Khartoum, July 4: Sudanese main protesting group leaders and Transitional Military Council (TMC) have on Wednesday resumed their stalled negotiations after the Ethiopian and African Union mediators urged both the sides to resume their talks over a new ruling governing council.
According to Al-Jazeera news reports, the TMC and opposition coalition have been at loggerhead for weeks over who would rule the nation after a protest in April ousted ex-President Omar al-Bashir forcibly.
Mediators led by Abiy Ahmed, the Ethiopian prime minister, and the AU have been long attempting to mediate talks as the broker.
On Wednesday, protest group leader Madani Abbas Madani, with generals, told reporters, “The Alliance for Freedom and Change met and decided to accept the invitation for direct negotiations.”
“Our conditions included the categorical rejection of a permanent military presidency of the sovereign council, the ratification of previous agreements between the two parties, the handing over of a written document by the military council confirming this, and the review of confidence-building and approval procedures,” Madani ahead of negotiations began.
He also put forth other conditions such as the immediate release of political detainees from the protest movement, as well as, the establishment of international panel to prove the deadly dispersal of sit-in demonstrations on June 3 in the Sudanese capital, Khartoum, outside the military headquarters that claimed the lives of dozens of people.
The announcement comes amidst calls from United Nations (UN) human rights leader Michelle Bachelet on the Sudanese authorities to change transition to a civilian transitional council.
“This recipe of restrictions, unmet promises, and bouts of unbridled violence which are neither investigated nor punished is stoking massive resentment – as Sunday’s protests showed all too clearly,” said Bachelet.