Hundreds of thousands of protesters joined a sit-in outside Sudan's defense ministry on Thursday to press the ruling military council to hand over power to a civilian government. The huge crowd was answering a call by an alliance of activists and opposition groups to join a protest march through Khartoum. The Declaration of Freedom and Change Forces (DFCF) alliance said on Thursday it had submitted a draft constitutional document containing its vision for the transitional period to the Transitional Military Council (TMC). Protesters and activists have been negotiating with the TMC to form a joint civilian-military body to oversee the period following the forced departure of long-term President Omar Bashir. But the parties are deadlocked over who would control the new council, and what the features of a transitional government would be. Opposition groups say the ruling council must be civilian-led and have promised to maintain a sit-in outside the Defense Ministry until their demands are met, but the TMC has shown no sign of willingness to relinquish ultimate authority. People came from a number of different provinces to join the march, a witness said. At a televised news conference, a spokesman for the DFCF said it expected a response from the military to its draft constitutional draft within two or three days. Meanwhile, protest leaders insisted on Thursday that the civilian administration they intend to establish must include representatives from armed groups who spent years battling Khartoum during Bashir regime. "We will not have a transitional (civilian) structure without representatives from the armed groups," said Khalid Omar Yousef, a leader from the Alliance for Freedom and Change umbrella group which has led the protest movement. He did not name specific armed groups. Since 2003, Sudan has been rocked by rebellions in Darfur, South Kordofan and Blue Nile regions. In recent years, the violence has waned as rebels and Khartoum reached a series of ceasefires, but none of the rebel groups joined a civilian administration during Bashir's rule. Many Darfuris feel that their demand for justice for Bashir-era officials should be a bigger priority for protest leaders. Three armed groups are currently part of the Alliance for Freedom and Change which spearheaded protests since December that led to the ouster of Bashir. The Alliance is now demanding that the military council which took Bashir's place be replaced by a joint civilian-military council, although they say the number of members is yet to be finalized. — Agencies
