The main group spearheading protests in Sudan said on Tuesday that the country's ruling Transitional Military Council (TMC) had responded to its plans for an interim government structure, and it would announce its position once it had studied the reply. Protesters whose months of street demonstrations helped force longtime President Omar al-Bashir from office last month have kept up their demands for change, calling on the military officers who took over to hand over power to civilians. The Declaration of Freedom and Change Forces, an alliance of activists and opposition groups, sent the military council a draft constitutional document on Thursday outlining its vision for the transitional period. Amjad Farid, spokesman for the Sudanese Professionals Association (SPA), which has played the leading role in the protests, said the council had sent a written reply. "We will study the response and will announce our position later," Farid told reporters. The constitutional draft, seen by Reuters, describes the duties of a sovereign transitional council that the opposition groups hope will replace the TMC, but does not specify who would sit on it. It also outlines the responsibilities of the cabinet and a 120-member legislature. Lieutenant General Shams El Din Kabbashi, a spokesman for the military council, said on Sunday the document was "good", adding that while the council agreed on some of its points, it had its reservations on others. The military removed Bashir on April 11 after months of demonstrations against his 30-year rule.
