Sudan’s dialogue committee to resume activities next week
October 4, 2014 (KHARTOUM) – The national dialogue mechanism will resume its activities after the end of Eid al-Adha holiday, attributing the recent halt of its meetings to the regional conventions of the ruling National Congress Party (NCP).
Despite the launch of the national dialogue initiative to discuss ways to end war and adopt a new constitution, the ruling party refuses to postpone the electoral process saying it would create a constitutional vacuum and causes chaos in the country.
Fadel Alseed Shuaib, co-spokesperson of the (7+7) mechanism and leader of Truth Party, said on Saturday that meetings of the dialogue committee were perturbed by the frequent absence of the presidential assistant and NCP deputy leader Ibrahim Ghandour who had to participate in the regional conventions of his party.
In statements to Ashorooq TV, Shouaib regretted that important national issues depend on the condition of a party or a person, stressing that the ruling party bears the responsibility of any setback or failure of the dialogue process.
He further said the critical conditions the country is facing require to work seriously to achieve the national dialogue, particularly after the signing of a roadmap by the dialogue’s parties on 9 August and the signing of an agreement with the African Union High Level Implementation Panel (AUHIP) on 4 September.
Several opposition parties, including the National Consensus Forces and other groups refuse to take part in the dialogue process saying the NCP is not serious about achieving democratic changes or ending war.
They say the NCP has to release political freedoms, to stop press censorship and to release political detainees, before to engage in such important process.
Also, since last June the National Umma Party left the process and demands the implementation of confidence building measures in order to create a conducive environment for the process. The opposition party suspended its participation after the one-month detention of its leader.
The spokesperson however expressed hope that the 7+7 committee will work to convince those who refuse to join the process before meetings on cessation of hostilities with the rebel groups in Addis Ababa.
In line with a decision of the African Union Peace and Security Council, the Sudanese government and the rebel SPLM-N will meet on 12 October to discuss a cessation of hostilities agreement in Blue Nile and South Kordofan. Another meeting with Darfur groups will follow on 15 October.
After the signing of the truce, the political parties, including the opposition parties that are not part of the 7+7 committee, and rebel groups will be convened by the AUHIP to participate in a meeting to be held at the African Union headquarters in Addis Ababa to discuss a framework of the internal process.
(ST)