1- The Muslim Brotherhood of Sudan calls on Al-Bashir to stop the bloodshed in the country

The Secretary General of the Sudanese Muslim Brotherhood, Awadallah Hasan, called on the President of Sudan, Omar Hassan Al-Bashir, to stop the ongoing bloodshed by declaring a set of procedures that could end the crisis happening in the country. In a statement made on the 18th of January, Hasan urged the political powers, the Sudan Scholar Corporation, and all armed and regular forces “to take their due responsibilities towards Sudan and their people and to overcome all disputes and conflicts.”

Since last December, a number of Sudanese cities have been witnessing widespread protests driven by anger over steep price rises. However, following the death of more than 40 persons, according to statements issued by some local organizations, the protests’ demands have quickly turned into a call to overthrow the regime. The Secretary General of the Sudanese Muslim Brotherhood has made his statement under the slogan “our peacefulness is stronger than bullets.” This slogan was first raised by Mohammed Badie, the Supreme Guide of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, during Rabaa protests, which took place in 2013 to object the overthrow  of the President Mohamed Morsi as the first democratically elected civil president after the revolution of January 2011.

Using a sharper tone, the Political Secretary of the Sudanese Muslim Brotherhood, Sami Yusuf Abu Fadaya, has declared his repudiation of the ruling system while warning about the possibility of “the deterioration of the situation in case the demands of the people were not met.” Abu Fadaya has also pointed at the propositions suggested by the National Front for Change, which is an umbrella group of political powers comprising the Muslim Brotherhood- which could ensure a secure resolution of the current situation. These propositions include the appointment of a “transitional government” led by a sovereign council, where the political actors run the new transitional period by initiating a commission to prepare for the elections at the end of this period as well as creating a commission for reconciliation and justice.

2- The Tunisian Islamist party Ennahda calls on the government and the Union of Labour to resume the negotiations

Ennahda party has announced its regrets over the failure of the negotiations between the government on the one side and the Union of Labour on the other. Rached Al-Ghannouchi, the head of Ennahda party, stated on Saturday the 19th of January that “the general strike, that took place last Thursday with the participation of more than 650, 000 public servants, took place in a way that honoured Tunisia and its revolution.” Al-Ghannouchi added: “We hope that the negotiations resume between the government and the Union as soon as possible, especially that the strikers demanded what we all agree on; the right to live in dignity and the need of the government to balance its budget taking into consideration the general social situation in the country.” He also stressed out his party’s pride of the gains of the Jasmine Revolution, which was the sparkle of the fire of Arab Spring in 2011. Al-Ghannouchi pointed in his statement at the right to strike as one of the main gains. This right, which has been used as a legitimate tool for resistance by all citizens in the realm of freedom and the democratic practices, has been constitutionally guaranteed along with the right to work, calling the people of Tunisia to “regenerate the work culture as to instill the necessity of working in themselves and to support the acts of solidarity to lessen the extent of consequences of blocking the public services and offices.” Al-Ghannouchi also valued the adoption of the social security law by the Tunisian parliament, highlighting its ability to determine the state’s duty towards vulnerable social classes. However, he criticized what he called “free altercations” that happened between the MPs during the parliamentary debate over this law and considered this incidence as denigrating to the legislative power and to all political actors.

Last year, a draft of the social security program was proposed last year under the framework of The National Strategy on the Reduction of Poverty, Provision of Medical Care for the Poor and Promotion of Social Inclusion by the year 2020. In addition to that, the Tunisian National institute of statistics has identified the number of people living in poverty in the country by nearly million and 694 thousand.

3- The Muslim Brotherhood of Syria: the re-election of Mohamed Hikmat Walid as a General Comptroller for an additional four-year term

The Shura Council of the Syrian Muslim Brotherhood has announced the re-election of Mohamed Hikmat Walid as a General Comptroller for an additional four years.

In another context, the Syrian Muslim Brotherhood has condemned the decision of some Arab countries to renormalize the political relations with Damascus. It has declared in its statement issued Sunday the 13th of January, that this regrettable step comes from some Arab countries in the moment when millions of Syrians, who suffered from the oppression and repression of the Assad regime, were waiting from these countries to take a step forward to overthrow this regime and end its crimes and to implement the United Nation resolutions in what could serve in the democratic transition and the building of the future Syria without Bashar Al-Assad and his regime. The statement continues: “we, the Muslim Brotherhood of Syria, deny this political step that supports Assad and his regime, and assure that supporting the persistence of this regime in power means supporting the Iranian expansionist project and supporting extremism and terrorism in the region.” This statement comes after the UAE and Bahrain announced in last December the resumption of their diplomatic and trade relations with Damascus and Jordan appointed last Tuesday Chargé d’affaires at the Jordanian Embassy in Damascus, while Saudi Arabia had yet to make its decision in this regard.

4-The Islamic Action Front (IAF) requested the trial of the signers of the gas agreement with Israel

The Secretary General of the Islamic Action Front, Murad al-Adayla, requested the trial of the Jordanian authorities who signed the agreement of gas exportation from Israel to Jordan. Al-Adayla stated that “this agreement has placed heavy economic burdens on Jordan which will be borne by the citizens themselves, especially that its penalty clause could cost the state treasury more than 1.2 billion dinar. Al-Adayla also emphasized the support of the Islamic Action Front to the campaign against this agreement which he described as “a political project of normalization [with Israel] that aims to make normalization sneak into each and every home.”

Al-Adayla’s statement was made during the conference of the “Jordanian National Campaign to Revoke the Gas Agreement with the Zionist Entity,” conducted as the agreement was delivered to the Jordanian parliament for discussion and approval.