Anwar Gargash welcomed the Sudan talks
Sudanese opposition figures agreed to sit down for
fresh talks with the ruling military council on Wednesday, a move welcomed by
UAE Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Dr Anwar Gargash.
Responding to the news, the UAE minister – who said
on Tuesday night that the Emirates was speaking to both sides in Khartoum to
urge a return to the negotiating table – said that he hopes the new round of
discussions would lead to a stable partnership.
He also said that mediation efforts by Ethiopian
Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed had been positive in bridging the gap. Mr Ahmed flew
to Khartoum earlier this week to meet with the military council and protest
leaders.
“The current detente in Sudan calls for optimism and
we call for the establishment of an agreement leading the transition through a
real and stable partnership,” Dr Gargash said in a tweet on Wednesday.
The UAE has supported talks in Sudan since longtime
leader Omar Al Bashir was removed by the military in April following months of
protests. Mr Gargash has said that emergency aid from the Emirates and Saudi
Arabia would help to support the country at a difficult period but added that the
direction it takes “after 30 years of military, Muslim Brotherhood
dictatorship" is an internal Sudanese affair.
Protest leaders on Wednesday agreed to end a civil
disobedience campaign and return to discussions with the ruling generals,
Ethiopian mediators said.
The protesters launched the general strike on Sunday
after a deadly crackdown on June 3 by elements in the military on a sit-in camp
outside the army headquarters.
Following Mr Al Bashir's removal, protesters camped
outside military headquarters in Khartoum for weeks to demand civilian rule,
before security and paramilitary forces dispersed them in a June 3 crackdown
that killed dozens.
The army said the raid was targeting "criminal
elements" within the protests but it got out of hand and led to scores of
deaths. Opposition groups place the death toll at over 120 while the health
ministry says 60 were killed.
Earlier in the week, most shops in the capital were
closed and public transport had stopped. However, by Tuesday more markets were
returning to life and several branches of private banks were open. Despite an
end of the opposition shutdown on Wednesday, many stayed off the streets and
the military was again out in force.
The announcement of fresh talks may ease tensions in
Sudan after a week in which neither both sides appeared at loggerheads. After
Mr Ahmed’s visit last Friday, three opposition figures who he met with were
arrested and then deported to South Sudan. It is unclear if they will be
allowed to return or take part in the new round of talks.
The United Nations Security Council on Tuesday night
unanimously condemned the military response to the sit-in last week and called
on both sides to move towards a solution to the crisis.
The council called on all sides "to continue
working together towards a consensual solution to the current crisis" and
voiced support for African-led diplomatic efforts.
The Security Council will discuss Sudan on Friday
during a meeting focused on the joint UN-AU peacekeeping mission in Darfur,
known as UNAMID.
The UN calls came as senior US diplomat, Tibor Nagy,
was set to arrive in Khartoum this week for talks.
The military transitional council and leaders of the
protest movements started negotiations on the future of the country shortly
after Mr Al Bashir was removed. But the on-off talks faltered last month over
the question of the makeup of a new council to oversee the transition.
