Sudanese Opposition Describes Burhan’s Speech as ‘Positive’

Head of Sudan’s Transitional Sovereign Council Abdel Fattah al-Burhan delivers a speech at the conclusion of a military training at Almaaqil area in the River Nile State. (Getty Images)
Head of Sudan’s Transitional Sovereign Council Abdel Fattah al-Burhan delivers a speech at the conclusion of a military training at Almaaqil area in the River Nile State. (Getty Images)
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Sudanese Opposition Describes Burhan’s Speech as ‘Positive’

Head of Sudan’s Transitional Sovereign Council Abdel Fattah al-Burhan delivers a speech at the conclusion of a military training at Almaaqil area in the River Nile State. (Getty Images)
Head of Sudan’s Transitional Sovereign Council Abdel Fattah al-Burhan delivers a speech at the conclusion of a military training at Almaaqil area in the River Nile State. (Getty Images)

A leader in Sudan's opposition Forces of Freedom and Change (FFC) coalition has described a speech delivered by head of the Sovereign Transitional Council Abdel Fattah al-Burhan earlier this week as a “positive step” that paves the way for an inclusive political process.

Burhan’s speech has sparked a debate. Some political groups considered it a step toward resolving the political crisis, while others saw it as a tactic to cause political confusion.

Secretary-General of the National Umma Party Al-Wathiq al-Barir told Asharq Al-Awsat that the opposition forces hope Burhan takes actual steps that would pave the way for a credible transitional government accepted by the Sudanese people.

He affirmed the forces' adherence to the return to the civilian transitional rule.

Speaking to soldiers at an army base north of Khartoum on Sunday, Burhan confirmed that talks on a new political framework for the country were ongoing.

He slammed the regime of ousted President Omar al-Bashir and warned it in harsh words not to interfere with the military or in politics.

“We will join hands with anyone who wants to rescue this country,” he said, adding that he would not agree to anything that leads to the breakup of the military.

Burhan denied that the army supported Bashir's National Congress Party.

“We warn those that want to hide behind the army, and specifically the National Congress Party and the Islamist Movement,” he said.

Former member of the 1989 Revolutionary Command Council for National Salvation Brigadier General Salaheddine Karrar said Burhan’s speech sent a strong message that Sudan’s Islamist Movement and the dissolved National Congress Party have no future in ruling Sudan.

He added in an audio recording that the next settlement will be fully arranged by the US administration, noting that the Islamists and the far-left, represented by the Communist Party and the Arab parties, will be excluded.

Meanwhile, the tripartite mechanism - the United Nations, the African Union, and the Intergovernmental Authority on Development - continued consultations with political forces other than the FFC.

The tripartite mechanism convened with the Democratic Unionist Party, the National Congress Party and the Sudanese Professionals Association.

The Association backed the tripartite mechanism’s efforts, stressed that the remnants of the former regime shouldn’t take part in the transitional period, highlighted the necessity of reforming the security and military, and insisted on resisting impunity.

Sources told Asharq Al-Awsat that the tripartite mechanism is holding final consultations after reviewing the comments of the army commanders on the draft constitution, drawn up by the Sudanese Bar Association.



Israel Demolishes Seven Palestinian Homes in East Jerusalem

A picture shows a view of the Al-Aqsa Mosque complex (top L) across from the Arab town of Silwan on the hill with its al-Bustan neighborhood (C) in Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem on November 5, 2024. (AFP)
A picture shows a view of the Al-Aqsa Mosque complex (top L) across from the Arab town of Silwan on the hill with its al-Bustan neighborhood (C) in Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem on November 5, 2024. (AFP)
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Israel Demolishes Seven Palestinian Homes in East Jerusalem

A picture shows a view of the Al-Aqsa Mosque complex (top L) across from the Arab town of Silwan on the hill with its al-Bustan neighborhood (C) in Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem on November 5, 2024. (AFP)
A picture shows a view of the Al-Aqsa Mosque complex (top L) across from the Arab town of Silwan on the hill with its al-Bustan neighborhood (C) in Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem on November 5, 2024. (AFP)

Municipal workers began demolishing seven homes in occupied east Jerusalem's Silwan neighborhood on Tuesday, Palestinian residents and the municipality said, after an Israeli court called their construction illegal.

"This morning the Jerusalem Municipality, with a security escort from the Israel police, began its enforcement against illegal buildings in the Al-Bustan neighborhood in Silwan," Jerusalem's Israeli-controlled city hall said in a statement.

Activist Fakhri Abu Diab, one of those affected by the demolition, confirmed that "at least seven homes have been demolished, and the operation is ongoing".

He said that both houses and apartments were affected.

"They demolished my home, which I had renovated after it was previously demolished earlier this year, as well as my son's house, Haitham Ayed's family home, and four homes belonging to the Al-Ruwaidi family," Abu Diab told AFP.

He said around "40 people, including children, were affected by the demolitions in the neighborhood, leaving them homeless".

An AFP photographer saw at least four bulldozers operating on Tuesday at demolition sites in the neighborhood under tight Israeli police supervision.

In a statement, Jerusalem city hall pointed to court orders that call for the demolition of the buildings due to zoning laws that make them illegal.

However, Palestinian residents and activists accuse the municipality of concealing its true intentions.

"The buildings, like most of the buildings in the neighborhood, are located on an area that is a green designation, that is, an open public area and where there is no possibility for zoning," the municipality said, adding that the area would become a green zone instead.

Abu Diab said the true aim of the demolitions was "to reduce the percentage of Arabs and alter the demographic composition of Jerusalem in favor of (Israeli) settlers", connecting them to west Jerusalem.

Israel "is above international law, has escaped accountability, and is exploiting global focus on the wars in Gaza and Lebanon and the US elections", he said.

Israel occupied east Jerusalem in 1967 and later annexed it in a move not recognized by the international community.

Some 230,000 Israeli settlers live in east Jerusalem, according to the United Nations. Another 3,000 live in Palestinian neighborhoods within east Jerusalem's boundaries, according to Israeli rights organization Peace Now.