Cairo: Talks aimed at ending the ongoing political deadlock in Sudan began Wednesday, the United Nations said, although the country’s main pro-democracy coalition is boycotting them over continued police crackdown on those protesting last October’s military coup. Is.
The joint peace effort is brokered by the United Nations Political Mission in Sudan, the African Union and the Intergovernmental Authority in Development of the Eight-Country East African Regional Group. The effort aims to bring generals and a range of political and protest groups to the negotiating table.
The military takeover has left Sudan’s short-lived fragile democratic transition intact and thrown the East African nation into turmoil.
Sudan was moving towards democracy after nearly three decades of repression and international isolation under the strongman Omar Bashir. A popular revolt in April 2019 prompted the military to oust Bashir.
Wednesday’s talks began with a technical meeting in the Sudanese capital Khartoum, which was attended by the military and civilians.
This came after months of separate discussions with several groups, including the military and the pro-democracy movement.
The UN envoy for Sudan Volker Perth said the process would discuss a “transitional programme”, including the appointment of a civilian prime minister and arrangements to draft a permanent constitution and elections at the end of the transition.
Coup leader General Abdel-Fatah Burhan, who also heads the ruling sovereign council, hailed the talks as a “historic opportunity to complete the transitional phase”.
In a speech to the nation late Tuesday, he urged all factions to participate in the talks, promising that the military would implement their outcome.
“We are fully committed to working with all to end the transitional period as soon as possible with fair and transparent elections,” he said.
Ahead of the talks, US Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Molly Fey visited Sudan earlier this week and met with military and civilian leaders in Khartoum to support the negotiation process. He urged all parties to engage in dialogue to “achieve a citizen-led path toward democracy for Sudan”.
However, the Force for Declaration of Independence and Change – a coalition of political parties and protest groups – is boycotting the meeting.
The coalition said the talks should move towards “a civil democratic authority” and criticized the involvement of pro-military groups and Islamists allied with Bashir’s government. It also calls for the release of coup-related detainees and an end to violence against protesters.
The talks took place as violent crackdown on anti-coup protests in Khartoum continued.
A five-year-old girl died on Tuesday when a police vehicle chasing protesters ran over her.
The total number of deaths among the protesters since October rose to at least 101, according to a medical group tracking casualties. The coup has triggered almost daily street protests, met with deadly crackdowns by the authorities.