Sudanese politicians brawled at meeting with military council
May 8, 2019 (KHARTOUM) – Representatives of political forces for a meeting with the transitional military council brawled on Wednesday over the participation of supporters Sudan’s former ruling party.
The Transitional Council called for a second meeting at the Friendship Hall in Khartoum all the forces that had presented their views on the transition period to meet them for a briefing on Wednesday.
Most of these forces were partners to the former government and an ally of the National Congress Party (NCP) of ousted President Omer al-Bashir. They were part of the National Dialogue Initiative and were part of successive Bashir governments.
According to some politicians who attended the meeting, the atmosphere was characterized from the outset by intense tension after the objection of a number of participants to the presence of personalities known for their support to the National Congress Party. Some led campaigns to re-elect President Omer al-Bashir in the 2020 elections.
Ammar Mohammed Adam, an independent Islamist and one of the attendees, said in a video he released about the fight that some participants chanted slogans against the Council and called for civil authority, forcing the military council members to shorten their interventions and leave the place.
He added that the presence of a large number of members of the National Congress Party and its allies contributed to the spread of more tension to transform the meeting room to an arena of fierce fighting.
Video footage that was widely circulated showed that some of the participants had been kicked out of the seats and clashed with their hands in a state of chaos and tension.
Video footage that was widely circulated showed some of the participants threw chaises against each other and clashed with their hands among chaos and tension.
The military council say they are keen to consult all the political forces and to involve them in the transitional period. During the first week, they even refused to recognize the Freedom and Changes forces as the legitimate parent of the revolution.
The Freedom and Change forces say the military council wants to form a government with these small forces as the opposition refuses to accept its perception of the transitional structures.
A member of the Transitional Military Council, Lt-Gen Yasir al-Atta, said they received 177 written views from the political forces and stressed the need to communicate with all political components to reach a comprehensive solution.
He further said that the Council will meet in the coming hours with the forces of the Declaration of Freedom and Change to discuss the observations they made on its document and discuss the vision of the Council to reach a consensus.
(ST)