The Interview - "The Military Council has come to power without a plan," says Sudanese opposition leader

Sudanese opposition leader Sadek al-Mahdi called, in an exclusive interview with France 24, for an independent investigation into the repression of a sit-in on June 3, 2019, by militia allies of the Transitional Military Council . A hundred protesters had died there.

The Transitional Military Council, stationed in Khartoum since the ousting of President Omar al-Bashir in April, has for the moment rejected all calls for an independent and international investigation into the sit-in's dispersion.

The incident came after the failure of negotiations between the military and opposition leaders, which continues the protests demanding the establishment of a civilian government at the head of Sudan.

"The Military Council has already made a number of conflicting statements, so we need an investigation that everyone can trust, and the number of deaths and the bloodshed will not be accepted without a reliable investigation," he says. Sadek al-Mahdi at France 24.

Government of experts

Sadek al-Mahdi, who is an imam and was the last Sudanese prime minister to be democratically elected, was ousted in 1989 by an alliance between Islamists and army officials who later formed the hard core of the regime. Omar el-Bashir.

"All our problems come from the fact that the military council took power without a plan of government," said Sadek al-Mahdi about the events that followed the departure of President al-Bashir on April 11. However, the opposition leader is confident that Sudan will find a way out of the crisis "with an effort of national mediation, supported by regional and international mediators".

The former prime minister also called for the formation of a "government of experts without political affiliation" to bring the country out of the crisis and hold free elections. According to him, the members of the Military Council could take part in the democratic exercise as long as they respect the rules.

"They will have to take a civilian role and form a political party to participate in these free general elections," he said of council members heading the country. "We will not accept any order that comes from rifles," he adds.