Sudan: new political alliance calls for end of military coup 

A new political alliance in Sudan called yesterday for an end to the military coup and the creation of a democratic state, local media have reported. The Forces for Radical Change (FRC) is led by the Sudanese Communist Party (SCP) and includes civil society groups as well as trade unions.

The SCP withdrew from the Forces for Freedom and Change (FFC) on 7 November 2020. At the time, the party accused some groups within the broad coalition of colluding with internal and external forces against the revolution.

According to Sudanese media, the new alliance hopes to bring down the coup authorities to implement radical revolutionary change. SCP Political Secretary Mohamed Mokhtar Al-Khatib said that the FRC rejects “the military institution’s interference in politics, and rejects any partnership with it.” The alliance statement stressed the need to take decisions related to all “deferred issues” and resolve them during the transitional period.

Al-Khatib added that the FFC will not be part of the new alliance because it adopted a social-political approach “that caused the destruction of national resources.” He claimed that the FFC still believes in an agreement with the military component, and ruled out the participation of the Sudanese Revolutionary Front because it is cooperating with the military. The SCP leader did not speak about the National Consensus coalition which is seen as part of the coup.

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The new alliance stressed the need for ending Sudan’s economic underdevelopment and dependence on the international community. It reiterated the importance of building a state based on citizenship, human rights, equality and justice that will maintain the just distribution of wealth.

This new political alliance means that the original FFC, established in January 2019, has been divided into three organisations: the Forces for Freedom and Change – Executive Office; the National Consensus coalition; and the Forces for Radical Change.