Sudan’s military council says ready to form civilian government
April 12, 2019 (KHARTOUM) – The Transitional Military Council (TMC) on Friday has expressed readiness to form a civilian government and reduce the transitional period in agreement with the political forces.
Speaking at a press conference in Khartoum, the head of the TMC political committee Omer Zain al-Abdin said the upcoming government would be “civilian”, pointing out that it would be formed by the consensus of the political forces.
He added the military wouldn’t intervene in the formation of the government nor will it appoint any of its members, saying the armed forces would only maintain the defence and interior ministries in order to counter any security challenges.
He pointed that the TMC would consult with all political forces except the former ruling National Congress Party, saying the “TMC supports the demands of the people and seeks to arrange the peaceful transfer of power”.
“We are the protectors of the demands of the political entities and we wouldn’t dictate anything on the people, we came for the sake of the protesters and we wouldn’t allow chaos,” he said
“Our priority now is to maintain security and stability of the country and provide the services and to conduct political dialogue inside Sudan and abroad [i.e. with the international community]” added Zain al-Abdin
He pointed out that the Defence Minister Awad Ibn Ouf, the director of the National Intelligence and Security Services Salah Gosh, the Police Director Al-Tayeb Babiker and the commander of the Rapid Support Forces Mohamed Hamdan Doglo have led the change despite being part of the former regime.
Zain al-Abdin has dismissed all accusations that the TMC is a puppet of the former ruling National Congress Party as mere “lies”, saying they are the sons of the armed forces.
He stressed that the TMC is open to discussions and consultations on reducing the transitional period, saying it could be reduced to one month if all political parties agreed to do so.
He expressed willingness to negotiate with the youth who are holding a mass sit-in in front of the military headquarters to listen to the views.
Commenting on the fate of the deposed president, Omer al-Bashir, Zain al-Abdin said he is being detained without giving further details, pointing the majority of the figures of the former regime have been arrested.
SPA REJECTS TMC OFFER
Meanwhile, the Sudanese Professionals Association (SPA) has rejected the offer of the TMC describing it as “absurd deception”.
In a statement seen by Sudan Tribune, the SPA said: “what took place was nothing but changing of masks to maintain the same regime that the people sought to overthrow and uproot”.
“Our demands are clear, fair and legitimate, however, the old coupists in their new masks are not capable of making change and they only seek to cling to power regardless of the safety of the country, and that is why they wouldn’t respond to the peaceful demands including the immediate handover of power to a transitional civilian government”.
The SPA underscored determination to resist the state of emergency and the curfew besides all restrictive orders issued by the coupists.
(ST)