Sudan: Umma leader says upcoming meeting with Al-Bashir “decisive”

April 21, 2011 (KHARTOUM) – Former Prime Minister of Sudan and leader of the opposition National Umma Party (NUP), Al-Sadiq Al-Mahdi, has stressed that his upcoming meeting with the country’s president Omer Al-Bashir will be “decisive.”

Al-Bashir’s ruling National Congress Party (NCP) announced earlier this week the conclusion of ground-level dialogue with the NUP, saying that points of disagreements would be referred to a summit between Al-Mahdi and Al-Bashir.

However, the party’s political secretary, Ibrahim Gandoor, said that the dialogue had failed to agree on a power-sharing formula to include the NUP in the government.

North Sudan’s political arena is rife with tension due to worsening economic conditions manifested in rising inflation, soaring food prices and a shortage of foreign currency. The standoff has been exacerbated by the secession of south Sudan, for which the opposition holds the NCP responsible.

In a press release on Thursday, Al-Mahdi reiterated his defense of the NUP’s decision to engage in a dialogue with the NCP despite growing dissent within the party’s ranks and calls by his allies in the opposition alliance for political mobilization to topple the regime.

“We will not compromise over the country’s legitimate demands, but in view of the possible loss and responsibility in front of God’s and history, let’s us seek a peaceful solution,” Al-Mahdi was quoted in the press release.

Al-Mahdi went on to warn that a popular uprising in Sudan is likely to replicate the scenarios of Libya and Yemen due to the proliferation of arms in Sudan’s neglected peripheries as well as the existence of armed groups.

On the dialogue with the NCP, Al-Mahdi confirmed that after two months of discussions, the two sides had reached an agreement on some issues and failed to agree on others, adding that his meeting with Al-Bashir would be “decisive.”

Al-Mahdi iterated what he terms as the “National Agendas” on which his party is negotiating with the NCP, saying that the issues of nation building in the north, relationship with the south, the crisis in Darfur, public liberties, the economy and realistic dealing with the ICC crisis must be addressed.

Among the pending issues they two parties failed to agree on it there is the issue of Darfur administrative status and the implementation of Islamic law on the non-Muslims.

The Umma supports the establishment of a regional authority in the restive region while the NCP reject such idea. Also, the opposition party says the Sudanese Christians should be treated differently but the NCP makes the Islamic state his slogan after the separation of the South Sudan.

The Umma party also rejects the results of April elections and asks for the formation of a national government, a demand that the NCP refuses to consider.

The opposition figure said in an interview with Al-Arabiya TV this week that he does not expect his meeting with President Al Bashir to produce a positive outcome.

“We still disagree about core issues, yet we are planning resolve the situation with the ruling party soon whether we agree or not,” he said.

Al-Mahdi’s dialogue with the NCP has frayed his relationship with opposition allies, some of whom accused him of creating rifts and seeking a bilateral deal to enter the government.

Al-Mahdi was Sudan’s Prime Minister until he was toppled in 1989 via a coup engineered by the National Islamic Front and led by Al-Bashir.

(ST)