Opposition PCP says Sudan’s dialogue is only extended for one month
December 29, 2015 (KHARTOUM) – The opposition Popular Congress Party (PCP) has denied reports that the National Dialogue Conference, in session here since October 10, had been extended indefinitely, saying the extension was just for one month.
Last Sunday 27 December, the Sudanese presidential assistant and deputy chairman of the ruling National Congress Party (NCP) Ibrahim Mahmoud Hamid told reporters that objective developments had dictated the extension of the conference indefinitely, in anticipation of the participation of more political parties and armed movements that had initially rejected the process.
Initially, the conference was scheduled to end on January 10, but the decision to extend it intervenes as the government has engaged informal consultations with the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N) to end the conflict in the South Kordofan and Blue Nile and to hold a comprehensive political process including all the armed and political opposition groups.
Omer said the dialogue mechanism was keeping contacts with the other rebel groups and the SPLM-N) to catch up with political settlement called for by President Omer al-Bashir.
He said some opposition political parties inside the country “moved from casting doubts on the dialogue to discuss the dialogue output”.
The political forces members of the opposition alliance National Consensus Forces (NCF) and other parties refuse to take part in the conference before the creation of a conducive environment and the implementation of specific confidence-building measures provided in a roadmap proposed by the African Union mediation team.
Some significant political parties , such as the National Umma Party, the Reform Now Movement and the Just Peace Forum, that approved the process in the beginning. But later they suspended their participation, criticizing the government refusal to postpone the general elections and the lack of political freedoms.
Omer said he was surprised by the statements about the indefinite extension of the conference, adding .”It is not possible to extend the dialogue to unknown deadline at a time the country is facing problems and crises”.
He said the extension “will not exceed 30 days and it is scheduled to expire on the tenth of February”
Omer further expressed dismay over the arrest of opposition cadres , calling for the release of all political detainees .
He urged the government authorities to stop the confiscation of newspapers and called for the suspension of the al-Tayyar newspaper to be cancelled.
“The dialogue conference liberties committee is following up the problem of newspapers suspensions,” he said.
The National dialogue mechanism which is headed by President al-Bashir who is chairman of the ruling party, includes representatives of the government parties and opposition forces participating in the process.
The Islamist opposition party kept its support to the dialogue process despite its criticism by the opposition forces saying it remains the only valid option for the country.
However, it is not clear if these statements reflects a new dissonance within the two Islamist parties, NCP and PCP, or a coordinated retraction of what had been announced last Sunday.
(ST)