Sudan’s opposition alliance criticizes presidential assistant
June 10, 2015 (KHARTOUM) – Sudan’s opposition alliance of the National Consensus Forces (NCF) has harshly attacked the first presidential assistant and head of the organizational sector at the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), al-Hassan al-Merghani for belittling the opposition.
The son of the DUP’s leader also criticized the external moves of the NCF leaders, describing it as “desperate attempts”.
NCF spokesperson, Abu Bakr Youssef, said in a press release Wednesday that al-Merghani, by virtue of his position as presidential assistant, should have dealt with the opposition as statesman, noting he must be brave enough to recognize the other opinion.
“But he [al-Merghani] has chosen to identify with the exclusionary approach and authoritarian mentality of the regime which doesn’t only respect the other opinion but also denies its existence,” he said.
He described al-Merghani’s statements as an attempt to appease the regime for allowing his party to win some parliamentary seats “in the recent elections play” besides giving them few executive and sovereign posts.
Youssef stressed that the NCF was born from the suffering of the people, saying it emerged from the peoples’ reality and holds their hopes to achieve freedom and dignified life.
“He [al-Merghani] must know that the NCF is an umbrella organization with a collective leadership and there is no place within its ranks for those who seek to achieve an individual leadership by heredity,” he added.
The spokesperson further stressed the NCF did not budge from its deep conviction that change would be achieved at the hands of the Sudanese people, saying they would continue to fight for freedom and dignity.
He added that al-Merghani should direct his advices to the government of which he is a member, saying the regime was responsible for opening the door wide for the internationalization of the national decision.
The DUP left opposition ranks and joined the “broad-based” government of the NCP in December 2011, citing the “need to save the country” in the words of al-Mirghani himself.
The decision of one of Sudan’s biggest opposition parties to join the government has created a great deal of internal dissent that saw many members quitting in protest.
The DUP participated in the recent general elections and won 25 seats in the national parliament. It was also granted three ministries in the federal cabinet.
(ST)