Sudan Junta Agrees to Form Civilian-Military Council

Date: 28 April 2019 - 21:56

News ID: ۶۵۳۲۵

KHARTOUM (Reuters) -- Sudan’s military rulers and opposition agreed in principle to the formation of a joint body to lead a transition from 30 years of autocratic rule by Omar al-Bashir, but not on the new council’s make-up, two sources said.
The two sides were holding their first formal discussions as opposition groups and protesters push for a rapid handover to civilian rule following Bashir’s fall earlier this month.
Sudan’s Transitional Military Council (TMC), which ousted and arrested Bashir after months of protests, has said it will rule for up to two years ahead of elections.
Anti-Bashir opposition groups and protesters who have kept up a sit-in outside the Defense Ministry want a civilian-led transitional council with military representation.
Opposition groups and activists are represented by an umbrella group called the Declaration of Freedom and Change Forces, which held two meetings with the TMC on Saturday. Both sides expressed optimism after an initial session around the middle of the day.
After a second, evening session, the sources said there was agreement over the formation of a joint council, but not over how many seats either side should have.
The TMC has arrested some former officials, announced anti-corruption measures and promised to give executive authority to a civilian government. But it has signaled that ultimate authority would remain in its hands, leaving protesters frustrated.
Bashir was overthrown after 16 weeks of protests triggered by a deepening economic crisis. He is being held along with other former officials at Khartoum’s Kobar prison.
The International Criminal Court (ICC) has indicted Bashir for alleged war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide in the western Sudanese region of Darfur, charges he denies.
On Saturday Sadiq al-Mahdi, the veteran leader of Sudan’s opposition Umma Party, which is part of the Declaration of Freedom and Change Forces, said he thought Sudan should join the court.
The military council has previously suggested that Bashir would be tried in Sudan, where the public prosecutor has already begun investigating him, according to a judicial source.
Separately, the Declaration of Freedom and Change Forces condemned a reported raid on a meeting of the Popular Congress Party, which was allied to Bashir before turning against him.
The alliance said in a statement that though the party bore responsibility for what had happened over the past 30 years, there was "no place for the exclusion of rights by force in the nation that our fearless revolutionaries are working to promote”.