Port Sudan , March 17(Darfur 24)Assistant Army Commander Yasser Al-Atta’s announcement of the army refusal to hand over power to civilian rule during the post-war transition period sparked intense controversy on social media platforms and among pro-democracy supporters.
Addressing leaders of the National Forces Coordination at the Wadi Saydna military base in Umdurman on Saturday, assistant commander to the Sudanese army commander Yasir Al Atta said that the army would not hand over power to civilian political forces without elections.
He pointed out that during the transitional period after the war, the Commander of the Armed Forces would be the head of state, vowing to hold the leaders of Freedom and Change accountable in accordance with the law.
Leaders from the Forces of Freedom and Change launched an attack on Al-Atta, explaining that the goal of the war was for the army to continue to rule.
Freedom and Change leader Yasser Arman considered Al-Atta’s speech “a rare moment of honesty in which he revealed the true goals of this war and the intentions of those standing behind it. It was never for the sake of dignity or the homeland, but rather for the sake of restoring power and prestige by the Islamists, their affiliates, and their allies among the senior officers.” “.
He said that Yasser Al-Atta’s speech is not “new except for those who had good intentions during all stages of the December Revolution, and even after this war, in working with the military and rushing toward solutions with them, despite bitter experiences.”
Arman pointed out that Al-Atta’s statements are related to the political process and negotiations that took place in the Jeddah and Manama forums in isolation from civilians.
Arman called for the necessity of separating between ceasefire negotiations and the political process, which should not be left to the two parties to the conflict. Otherwise, “power will end in the hands of the soldiers, isolated from the people and the slogans of the December Revolution in civil and democratic terms. He who owns a gun does not write himself wretched.”
In turn, the leader of the Freedom and Change movement, Jaafar Hassan, said that Al-Atta’s statement “mentioned the naked truth, and said what others concealed among the main reasons for which they set fires everywhere.”
He added: “We knew from the first moment that one of the most important goals of this war was to remain in power, even at any cost. After their coup against the glorious December Revolution failed, and they had no other way but to shed all the blood.”
Al-Atta’s speech came hours after the Communist Party, the National Umma Party, and the Arab Socialist Baath Party revealed a draft political settlement in which the army, Rapid Support, armed movements, and civil organizations would share power for 10 years.