Sudan army rulers say talks with protesters to resume

KHARTOUM: Talks between Sudan´s army rulers and protesters are set to resume, army rulers announced Saturday, as Islamic movements planned to rally for the inclusion of sharia in the country´s roadmap.

The ruling military council announced “the resumption of negotiations with the Alliance for Freedom and Change on Sunday,” following international pressure to get back to the table.

There had been some breakthroughs last week on Sudan´s future leadership, following the ouster last month of longtime leader Omar al-Bashir after mass protest.

The generals and protest leaders had been expected to come to an agreement on Wednesday on the thorniest issue — the make-up of a new body to govern Sudan for three years.

But that meeting never took place and on Thursday the head of the military council, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, confirmed talks were suspended for 72 hours.

Demonstrators subsequently spent hours meeting Burhan´s demand to dismantle roadblocks which had paralysed parts of the capital.

World powers on Friday urged the generals to resume meetings on Sudan´s future leadership.

Representatives from the United Nations, African Union and European powers “called for an immediate resumption of talks”, said Tibor Nagy, the US assistant secretary of state for Africa.

They called on both sides to “reach an agreement ASAP on an interim government that is truly civilian-led and reflects the will of the Sudanese people,” Nagy tweeted Friday.

The generals have allowed protesters to maintain their sit-in outside Khartoum´s army headquarters, where they remain camped out to demand a rapid transition to democracy.

Ahead of talks resuming between the generals and protest leaders, Sudanese Islamist movements were set to hold their own demonstration Saturday.

“The main reason for the mobilisation is that the alliance is ignoring the application of sharia in its deal,” said Al-Tayieb Mustafa, who heads a coalition of about 20 Islamic groups.

“This is irresponsible and if that deal is done, it is going to open the door of hell for Sudan,” Mustafa told AFP.

Former president Bashir came to power in an Islamist-backed coup and Sudanese legislation has since been underpinned by Islamic law.

The protest movement — under the Alliance for Freedom and Change umbrella group — has so far remained silent on whether such a legal framework has a role in Sudan´s future.

The alliance argues the issue of sharia is “irrelevant” at this stage, stressing their main concern is installing a civilian administration.

Sudan Islamists to rally against protesters’ silence on sharia: Sudanese Islamist movements said they will rally Saturday against a roadmap by protesters seeking civilian rule that makes no mention of Islamic sharia law in the country.

“The main reason for the mobilisation is that the alliance is ignoring the application of sharia in its deal” with the army rulers for installing a civilian administration, said Al-Tayieb Mustafa, who heads a coalition of about 20 Islamic groups.

“This is irresponsible and if that deal is done, it is going to open the door of hell for Sudan,” Mustafa told AFP.

The army rulers and the Alliance for Freedom and Change that brought down veteran leader Omar al-Bashir are engaged in talks to set up a civilian rule in Sudan, but these negotiations have sidelined the Islamists.

The alliance, an umbrella for the protest movement, last month handed the army rulers its proposals for a civilian-led transitional government .

But the generals expressed reservations over the alliance´s roadmap, singling out its silence on the constitutional position of Islamic sharia law, which was the guiding principle of all legislation under Bashir´s rule.

The protest movement says the issue of sharia

was “irrelevant” at this stage and can be discussed later as installing a civilian administration was their main demand.

“The military council should not consider the Alliance for Freedom and Change as representative of” the Sudanese people, said Mustafa.

He accused the alliance of having “stolen the revolution in broad daylight” and said the demonstration was aimed at denouncing “the new civilian dictatorship”.

Hardline cleric Mohamed al-Jazuli said Saturday´s rally would take place outside the presidential palace in downtown Khartoum after the iftar meal that breaks the dawn-to-dusk fast of Ramadan.

Meanwhile the army rulers said they will resume talks Sunday with protest leaders which they had suspended three days earlier.