A day after removing President Omar al-Bashir, Sudan’s military council has said that the army has “no ambition to hold the reins of power”.
Omar Zein al-Abideen, the head of military council’s political committee, stressed on Friday that the military was “ready to step down as early as a month” to make way for a civilian-led government, but the main protest group “vehemently rejected” the proposal.
In a statement, the Sudanese Professionals Association (SPA) restated its demand for power to be handed immediately to “a transitional civilian government”.
“What happened was that the masks merely changed, it is the same regime that the people revolted against, seeking to remove it from its roots,” said the SPA, which has spearheaded months-long anti-government protests.
“We are still in the path of true revolution … our martyrs have shed their blood in pursuit for freedom and justice,” it said.
The pro-democracy protesters continue to camp outside the army headquarters in the capital, Khartoum, and called for people to rally after Friday prayers to demand the immediate transfer of power.
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The council, which is now running Sudan under Defence Minister Awad Ibn Auf, said it expects a pre-election transition period it announced on Thursday to last two years at most or much less if chaos can be avoided.
Ibn Auf, who was Bashir’s vice president and defence minister and is among a handful of Sudanese commanders sanctioned by Washington for his role during the atrocities committed in the Darfur conflict.
Large tents were put up and people brought food and handed out water as the crowd swelled at the defence compound. Ahmed al-Sadek, a 39-year-old trader, said he had not slept at his home since the sit-in began on Saturday.
Activists wearing yellow vests controlled traffic around the compound on Friday morning and managed foot traffic to and from the sit-in, the Reuters news agency reported quoting a witness. They also blocked a major bridge in central Khartoum.
Al-Abideen warned that the army will have “zero tolerance against any violation, and any misdeed to take place in any corner of the country”.
“We are here to provide an opportunity for the people of Sudan to achieve the change they have been aspiring to attain and to devise their own vision for the leadership,” he said.
Defending the military takeover, al-Abideen said that it intervened to enforce “order and security”. He stressed that the military acted to meet the demands of the people.
“We are the protectors of the demands of the people and that is by consensus from the political entities,” al-Abideen said.
Al Jazeera’s Hiba Morgan, reporting from Khartoum, said people have been marching towards the army headquarters despite the military council’s pledge to create a “healthy atmosphere” for people to converse and engage in a peaceful manner.
“At the moment, these remarks do not seem to be enough,” Morgan said.
“Their (the protesters’) whole point is that they don’t want anybody from the old regime or the former ruling party to be a part of the transitional council,” she said.
“They are part of the old regime – so for the people who are on the streets, and for the thousands who have been staging a sit-in near the army headquarters for the past week – it’s more of the same thing,” she added.
Bashir, 75, had faced 16 weeks of demonstrations sparked by rising food costs, high unemployment and growing repression during his three decades of autocratic rule.
The latest round of protests began on Saturday, when thousands of protesters camped in front of the defence ministry building demanding Bashir’s removal.
At least 35 people have been killed in clashes with security forces in the past six days, the Central Committee of Sudanese Doctors said. It added that at least 13 people were killed when security forces intervened in Thursday’s protests.
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World powers, including the United States and the United Kingdom, said they supported a peaceful and democratic transition sooner than two years. China said it would continue to seek cooperation with Sudan regardless of the political situation.
Ibn Auf said on Thursday that Bashir was being detained in a “safe place” and the military council – which he is heading – would run the country.
Ibn Auf also announced a state of emergency, a nationwide ceasefire and the suspension of the constitution. A curfew between 10pm and 4am was also imposed.
But the council affirmed on Friday it would not extradite Bashir, who has been indicted by the International Criminal Court in The Hague. He is facing an arrest warrant over allegations of genocide in Sudan’s Darfur region.
The military council would not hand over the president for trial abroad, al-Abideen said. “We may try him, but we will not hand him over.”
Bashir’s downfall was the second time this month that a leader in the region has been forced out after mass demonstrations. Algeria’s Abdelaziz Bouteflika, in power since 1999, stepped down on April 2 after six weeks of protests. (Aljazeera)
