Southern leader defects from NCP, forms new party
April 2, 2006 (KHARTOUM) — Former Vice-President George Kongor confirmed conflicts within the ruling party and disclosed the formation of a new political party vowing to support peace in the Sudan
Former Vice-President of the Republic and current Chairman of the newly-formed African National Congress (ANC) Lt-Gen George Kongor Arop confirmed conflicts within the ruling National Congress Party (NCP) and especially conflict over NCP’s southern forum which led him and a group of southerners to defect from the NCP.
In a press conference to launch the ANC, Arop said they tried to correct mistakes in the NCP but their attempts went unheeded.
“We made a press statement on 12 July 2005 but the NCP leadership intentionally ignored our demands, therefore we suspended our activity in the NCP on 5 September 2005, with only three choices left, either to abandon politics, join other parties or establish an independent party, and we chose the latter,” Arop disclosed.
Arop added that the party will be dedicated to protection of the peace agreement and will hold no disagreement with any party who supports the agreement and has principles and a vision for resolving Sudan’s problems.
“Ours is a party that stands against armed militias,” Arop responded to a query on whether his party had armed militias.
The matter of militias is settled by the peace agreement which allows them to either join the SPLA or the government forces, including Popular Defence Forces, he explained.
He stressed that his party adheres to the Abyei report in its final form.
“NCP rejection of Abyei report will lead us back to square one,” he added.
Arop announced that he supports any settlement to the Darfur question at the Abuja talks, but in case the talks failed, he said he would support international intervention to settle the problem.
He called upon the Sudanese to settle their problems by themselves, because stubbornness brings international intervention.
He dismissed the recent Arab summit as a useless ceremony as many an Arab summit before had pledged financial support for Sudan and nothing materialized.
“My relationship with Hassan Turabi is a political rather a personal one and Turabi was not behind my appointment as vice-president of the Sudan as much as he was not the reason of my defection from the NC,” stated Arop.
“Our constitution is at variance with that of Turabi’s Popular National Congress Party and our party, whose objective is democracy, is governed by the constitution,” Arop said.
(Khartoum Monitor/ST)