Al-Burhan: Sudan's Relations with "Israel" to Take "Natural Form"
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Normalization was "essential to reintroduce Sudan to the world community," argues Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, who led the October coup.
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Sudan’s top general Abdel Fattah al-Burhan.
Sudan’s top general, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, has said that "Sudan’s relationship with "Israel" may eventually take a natural form."
Normalization with "Israel" is "essential to return Sudan to the world community," al-Burhan said in an interview on Friday.
See this: Sudan, a History of Coups
Al-Burhan seized power and detained Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok on October 25. Following international condemnation and mass protests, he reinstated the PM nearly a month later, in a deal that many in the pro-democracy movement opposed.
Anti-coup demonstrations have taken place in Khartoum and other places around Sudan, demanding that the armed forces remain out of governance. Sudanese security forces have reacted violently to the protests, killing dozens of people.
Al-Burhan said that the deal with Hamdok "was a real beginning of a transitional period in the country," claiming that "many of the tasks of the transitional period have not been accomplished by political forces."
"The entire Sudanese people support our decisions, and some elites reject them."
- Sudanese general Abdel Fattah al-Burhan
Al-Burhan maintained that he did not seek to lead the country and would not run for the Sudanese presidency, saying: "I have a specific mission that I am committed to before the people and the army, which is to complete the transitional period. I will not run for the presidency even if I am asked to do so. My mission ends with the end of the transitional period."
Regarding the killed protesters, the general said the peaceful demonstration was "a right guaranteed to all," that fatalities were "unacceptable, and we will hold those involved accountable."
According to the Israeli news site Walla, an Israeli delegation visited Sudan following the coup. The delegation, which allegedly included representatives from the Mossad spy agency, met with Abdel Rahim Hamdan Dagalo, a prominent general in the Rapid Support Forces, a Sudanese paramilitary force that took part in the coup.
Last year, the Sudanese military took a more active role in pushing normalization with "Israel". Al-Burhan had been the more visible figure in "Israel's" normalization attempts.
