Sudanese president decrees amnesty for rebels and ceasefire
September 22, 2015 (KHARTOUM) – President Omer Hassan al-Bashir Tuesday has pardoned rebel leaders who participate in the national dialogue conference, and declared a two-month ceasefire in war areas.
The national dialogue conference is scheduled for 20 October 2015.
Several rebel members and leaders including the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement/North (SPLM-N) chairman Malik Agar and secretary-general Yasser Arman have been sentenced to death by Sudanese courts.
The two decrees come after a pledge al-Bashir during the opening session of the national dialogue’s general assembly last August in which he expressed readiness to declare a two-month cease fire in order to hold the dialogue in a healthy atmosphere and high patriotism.
The Sudanese army has been fighting SPLM-N rebels in South Kordofan and Blue Nile states since 2011 and the armed movements in Darfur since 2003.
Bashir launched the national dialogue initiative in January 2014 but the process suffered major setbacks after the withdrawal of the opposition National Umma Party (NUP) and the non-participation of the rebels as well as leftist forces.
The SPLM-N, Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) Sudan Liberation Movement led by Minni Minnawi (SLM-MM) recently expressed willingness to sign a cessation of hostilities with the government for six months if the government commits itself to the pre-dialogue meeting as provided in an African Union’s roadmap to facilitate the internal process.
Besides the end of war, the African roadmap includes the implementation of other confidence building measures such as ensuring political freedoms, humanitarian access and release of political detainees and prisoners.
(ST)