Sudan Call proposes supplemental agreement to peace roadmap

June 19, 2016 (KHARTOUM) – The opposition umbrella of the Sudan Call Sunday said they will propose a supplemental document to the African Union mediation, and would reassess their position from the Roadmap Agreement according to its feedback.

In a statement they release at the end of a three-day meeting held in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa, political and armed opposition groups of the Sudan Call alliance said they had a positive and deep discussion with the international envoys about their reservations over the Roadmap Agreed.

“In order to move towards peace, democratization and nation-building as well as citizenship; we suggested them to endorse a supplement ensuring that the Roadmap becomes a gateway to an equal, serious and fruitful dialogue with the inclusion of all opposition forces,” said the Sudan Call forces.

The statement stressed on the need ”to agree on the confidence building measures, their implementation, and the dialogue structures”.

They opposition group further vowed to hand their position over this supplemented agreement to the Chair of the African Union High level Implementation Panel (AUHIP), Thabo Mbeki, and to meet after that.

Last March, the AUHIP proposed the Roadmap to the Sudanese government and some opposition groups including the National Umma Party, Sudan People’s Liberation Movement North, Justice and Equality Movement, and Sudan Liberation Movement of Minni Minnawi.

However, only Khartoum government signed the text while the four groups declined the text saying the roadmap only speaks about cessation of hostilities and humanitarian access. They pointed that it ignores other confidence building measures needed to create a conducive environment before to join the national dialogue conference, such as ensuring political freedoms, release of political detainees and prisoners.

They further blast the peace plan for acknowledging the government controlled dialogue process as basis for the national constitutional dialogue, adding that it also excludes important political and civil society groups.

The statement further said they agreed on the need to speed up the implementation of the decisions taken at Paris meeting last April related to the alliance structures and to strengthen the unity of the opposition groups.

Observers from Addis Ababa say the Sudanese opposition groups came under huge American pressure to sign the framework agreement.

The meeting was boycotted by the National Consensus Forces. However the Sudanese Congress Party which is member of this coalition of left parties, was at the meeting.

(ST)