Sudanese government, NDA forces to resume talks

Oct 22, 2006 (KHARTOUM) — The Sudanese government and National Democratic Alliance have agreed to resume negotiations in Egypt through joint committees to implement the Cairo Agreement signed between the two parties.

The head of peace and reconciliation committee at parliament, Ali Ahmad al Sayed said committees should start negotiations after Eid al-Fitr holiday.

He noted that all obstacles that hindered the functions of the committees in the past have been resolved.

The expected talks would focus on the democratic transition laws, the reintegration of the dismissed civil servants and the military officers since 1989.

Egypt has been very involved in reconciliation efforts between NDA and the Sudanese regime to guarantee the participation of the Sudanese opposition alliance in the new government.

According to the Cairo agreement, the NDA’s posts in the government of National Unity are: Presidential advisor, Ministry of Education, Ministry of Sciences and Technology, State Minister at the Ministry of Agriculture, 20 MPs at the National Assembly and 39 MPs at the regional legislative assemblies, 10 ministerial posts in the regional governments and 8 posts at the departmental level.

The NDA, an umbrella opposition group, includes a dozen or so largely northern political parties, trade union representatives, the southern rebel SPLM, Darfur rebel SLM, and Eastern Front.

While the SPLM, Darfur rebel groups and Eastern rebels held separated talks with Khartoum, the rest of northern political forces of the NDA signed a reconciliation agreement on June 18, 2005 which paved the way for discussions on the formation of a new government.

The group has been battling both politically and militarily the government of President Omar Hassan al-Beshir ever since he came to power in a military coup in 1989.

(ST)