EU envoy to Sudan meets with opposition dialogue parties
February 9, 2015 (KHARTOUM) – Sudanese opposition parties which suspended participation in the government-led national dialogue have expressed to the European Union (EU) ambassador to Sudan Thomas Ulicny their concern over the state of political liberties in the country.
Sudan’s president Omer Hassan al-Bashir launched the national dialogue initiative more than a year ago in which he urged opposition parties and rebels alike to join the dialogue table to discuss all the pressing issues.
But the initiative faced serious setbacks after rebel groups and leftist parties refused to join and after the National Umma Party (NUP) led by al-Sadiq al-Mahdi withdrew from the process in protest of al-Mahdi’s brief arrest last May.
Last month, several political parties including the Reform Now Movement (RNM) led by Ghazi Salah al-Din and the Just Peace Forum (JPF) led by al-Tayeb Mustafa and the Alliance of the Peoples’ Working Forces (APWF) announced that they have decided to suspend participation in the national dialogue until the requirements of a conducive environment are met.
Leaders of the RNM, APWF, Arab Socialist Nasserite Party, Sudanese Democratic Solidarity Party and Eastern Sudan Democratic Forum stressed their desire to participate in a purposeful national dialogue on the basis of the roadmap approved by the dialogue committee known as 7+7 last August and the Addis Ababa agreement signed with the rebel groups last September.
They called for creating atmosphere conducive for national dialogue and postponement of elections until after conclusion of the national dialogue besides releasing all political detainees.
The preliminary estimates of the 7+7 committee put the number of convicts from rebel groups at 93 besides several other political detainees.
Ulicny, for his part, said the national peaceful dialogue is an internal issue, noting that the success of the dialogue will benefit all Sudanese people.
He added that peace, development and democracy could only be achieved through a comprehensive, inclusive and transparent national dialogue.
The EU ambassador added that the dialogue must be held in a conducive environment which secures liberties, calling for the release of political prisoners and applying other confidence-building measures.
He also underscored the need for arriving at an agreement on the cessation of hostilities and allowing access of humanitarian assistance to the needy population in the conflict zones.
Ulicny further emphasized that peaceful democratic transformation would allow Sudan to enjoy domestic stability, prosperity and growing relations with the international community.
He pointed to the resolution issued by the EU foreign ministers on October 20, 2014 in which they demanded the Sudanese stakeholders to show the necessary leadership to put the country on the path of peace, prosperity and justice.
(ST)