Sudanese protest leaders said Monday that an Ethiopia-drafted proposal for the country’s political transition was already “unified” with an African Union plan, dismissing calls by ruling generals for a joint blueprint.
Ethiopia and the African Union have stepped up diplomatic efforts to resolve the crisis in Sudan, which has been wracked by tensions between the protest leaders and generals since a deadly dispersal of a sit-in earlier this month.
On Sunday, the generals, who seized power after deposing longtime president Omar al-Bashir in April, said mediators from the AU and Ethiopia had offered “different” proposals for the political transition, and called for them to unify their efforts.
But the protest movement contested that position on Monday.
“The initiatives (by the AU and Ethiopia) were unified a while ago and were presented (as one) to all parties at the same time,” said protest leader Ismail al-Taj at a press conference on Monday.
“The Ethiopian and African envoys met on Sunday with the Alliance for Freedom and Change to discuss this unified initiative,” said Taj, referring to the umbrella protest movement that spearheaded the anti-Bashir campaign and is now at loggerheads with the generals.
Source: AFP
