The head of the Sudanese Transitional Sovereign Council, Abdel-Fattah Al-Burhan, said today, Saturday, that neither he nor the military institution wants to rule Sudan, and that he and the military institution are ready to exit the political scene whenever there is a national accord.
Al-Burhan, who holds the position of army chief, added - in an interview with Sudanese state television - that the armed forces will be the first to comply with the option of the upcoming elections, and that they are ready for dialogue in order to manage the remainder of the transitional phase.
He explained that what is meant by national consensus is that the forces that believe in change agree to draw up a constitution for the country and initiate elections.
Since last October 25, Sudan has witnessed protests in response to exceptional measures taken by Al-Burhan, most notably the imposition of a state of emergency and the dissolution of the Sovereignty Councils and the Transitional Ministers, which political forces consider a "military coup", in exchange for the army's denial.
On the initiative of the UN envoy to Sudan, Volker Peretz, to solve the Sudanese crisis, Al-Burhan said that Peretz is only a mediator and he has no right to issue an initiative for dialogue.
He pointed out that his measures last October 25 came to demand the participation of others and without excluding anyone, but came to the internal and external security conditions and intended for everyone to return to dialogue.
He considered that whoever talks about a coup (in reference to his actions) is the category that has lost power.
Kill the protesters
In response to a question about the killing of demonstrators, Al-Burhan said that there are doubts about the existence of other parties behind the killing of demonstrators, and there are those who trade in the blood and sorrows of those killed in the demonstrations, according to him.
He added that he was ready to take full responsibility if it was proven that there was a directive issued to the security services to chase or kill protesters, noting that some "regulars" were arrested for killing protesters, and the leaders of the regular services were subjected to investigations.
He pointed out that the police have the responsibility to reveal who is doing the killing, considering that there are (unnamed) parties that want to see Sudan scattered and torn, without giving details.
He stressed the Sovereignty Council's readiness for dialogue with youth and resistance committees (activists in neighborhoods), stressing that dialogue is open to everyone.
The Chairman of the Sovereignty Council denied the existence of differences between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces, noting that political parties are promoting this.
Al-Burhan confirmed that the military institution was exposed to open hostility and there were interferences in its work, pointing out that no party has the right to talk about reforming or restructuring the military institution unless it is an elected party.
Cooperation with Israel
Regarding the file of normalization with Israel, Al-Burhan said that the security and intelligence cooperation between Sudan and Israel has not stopped since his meeting with former Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
He stressed that the series of meetings between Sudanese and Israeli officials is part of security and intelligence cooperation, and is not political in nature.
According to Al-Burhan, the information exchanged with the Israeli intelligence services enabled Sudan to seize some terrorist groups that were causing problems in Sudan and the region.
In response to a question about relations with the United States, he said that Washington receives inaccurate information and that sanctions or threats to impose sanctions are not helpful.