Sleeping snakes, Sudanese MB stands unaligned

Doaa Emam

Over four months of protests and demonstrations in Sudan, some parties clearly announced their stand since the first day of the Sudanese “Bread Revolution,” while some other preferred to hide in the safe zone, without taking side or rejecting the popular uprising.

The Popular Congress Party, the political arm of the Muslim Brotherhood in Sudan, has stood in the middle between the government and the opposition, so that it could manage its interests through all parties.

In a televised speech, Sudanese Minister of Defense Awad Mohamed Ahmed Ibn Auf announced the overthrow and detention of President Omar al-Bashir’s regime following four months of protests calling for toppling the regime.

The decisions also included the suspension of the aviation movement for 24 hours, while the ground and maritime outlets and inlets were closed until further notice.

Comprehensive ceasefire was announced all over Sudan and all political detainees were released immediately.

In an immediate reaction, leaders of the Sudanese National Congress Party called on the army leadership to immediately release the former president, threatening to take to the streets if the party leaders were arrested. While the Popular Congress Party remained silent.

Both parties were originally one party that were founded on the rubble of the Islamist front, seeking to establish an Islamic caliphate, which transcends the borders of Sudan. The Islamist party supported the jihadist movements in Eritrea, Ethiopia, and Egypt, with the aim to topple the regimes of these countries and received leaders of these organizations, including Osama Bin Laden.

The two parties split when the Muslim Brotherhood Leader in Sudan Hassan Al-Turabi dissented from the party after a disagreement with Bashir, when he demanded to limit the authorities of the president, so Bashir decided to dissolve the Parliament ion 2000. Then Turabi founded the Popular Congress Party in June 2001 and joined the opposition rows.

After the increase in accusations towards the party that it took a negative stand, especially that it was cooperating with the government at the same time it considered itself an opponent, general-secretary of the party Ali al-Haj denied that the party could be standing in the middle between the government and opposition.

Al-Haj said in an interview with Asharq Al-Awsat in response to a question about the political and economic crisis that is worsening in Sudan said that after many experiences with rulers and opposition fronts, the party is currently seeking to save what is left of the country through an open dialogue.

Political researcher Osama Abdelrahman at the Sudan Centre for Strategic Research and Studies said that the Muslim Brotherhood need to develop their political way of thinking, as they need to refrain from the appointment of a secretary-general and accept intellectual pluralism, if they want to continue in the Sudanese scene.

He added in an interview with The Reference that the Islamist movement in Sudan bears the responsibility of bringing the country into a Muslim Brotherhood ruling that lasted for 30 years, pointing out that they are part of the regime and the government that impoverished the country.

The Sudanese researcher, that the Brotherhood will deal with the military institution with caution during the transitional period. It is likely that the popular movement will continue until things become clear about the formation of the transitional council, to make sure the old regime do not get represented, especially that the defense minister was a supporter of Bashir himself.