Sudan: Opposition demands Sudan to join ICC

Top opposition leader of Sudan has called for the country to join the International Criminal Court which has formally alleged the former President of the country, Omar al-Bashir as the panel of protestors and other military men held a meeting to hold a discussion on the civilian rule. Former Prime Minister Sadiq al-Mahdi who is now head of the opposition party, National Umma Party has told the reporters that the toppling of the President was not a military coup.
The comments by the leader have come during the meeting of the joint committee which represented the military leaders and the protestors for discussing their demands. Rashid al-Sayed, who is a spokesman of the protest movement stated that the meeting had been a confidence-building step forward between both the sides who were “partners in the revolution” and there was a second round to it which was due on Sunday. He also said that the military council had agreed that the camp of the protestors which was outside the army headquarters will not be dispersed by force. Ayman Nimir, who is a negotiator for the Declaration of Freedom and Change Forces said, “Today, we have taken positive steps and we expect to reach an agreement satisfactory to all parties. We expect to receive a response from the military council regarding the formation of a sovereign council within hours”. Even the spokesperson of the military council, Shams al-Deen al-Kabashi said: “We are very optimistic that we will reach a final conclusion that will be announced to the Sudanese people as soon as possible”.
It was on April 11, that President Omar al-Bashir was deposed after protests which had lasted for months against his three-decade rule. Many thousands of demonstrators went to the military headquarters on April 6 demanding for army support to those who wanted the President to step down. It was five days later that the military had toppled the President but took power into its own hands via a 10-member transitional military council. The protestors are now keeping the pressure outside the army headquarters in demand for the council to step down and pave way for the civilian government. There is a growing fear among the protestors that the Islamists and other people who are close to the deposed leader who is now in Khartoum jail will be given some role in the transition government.
Thus, the opposition has demanded that Sudan should immediately join the Hague-based ICC where the former President al-Bashir has been indicted on charges of genocide, war crimes and also crimes against humanity due to his role in the Darfur conflict.