Sudan protesters call for 2 days of strikes

Marchers shun pleas to go back to power-sharing agreement with military

KHARTOUM, Sudan — Sudan’s protest movement has rejected internationally backed initiatives to return to a power-sharing arrangement with the military after last month’s coup, announcing two days of nationwide strikes starting today.

The movement called for establishment of a civilian government to lead a transition to democracy.

The call came as a leader of the country’s main political party accused the military leadership of negotiating in bad faith.

The Sudanese military seized power Oct. 25, dissolving the transitional administration and arresting dozens of government officials and politicians. The coup has been met with international outcry and protests in the streets of Khartoum and elsewhere in the country.

The takeover has upended the country’s fragile planned transition to democratic rule, more than two years after a popular uprising forced removal of longtime autocrat Omar al-Bashir and his Islamist government.

Since the coup, the international community has accelerated mediation efforts to find a way out of the crisis, which threatens to further destabilize the already restive Horn of Africa region.

The Sudanese Professionals Association, which led the uprising against al-Bashir, said late Friday that mediation initiatives which “seek a new settlement” between the military and civilian leaders would “reproduce and worsen” the country’s crisis.

The association vowed to continue protesting until a full civilian government is established to lead the transition. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken urged for an immediate return to a civilian-led government and for the release of those detained in connection with the coup.

Sudan’s state- run news agency reported that Burhan vowed to “complete the transition and preserve the country’s security … until reaching an elected civilian government.”

Since the coup, the generals have continued to dismantle the transitional government and arrest pro- democracy leaders. The Umma is Sudan’s largest political party and has ministers in the now-deposed government.

Al-Wathig al-Berier, the secretary general of the Umma party, urged the international community to increase pressure on the military leaders to reverse the coup.

“In these initial stages, we hope that they continue strong pressure. This pressure has to be more than just tweets. This pressure needs to have mechanisms that could create real pressure on the military component,” he said.

In other developments, the board of deans of Khartoum University officially suspended classes indefinitely after security forces stormed the university grounds on Oct. 25, the day of the coup, and beat and insulted students and professors. The classes had already stopped since the coup.

Later Saturday, the Sudanese Professionals Association proposed a transitional government to rule the country for four years that would include a five-member Sovereign Council, with a ceremonial role, and a 20-member technocratic Cabinet, headed by an independent figure.

The proposal envisages a 150-member legislative council, to be formed within two months, and restructuring the military and dismantling all militias, including the powerful paramilitary Rapid Support Forces.

The association said its proposal is open for discussion among other protest movements and non-governmental organizations.

There was no immediate reaction from Sudanese political parties or the coup leaders to the proposal.