African Union gives Sudan’s military three months to transfer power to civil rule
April 23, 2019 (KHARTOUM) – African Union leaders Tuesday have given Sudan’s transitional military council three months to achieve power transfer to civilian rule stressing that this delay should not be prolonged.
The meeting convened by the Egyptian Abdel Fattah al-Sisi who is also the Chairperson of the African Union in Cairo attended by the leaders of Chad, Djibouti, Somalia, South Africa, Ethiopia’s deputy prime minister, head of African Union Commission, foreign ministers and presidential envoys of Kenya, Nigeria, South Sudan and Uganda.
The meeting was held on the backdrop of a two-week delay given to the Sudanese military council by the Peace and Security of the African Union to hand over power to civilian rule.
The consultative meeting was briefed by Moussa Faki chairperson of the AU commission and who was in a two-day visit in Khartoum to assess the situation and met with the Sudanese stakeholders.
Following what the participants recognized the need to give more time to the
“The participating countries recognized the need to give more time to the Sudanese authorities and the Sudanese parties to implement these measures, taking into consideration that they will not be lengthy, and recommended that the African Peace and Security Council extend the schedule given to the Sudanese authority for three months,” said the statement.
After a meeting held with the military council last Saturday, the Freedom and Change forces decided to suspend talks with the military accusing them of working to reproduce the regime of President Omer al-Bashir and refusing to recognize their revolutionary legitimacy.
The head of the TMC political committee Omer Zain al-Din who negotiate with the opposition forces for his part says that they want only to establish a comprehensive government representing the whole political spectrum.
The meeting stressed that the Sudanese authorities and the political forces should work together in good faith to address the current situation in Sudan and to speed up the reestablishment of a constitutional regime.
This democratic political dialogue should be owned and led by the Sudanese themselves, “including all Sudanese parties including the armed movements,” further stressed the statement.
The Sudanese opposition groups said they will mobilize the street to press the military to fully respond to their demands.
However, some point to the need to get rid of Islamist generals in the military council as a condition to compose with the Sudanese military on the formation of the transitional institutions.
(ST)