An investigation has started over protest victims, says the investigation has begun.
Says Sudan in contact with the ICC over Darfur suspects Adds quotes, details KHARTOUM, Dec 4 Reuters - Sudan's military will leave politics after elections scheduled for 2023, General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan told an interview on Saturday that the former ruling party would have no role in the transition.
After a military takeover by Burhan in late October that disrupted Sudan's transition to civilian-led democracy, a deal was struck on Nov. 21 that Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok was reinstated to lead a technocratic cabinet until elections in July 2023.
I don't think the army, the armed forces, or any of the security forces will participate in politics when a government is elected. Burhan said that this is what we agreed on and this is the natural situation.
After the ouster of Omar al-Bashir, the coup drew international condemnation and crackdowns on protesters after the detention of dozens of key officials.
Neighbourhood resistance committees and political parties have called for the military to leave politics immediately and have rejected any compromise including the deal with Hamdok. According to medics, 44 people have died during demonstrations, many of them from gunshot wounds from security forces.
Burhan said that security forces had dispersed non-peaceful protests, and that investigations have begun to identify who has done this and to punish the criminals.
Bashir has been in jail since his overthrow on corruption and other charges. He is also wanted by the International Criminal Court ICC over alleged war crimes in Darfur, along with several other Sudanese suspects.
The military has yet to agree, even though the civilian government dissolved in the coup had approved Bashir's handover.
Burhan said that they have an understanding with the International Criminal Court for the appearance of suspects before the judiciary or before the court. We have remained in dialogue with the court on how to do right by the victims. Many civilian bureaucrats were dismissed or replaced with Bashir-era veterans in decisions that Hamdok tried to reverse after the coup.
Burhan said that none of the political forces would be part of the transitional government, including those of Bashir's former ruling party. He said that they will work together so that the National Congress Party will not be a part of the transition.
Sudan is in a deep economic crisis, though international economic support had begun to be felt before much of it was suspended after the coup.
Burhan said he expected the backing to return once a civilian government is formed, indicating that the country would not reverse the reforms enacted over the past two years by reinstating subsidies or returning to printing money.
Although Western nations and the African Union have sounded against the coup, diplomats say Russia, which is trying to develop a naval base on Sudan's Red Sea coast, has been cultivating ties with military leaders. Burhan said that a deal for the base is yet to be finalised.
He said that we hope that our relations with Russia will become stronger with the signing of this agreement. Consultations are ongoing and we are working on the agreement until it becomes acceptable and legal.