The United Nations, Sudanese civil society and Western countries have warned supporters of the regime of Sudan’s ousted president Omar al-Bashir against obstructing a political settlement in the country.
They strongly rejected an attack on the Bar Association in Khartoum, considering it an attempt to sabotage the planned political process.
A group of lawyers loyal to Bashir’s regime attacked on Tuesday the headquarters of the Bar Association in an attempt to seize it.
The attack was sparked by a decision to dissolve the Association’s steering committee, which had recently developed the proposal for a transitional constitution that was publicly welcomed in Sudan and abroad.
The Committee rejected its dissolving decision, which was issued by head of the Transitional Sovereign Council Abdel Fattah al-Burhan’s Appeals Committee.
The attackers deemed the Committee’s decision an automatic restoration of their Association, which was formed during Bashir’s rule but dissolved after the December 2018 revolution.
Ambassadors of the Troika (Norway, the United States and the United Kingdom) issued a joint statement condemning the attack against the Bar Association and called on the government to create conditions conducive for an inclusive political dialogue.
They deemed “unacceptable” resorting to violence to settle legal or political disputes, stressing that this case appears to have been intended to disrupt efforts to foster an inclusive dialogue to help reach agreement on a new civilian-led government.
“The Troika stands against those who refuse to accept the Sudanese people’s calls for freedom, peace, and justice and who thwart progress towards a political agreement and civilian-led government,” the statement read, noting that any attacks on freedom of speech and assembly are unacceptable.
The Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General in Sudan and Head of the UN Integrated Transition Assistance Mission in Sudan (UNITAMS), Volker Perthes, said he was “deeply concerned” by the attack.
“I strongly condemn the attack and any act of violence to settle political or legal disputes,” he said in a statement on Wednesday.
“The steering committee, irrespective of its legal status, has played an important role in advocating for an inclusive discourse in the context of the current political process.”
The attack against the Association’s office is a clear signal sent against ongoing efforts to reach an acceptable consensus among political forces and the military towards a genuine democratic transition in Sudan, Perthes stressed.
