Protest leader: Normalising ties with Israel will not pay off Sudan’s debts




Normalising relations with Israel will not leave Sudan exempt from paying off its external debts, a leader in the Forces of Freedom and Change (FFC) said on Monday.

Speaking to the Sudan Tribune, member of the economic committee in the country’s protest movement, Tijani Hussein, said: “Normalising relations with Israel will not exempt Sudan from paying off its external debts,” adding that “the components of the Forces of Freedom and Change coalition as well as the forces affiliated with the left and right wings have firmly rejected the normalization file, while other parties, including the Socialist Republican party, support it.”



Recent news reports have revealed that senior Sudanese officials have conducted decisive talks with their counterparts from the US and UAE over signing a normalisation deal with Israel and have asked for economic support in return.

Reportedly, Sudan is asking for oil and wheat shipments worth $1.2 billion to cope with recent devastating floods, a $2 billion grant to deal with Sudan’s economic crisis and a commitment of economic support from the US and the UAE over the next three years. It is believed the United States is trying to push Sudan to normalise with Tel Aviv in order to remove it from the list of State Sponsors of Terrorism.

The FFC leader added that “the position of those who sold their conscience and asked for money from several parties in the name of Sudan, without holding a popular referendum, is smeared with shame, humiliation and betrayal.”

Hussein mocked the political forces that support normalisation with Israel, describing them as “bubbles that can only be seen through microscope”, noting that “the historical popular Forces for Freedom and Change stand against normalisation.”

Source: Middle East Monitor