Sudan’s main opposition alliance resumed talks with the military rulers over the composition of the sovereign council in Khartoum on Wednesday. The new sovereign council would rule Sudan during the transition. The latest development follows the African Union and Ethiopian mediators appeal to both sides to revive negotiations on a new governing body.
Talks between the two sides suspended after the security forces raided a sit-in protest camp outside the defense ministry on June 3.
According to Reuters, both sides met a hotel in the capital on Wednesday to restart talks over who should lead Sudan toward elections.
“The Alliance for Freedom and Change met and decided to accept the invitation for direct negotiations” with the generals, protest leader Madani Abbas Madani told reporters on Wednesday.
Madani said the talks would only focus on the leadership of the sovereign council. He revealed that the alliance placed several conditions for resuming talks.
“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,” said Madani before discussions began.
He added that the other conditions were the release political detainees from the protest movement and the formation of an international committee to investigate the deadly dispersal of a protest sit-in last month that killed moiré than 100 people.
According to protest organizers, more than 250 people have been killed since protests against autocratic President Omar al-Bashir began in December.
Meanwhile, the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet called on Sudanese authorities on Wednesday to lift restrictions on the internet and initiate proper independent investigations into attacks on protestors.
“It is essential there are prompt, transparent and independent investigations into how all these people lost their lives, as well as into the causes of such a large number of injuries,” Bachelet said.
