not harm the interests of other citizens. “The only way [for an elected government] is either through comprehensive national consensus or elections, but not by calls for protests and sabotage.”

Sudan has been witnessing popular protests since the former head of the Sovereignty Council of Sudan declared a state of emergency on 25 October and dissolved the council, parliament and the cabinet.

Al-Burhan has repeatedly rejected international condemnation and denied the allegations that his move was a coup. He has said that the measures were aimed at “correcting the course of the transitional phase.”

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