 The Sudanese government has released 38 members of the Popular Congress opposition party, including a senior leader, state media reported Friday. The release was seen as a gesture by the government toward rebels in Darfur, who the government is courting in an attempt to resolve the ongoing conflict that has killed tens of thousands. However, the government continues to detain Popular Congress party secretary Hassan Turabi and 12 other party members who are accused of plotting a coup to topple President Omar el-Bashir.
| Well, that's a comfort. It'd be more of a comfort if he'd kicked it from "natural causes." |
The official Sudan Media Center reported that authorities have released 38 members of the Popular Congress party since Tuesday, including Secretary for External Relations Mohamed Amin Khalifa, after investigations showed a "lack of sufficient evidence to charge them." Musa Mac Kor, Popular Congress deputy secretary, said that though the release was a "positive indicator," the government still needed to take actions such as lifting a state of emergency and canceling laws restricting freedoms before talks about "peace and of détente" could be held. The armed wing of the Popular Congress Party, the Justice and Equality Movement, is one of the main rebel groups in Darfur that continues to oppose government forces. The government is pushing reconciliation efforts in Darfur after successfully signing a peace agreement with separate southern rebels earlier this month to end 21 years of civil war. Khalifa was a member of a military council that brought Sudanese President Omar el-Bashir to power in June 1989. Khalifa later served in the government for over ten years, but he abandoned Bashir and joined Turabi after a split between the two. |