Khartoum, Sudan
January 3, 2022—Speech of the Prime Minister, Dr. Abdullah Hamdouk on the sixty-sixth anniversary of independence and the third of the Glorious December Revolution.
Oh great Sudanese people, Peace, mercy and blessings of God Almighty.
In the beginning, glory and eternity to our righteous martyrs, speedy recovery for the wounded and injured, the victorious return of the missing, and security, peace and stability for the displaced and Sudanese refugees in all parts of the earth and citizens in all corners of the beloved homeland. Today I look at you on the sixty-sixth anniversary of our country’s independence, which also coincides with the third anniversary of the glorious December Revolution. On such days in 1956, the Sudanese crowned the journey of their long struggle with a deserved independence whose meanings were confirmed by the October 1964 revolution, the April 1985 uprising, and the December 2018 revolution, in which millions of sons and daughters of the Sudanese people left; Singing chanting that break through the sky, they chant for freedom, peace and justice in a peaceful revolution that stunned the world. The password and the code in all these revolutions and their success has been unity (unity of vision and purpose).
Honorable citizens, The transitional government faced enormous challenges; The most important of these are the distortion of the national economy, the stifling international isolation, corruption and debts that exceed sixty billion dollars, the deterioration of the civil service, education and health, and the erosion of the social fabric that appeared in the war in Darfur, South Kordofan and Blue Nile and other difficulties that faced the national march. All of these challenges have been dealt with by the transitional government since its first dawn. However, with a collective effort with the loyal sons of the country, we have been able to achieve some achievements in the field of peace, where we signed the Juba peace agreement with a number of armed oppositions.
Despite the obstacles encountered in implementing this agreement; However, it has contributed to silencing the sound of the gun, and reviving hope for millions of refugees and displaced people in displacement camps of the poor who sleep on the ground and cover the sky under all conditions and climate fluctuations from cold, heat and rain, suffering from hunger, disease, malnutrition of children, lack of education and all the necessities of a decent life, and providing opportunities for national recovery and sustainable peace. We have exerted our efforts to extend freedoms by abolishing laws restricting freedoms, and to extricate our country from its international isolation, to remove it from the list of state sponsors of terrorism, and to reintegrate it into the international community. We have presented many packages of structural adjustments in the economy, and we have entered into the initiative to write off the debts of the heavily indebted poor countries; It was hoped that 90% of Sudan’s debt, which exceeded $60 billion, would be forgiven when the completion point was reached.
Our approach has always been dialogue and consensus in resolving all issues. We succeeded in some cases and failed in others. O great and generous Sudanese people, I kept saying that our people have achieved miracles, throughout their history, when their will and purpose were united; All these revolutions were realized by the collective will. What is worth mentioning here is that my acceptance of the assignment to the post of Prime Minister in August 2019 was on the basis of a constitutional document and political consensus between the civilian and military components, which I preached as a unique Sudanese model, but it did not survive with the same degree of commitment and harmony with which it began. In addition, the accelerating pace of divergence and division between the two partners, which was reflected on all components of the government and society, which affected the performance and effectiveness of the state at various levels. What is more dangerous is that the repercussions of these divisions reach society and its various components. The speech of hatred, treason and non-recognition of the other appeared to be falling on deaf ears and the dialogue between all parties was blocked.
All this made the transition process fragile and full of obstacles and challenges. Accordingly, we initiated a number of initiatives, including the Prime Minister’s initiative (National Crisis and Transition Issues – The Way Forward) last June, which fell on deaf ears; Then came the road map on October 15, 2021, which contained ideas and hopes to reject division and diaspora; to desist from the language of defamation and treason; Stopping the escalation between the various parties, sitting down for dialogue and discussion, and putting the nation’s interest above all interests. Then came the initiative of the Crisis Committee (6+1) on October 18, calling for a dialogue between all components of the government and the forces of the revolution, which also went unheeded.
Even after the October 25 coup, we signed a framework agreement with the military component in an attempt to restore the trajectory of civil democratic transformation; Averting bloodshed, releasing detainees, preserving the achievements made in the past two years, and adhering to the constitutional document governing the transition. That agreement was nothing but another attempt to bring the parties to the dialogue table, and to agree on a charter to accomplish the remainder of the transitional period according to specific goals known to all.
It is the implementation of the Juba Peace Agreement and reaching peace with the two leaders Abdel Aziz Adam Al-Hilu and Abdel-Wahed Mohamed Ahmed Al-Nur; concern for the economy and people’s livelihood; establishing security, resolving civil conflicts and security breaches, achieving community peace in all parts of Sudan, and preparing for elections in accordance with a consensual vision between all parties of the electoral law and the system of government; and various constitutional issues in order to lay a solid foundation for civil and democratic transformation; The dream that tens of thousands of sons and daughters of our country paid a price for, and this has not been achieved either. O rebellious Sudanese people,,,* You asked for the highest goals of freedom, peace and justice, and you paid the dowry for that with pure blood that poured this pure land. And to the young women and men in the resistance committees, you did well and your steadfastness was inspiring and you shaped the features of a new Sudan, a Sudan in which there is no discrimination on the basis of tribe, color or party.
