March 11, 2019 (KHARTOUM) - The Sudanese President Omer al-Bashir on Monday has welcomed the initiative of the University of Khartoum (UofK) to resolve the country’s political crisis.

President Omer al-Bashir (file photo)

On Monday, al-Bashir received a delegation of professors representing UofK’s Dialogue and Policy Forum in his office at the Republican Palace.

During the meeting, al-Bashir praised the role that the UofK has continued to play regarding the national issues.

For his part, the chairman of the Dialogue and Policy Forum, Abdel-Malik Mohamed Abdel-Rahman, said the forum seeks to develop solutions for the problems facing the country.

He expressed the UofK’s readiness to provide a vision to achieve political and economic stability in the country as part of its national responsibility.

Uof K has always played a leading role in the two previous uprisings that ended the rule of General Ibrahim Aboud in 1964 and General Gaafar Nimeiri in 1985.

Deadly protests have rocked Sudan since December 19, with demonstrators holding nationwide rallies calling on President al-Bashir to resign.

The government said 31 people have died in the violence, while other credible reports including from Human Rights Watch says at least 51 people have been killed.

Last January, more than 500 professors and lecturers at the UofK have launched an initiative calling for the formation of a transitional government to achieve political and economic reforms before to hold free and fair elections in a democratic regime.

Also, the Sudanese Professionals Association and the opposition groups including the National Consensus Alliance, Sudan Call and the Unionist Gathering launched the Declaration of Freedom and Change which calls for the removal of the regime and the formation of a four-year transitional government.

However, the government expressed categorical rejection for all calls demanding the formation of a transitional government saying it is only committed to the 2020 elections.

(ST)