Ex-presidential aide sought to spoil talks for peace in eastern Sudan: SRF
December 25, 2019 (KHARTOUM) – Osama Said, head of the opposition Beja party and spokesman for the Sudanese Revolutionary Front (SRF) Wednesday said forces belonging to the former regime have tried to use the recent intercommunal conflicts in eastern Sudan to participate in peace talks.
The capital of the Red Sea State, Port Sudan, witnessed a series of bloody tribal clashes during the past six months between the tribes of Beni Amer, Nuba, Hadandawah and Alamrar.
In statements to Sudan Tribune on Wednesday, Osama accused the former President Assistant, Musa Mohamed Ahmed, of trying to use these events to promote himself and to regain influence in the region despite his participation in the ousted regime and failure to solve the problems of the region.
He said that Musa came to Juba with a delegation of leaders of the Native Administration in eastern Sudan, demanding to suspend negotiations. Following what a conference would be held to determine the region’s grievances and to elect a negotiating delegation.
The former presidential assistant “had sent letters to the Sovereign Council, the South Sudanese mediation, and Eritrea -as the mediator of the 2006 East Sudan Peace Agreement- requesting that he be charged with leading negotiations on eastern Sudan and to transfer the venue of the process to Asmara.
Musa Mohamed Ahmed was the leader of the Eastern Front, which signed a peace agreement with the government of Omer al-Bashir in May 2006. He served as assistant to the President of the Republic from then until the fall of the Bashir regime in April 2019.
Osama praised the position of the Eritrean government, which refused to “slip behind these allegations”. He further revealed that Asmara made it clear that all the provisions of the East Sudan Agreement had been implemented there was no longer any need to reopen it.
The SRF spokesman also said that the head of the government negotiating delegation, Mohammad Hamdan Daglo Hemetti contributed to persuading the traditional leaders of the Native Administration to reach a compromise and to abandon Musa’s position, who tried to include the tribal rifts in the agenda of Juba talks.
The talks on the eastern Sudan track opened on Monday, December 23. The SRF groups from eastern Sudan: the Beja conference and the United Popular Front for Liberation and Justice filed a joint position paper.
At the end of the day, it was agreed to postpone the talks for three weeks.
During this period, a consultative conference will be held to discuss issues could be included in the agenda of the talks between the government and the SRF forces in eastern Sudan. Also, the conference will discuss issues of social reconciliation and ways to end tribal tension in the region.
Osama added that they agreed with the Sudanese government to resume talks in Juba at the end of the consultative conference. He further emphasized that there would be no election of a new negotiating delegation and that the agreement of 2006 would not be the basis of the talks on eastern Sudan.
(ST)