Sudanese protesters flash the V for victory signs as they shout slogans during a protest near the army hearquarters in the capital Khartoum on April 21, 2019. AFP / Ozan Kose
Khartoum: Sudan’s military leader vowed yesterday the army was committed to handing power to the people, as a protesters’ deadline for unveiling a rival civilian council loomed.
New army ruler General Abdel Fattah Al Burhan also pledged to respond to demonstrators’ demands within a week.
Representatives of Sudan’s protesters and main opposition groups said yesterday they were suspending contacts with the political committee of the ruling military council, accusing it of being composed of “remnants” of the ousted regime.
“Our dealings with the political committee had been positive but it deals with us in the same old manner, which prompted us to suspend dealings with it,” a leader of the group known as Forces of the Declaration of Freedom and Change.
Bashir was ousted on April 11 after three decades of iron-fisted rule, when the military deposed him bowing to weeks of mass protests which began in mid-December.
A military council has been put in place for a planned two-year transition period, but despite talks with protesters the two sides have struggled to agree on the shape and form of a civilian leadership.
“The council is committed to give power to (the) people,” Burhan insisted, in his first interview on state television since taking power. He also said that a delegation would travel to Washington soon to seek Sudan’s removal from the US list of state sponsors of terrorism.
Al Burhan said that more than $113m worth of cash in three currencies has been seized from ousted leader Omar Bashir’s residence. He said a team of police, army and security agents found seven million euros ($7.8m), $350,000 and five billion Sudanese pounds ($105m) during a search at Bashir’s home.
“We are waiting for the announcement today,” Romaysaa Omar, one of the protesters at the sit-in area, said.
“All Sudanese people are in favour of the council to be announced by the SPA.”
Whistling and waving Sudanese flags, dozens of demonstrators were sitting on a bridge at the site, rhythmically banging stones against metal.
On Saturday, protest leaders and the military rulers held talks about a power handover and agreed to continue discussions.
“We clarified our main demand, which is the transfer of power to civilian authorities,” Siddiq Yousef, a senior member of the Alliance for Freedom and Change, the umbrella group leading the protest movement, told state television after Saturday’s talks.
“We agreed to continue negotiations to reach a solution that satisfies both the sides, so that the transfer of power will happen in a peaceful way.”
Since Bashir was ousted by the army, the military rulers have resisted calls to transfer power to a civilian body. “What we want from them is a timetable to hand over power, so things don’t drag on,” said Ahmed Al Rabia, a leader of the umbrella group of unions for doctors, engineers and teachers.
