On Wednesday 17 April, the European Union paid tribute to the people of Sudan who have shown "extraordinary courage and determination” in their quest for peaceful change, which led to "the willingness of the Transitional Military Council to engage in negotiations with all political forces”.
These are the words of a statement issued by the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Federica Mogherini, stressing that the transition from power to a civilian transitional government is the only way to allow for "a peaceful, credible and inclusive political process to meet the aspirations of the Sudanese society”. In this regard, the EU welcomes the position of the African Union Peace and Security Council and assures its readiness to provide immediate support measures to a civilian transitional authority as soon as it is in place.
The High Representative, who appeared before the European Parliament to take stock of the situation in Sudan, said on Tuesday 16 April that the EU was in line with the African Union's position and would under no circumstances recognise the legitimacy of a military government. She received the full support of MEPs, who, like her, called for an immediate civil transition and an inclusive process that would fulfil the legitimate aspirations of the Sudanese people.
"It is clear that, without a true transition, the crisis in Sudan is likely to continue. To prevent such scenario, there has to be a swift handover to a civilian transitional government, with real decision-making authority. This would open the way for a peaceful, credible and inclusive political process – to finally address the Sudanese people’s demand for political and economic reforms”, the High Representative said.
She announced that the EU "fully supports" the African Union, which, the day before, had demanded that the immediate handover of power to a civilian-led transitional authority take place within 15 days and that it lead to an inclusive and consultative process to agree on the exact modalities of the transition towards free, fair and transparent elections. “As long as this is not the case, the European Union will not recognise the legitimacy of the Transitional Military Council”, she said, adding that the EU is ready to support the civilian transition as soon as it is in place.
MEPs all supported a civil transition and many, like Joachim Zeller (EPP, Germany) and Enrique Guerrero Salom ( S&D, Spain), called for a coherent position by Member States and with the help of the European External Action Service to prevent the risk of "Sudan becoming a second Libya”. The severity of the humanitarian crisis, with six million people on the verge of starvation and more than one million refugees, was also highlighted.
Many MEPs, including Marietje Schaake (ALDE, Netherlands), called for the dictator Al Bashir to be brought before the International Criminal Court. Marie-Christine Vergiat (GUE/NGL, France) called for a review of financial flows to Sudan and compliance with the arms embargo. (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)