Bashir proposes retirement at 60 for politicians
Sunday, 20 February 2011
Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir has pledged to form an anti-corruption commission and hinted he may retire, a party official said, a move critics said aimed to quiet dissent with the Arab world awash in pro-democracy unrest.
Bashir suggested to the youth membership of his party a retirement age of 60 for politicians, which he said would include himself if the leadership of his National Congress Party, which dominates government, adopted the measure.
The president talked about placing a limit on the political retirement age to 60 years 
"The president talked about placing a limit on the political retirement age to 60 years," said Hamid Momtaz, political secretary of the NCP's youth sector who was at the meeting.
"He said if these political changes happened within the party as he suggested then they would include him (Bashir)," Momtaz told Reuters on Sunday.
Bashir, 67, who came to power in a bloodless military coup in 1989, is the only head of state to be indicted by the International Criminal Court for war crimes and genocide in the war-torn region of Darfur, charges he denies.
He won a decisive victory in 2010 elections, which many opposition parties boycotted, crying fraud.
Other witnesses from the meeting earlier this week who declined to be named said young NCP members berated the president over the level of corruption which had blighted the economy, and talks continued late into the night.
Momtaz said Bashir promised to form an anti-corruption commission, an organ to help graduates find jobs and to increase the participation of youth in the party and government.
"(These policies) would be a positive step along the right path and would help develop solutions to the current problems," Momtaz said.
Sudanese security forces violently dispersed dozens of small protests throughout northern Sudan this year, as an economic crisis took hold and university students took inspiration from pro-democracy uprisings which ousted two regional strongmen including neighbouring Egypt's Hosni Mubarak.
Protests throughout the Middle East have threatened long- term rulers and opened the way to far-reaching political reforms. But young demonstrators have failed to garner wider support in Sudan and the movement has fizzled with many of its leaders still detained.
A senior opposition Communist Party official belittled the proposed reforms, saying Khartoum was running scared watching popular protests throughout the Middle East.
"All the leaders of the Arab region at looking at what is happening in Egypt and Tunisia and this is just an attempt to quiet the people so as not to protest," said Siddig Youssef, who said more than 40 opposition party officials were still being detained without charge.
"If they were serious, they would release the political prisoners and allow people to hold peaceful protests."
Sudan's ruling party has made conciliatory offers since the uprisings, including inviting the opposition for talks to form a national government.
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