Minawi holds military parade, says Sudan’s Revolution was hijacked
August 25, 2019 (KHARTOUM) – Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM)’s leader Minni Minnawi said the December revolution has been hijacked and described the agreement between the Forces for Freedom and Change (FFC) and the Transitional Military Council (TMC) as being based on the sharing of the constitutional portfolios and public service functions.
Last week, the Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM) held a military parade in an undisclosed location attended by Juma Mohamed Haqar, commander-in-chief of the SLA, on the 18th anniversary of the rebel group.
The commemoration included a review of armoured vehicles, armoured personnel carriers and weapons, according to a video released by the rebel group on Saturday.
Addressing the military parade by telephone, Minnawi criticized the agreement on the transitional authority, saying it was “fully a quotas agreement that would allocate more than 1,400 jobs in the constitutional positions, civil service, public sector companies that would be distributed between FFC and the TMC away from the Sudanese people and the competencies about which they speak.”
“The December Revolution (…) has been hijacked in a way similar to the manner of the al-Bashir regime, which practised racial discrimination, committed genocide and caused the separation of South Sudan as a result of wars and hatred,” he said.
In his recorded speech heard by the Sudan Tribune, Minnawi explained that August 17, 2019 (date of the formal signing of the constitutional document) went on and left behind a repetition of what happened on the Independence Day, where eight jobs had been allocated to South Sudan and zero position to Darfur out of 800 civil service jobs.
Minnawi and other groups of the Sudanese Revolutionary Front which are part of the FFC boycotted the signing ceremony of the constitutional document to express their rejection of the agreement saying it does not include a paragraph providing the primacy of the peace agreement over the transitional constitution.
Also, the armed groups asked to allocate them some seats in the Sovereign Council and the transitional government.
For his part, Nur al-Dayem Taha, head of SLM Media Secretariat told Sudan Tribune that the huge military parade they organized on the occasion confirms the group’s military capacity.
“The celebration and the military parade held refute the allegations that the movement does not have an army and that there is no need for peace talks with us,” Taha said.
Minawi pointed out that al-Bashir’s regime was not alone a symbol of suffering and displacement, but it is about a mentality and behaviour that remain after its ouster before to add that freedom will be achieved only through more struggle.
“We will not allow the monopoly of opportunities at the expense of the 6 million displaced people and refugees, and we will not accept the practice of exclusion again. We will work for freedom, peace and justice,” he added.
He pointed out that RSF submitted a document to the FFC including all the issues that could lead Sudan to the anchor of love and peace but their efforts for a consensus have failed due to the rigid position of a faction that considers they have the monopoly of Sudan, as he said.
However, Minnawi called for tolerance, unity and peaceful coexistence. Further, he reiterated their commitment to achieving a just and sustainable peace.
“We hope that the new responsible would work honestly and sincerely to overcome the crises in Sudan after the removal of the symbols of racism and genocide who ignited wars,” he said.
South Sudan, Egypt and Chad said willing to conjugate their efforts to end the armed conflicts in Darfur, Blue Nile and South Kordofan.
Nowadays, Juba hosts consultations between the Sudanese armed groups to draft a negotiating position paper ahead of talks with the would-be formed government in Khartoum by the Prime Minister Abdallah Hamdok.
(ST)