SRF groups announce readiness for six-month cessation of hostilities in Sudan
September 14, 2015 (PARIS) – The rebel umbrella Sudanese Revolutionary Front (SRF) announced its readiness to sign a six-month cessation of hostilities with the Sudanese government and called on the latter to engage in genuine and comprehensive dialogue.
“The SRF thus resolved that it is prepared to sign a six-month agreement for a Cessation of Hostilities for the purposes of: (1) protecting civilians; (2) providing unhindered humanitarian assistance; and (3) creating a conducive environment for the peace process and National Constitutional Dialogue,” said a communiqué released with the “SRF Roadmap on the Way Forward” late on Monday evening.
Sudanese president announced recently his willingness for a two-month ceasefire in Blue Nile and South Kordofan states and Darfur region in order to hold the dialogue in a “healthy atmosphere”.
Also the national dialogue mechanism said ready to meet the armed groups only to discuss their procedural issues related to their participation in the internal political process.
The 7+7 refuses the participation of the political parties in the pre-dialogue discussions saying the existing political freedoms in the country create the necessary conditions for holding the dialogue and do not see any justification to their demands for a conducive environment.
However in its statement, the SRF stressed its support for conducting an inclusive preparatory meeting in Addis Ababa, under the auspices of the AUHIP to determine the nature and details of the National Constitutional Dialogue.
They pointed they will not consider engaging in a National Dialogue under the arrangements established solely by the National Congress Party (NCP)-led government, which decided on its own on the nature, issues, timing, mechanisms, and leadership of the dialogue.
The armed groups reiterated their support for the African Union Peace and Security Council (AUPSC) decision 539 of 25 August which calls on Khartoum to accept an all-parties pre-dialogue meeting in Addis Ababa.
On 9 September the SRF groups met with the international envoys and diplomats from United States, the United Kingdom, Norway, France, and the European Union and called for a decision by the UN Security Council to endorsing the recent AUPSC decision on the national dialogue.
The SRF groups are signatory of Sudan Call with the National Umma Party of sadiq al-Mahdi, the political coalition of National Consensus Forces (NCF) and the groups of civil society.
(ST)