Sudan's ruling army council has 'no ambition for power’

ANKARA

Sudan's Military Transitional Council (MTC) on Friday insisted that it had no interest in remaining in power beyond its mandate, saying it had assumed control of the country "for the sake of the people" and to "avoid chaos" following the departure of longstanding President Omar al-Bashir.

On Thursday, the army announced the “removal” of al-Bashir, who has ruled Sudan since 1989, following months of popular demonstrations against his continued rule.

It also announced the imposition of a two-year "transitional phase" to be overseen by the MTC.

“We have no ambition for power,” an MTC-appointed “political committee” said in a statement issued Friday. “Our priority is the country's stability.”

“We stand with the demands of the people,” it added. “We are part of them [i.e., the people].”

On Thursday evening, Defense Minister Awad ibn Auf was sworn in as MTC chairman.

He took the constitutional oath in a ceremony aired on state television and presided over by Chief Justice Abdul Majid Idris.

Kamal Abdul-Marouf al-Mahi, chairman of Sudan’s joint chiefs-of-staff, was sworn in as deputy MTC chairman.

In a statement to media outlets, the political committee said the MTC would communicate with the heads of Sudanese political parties to discuss recent developments.

“There will be a civil government, to be agreed upon by political entities, and we will not interfere in this,” the committee asserted.

“We are sons of Suar al-Dahab,” it added, referring to a Sudanese army commander who relinquished executive authority to a civilian government in 1986.

The MTC has also vowed to talk to protester leaders, who have continued to stage demonstrations in Khartoum, and “hear their vision”.

The committee added that the MTC would not hand al-Bashir over to the International Criminal Court for prosecution and that it would work towards having longstanding U.S. sanctions on Sudan lifted.

Along with announcing al-Bashir’s removal on Thursday, the army also announced the imposition of a one-month curfew -- which went into effect Thursday evening -- and a three-month nationwide state of emergency.

It further announced the suspension of Sudan’s 2005 constitution, along with the dissolution of the Sudanese presidency, parliament and council of ministers.

Opposition parties and professional associations, meanwhile, have reacted to the move by expressing their “total rejection” of what they describe as a "military coup".

In a joint statement released Thursday evening, Sudan’s leading professional syndicate and several opposition parties voiced their refusal to “replace one military coup with another”.

Al-Bashir came to power in 1989 on the back of a military coup against the democratically-elected government of Prime Minister Sadiq al-Mahdi.