Sudan’s NCP failed to meet spirit of peace – SPLM officials
By Roba Gibia
December 16, 2007 (CAIRO) – The Presidential Advisor, Dr. Mansour Khaled and Deputy Speaker of National Assembly, Mr. Atem Garang, briefed the Sudanese community in Cairo about the reasons of deadlock in the CPA implementation. Both blamed the National Congress for a persisting will to continue a monopoly of power policy despite the 2005 peace deal.
Mansour and Atem, who are visiting Cairo to deliver a message from the Sudanese First vice president to the Egyptian president, told the Sudanese community on Sunday December 16 that the NCP had missed the CPA implementation because it failed to meet the spirit of national reconciliation, democratic transition and sharing power which are pillars of the Sudan peace agreement between the NCP and the SPLM.
The Deputy Speaker of National Assembly, Atem briefed the audience about the reasons which led to the suspension of SPLM ministers from government of national unity, which was mainly due to the slow implementation of the agreement, lack of transparency in the oil share, border demarcation and the implementation of Abyei report.
Atem continued to elaborate that they also differ with NCP on the issue of census, as according to NCP they do not want to include tribe and religion in the census form. He further said that they are all Sudanese regardless of tribe and religion, but for the SPLM it is vital to include the tribe and religion in the census form, as to determine offering of better services and wondered, how they will serve Muslims in Mangala for instance if their number is not determined, and said this issue they discussed in lengthy with NCP but without any breakthrough.
On the issue of democratic transformation, Mr. Atem said that there is still censorship on newspapers, detention of people without charges, oppression and in some government institutions women are forced to veil regardless whether being Christians, Jews or pagans and said this is not the kind of Sudan which SPLM is driving to realize, and said we need Sudan to all Sudanese and without any side imposing its will on the others.
The deputy speaker said the NCP is still pursuing the violence policy in schools and universities and there are some separatists in north who are consistently spearheading reprisals and projecting Southerners and SPLM as evils in some newspapers in Khartoum just like the program of Sacrifice at the Fields of War (Fi Sahat El Fida). He said they still believe that SPLM belongs to south only which is ridiculous but SPLM is for the entire Sudan, because east, west, north and central Sudan people were all marginalized by the government in Khartoum, and the few elites ruling Sudan are ready to remain in power even if they are going to rule only Khartoum.
The presidential Advisor Dr. Mansour Khaled started his briefing by saying that the recent political crisis which erupted between the SPLM and NCP was result of accumulated issues which had to happen. And said that the Abyei issue is not new but was made clear in Addis Ababa accord which stated that the border should be according to the January 1, 1956 and allowed the free movement of the people living along the south-north border. He mentioned that the government was supposed to resolve this problem in order to make the bordering areas a converging point but not a confrontation point. He underlined that when the Abyei Board Commission’s experts presented their report in the presence of Late Dr. John Garang, Garang told President Bashir that the most important issue here is not the border but the welfare of the people in those areas.
On the matter of national reconciliation, Mansour Khaled said there is committee formed for the fact findings not with idea of convicting or reprisals but for the purification of conscience, because there will not be national reconciliation unless through fact findings and purification of souls. He stressed that Sudan’s problems require commitment from both partners, NCP and SPLM as how to govern Sudan.
He said that the latest row between the SPLM and NCP is natural to occur because it is the nature of absolute governance which will require time to transform, and underlined that still the official media presentation doesn’t reflect Sudan’s cultural diversity and it requires revision of editorial and perspectives to accommodate the cultural diversity of Sudanese people.
On Darfur issue Dr. Mansour said that the accusation of NCP that SPLM is brokering the Darfur crisis for its benefit has no ground and absurd, because SPLM is exerting its efforts to unite the Darfur groups under one umbrella, so that they can talk with one voice and present their case in genuine manner, and said that there will not be inclusive peace in Sudan unless Darfur crisis is resolved.
The meeting was held at the Cairo International Conference Center, Mycerinos Hall and was attended by great number of Sudanese and political leaders, civil organizations, television crews and journalists and Sudanese community in Egypt.
The two SPLM officials arrived Cairo early Saturday morning to brief Egyptian authorities about the recent breakthrough in the row between the two partners, SPLM and NCP.
Mansour and Atem were carrying message from Chairman of SPLM, Salva Kiir Mayardit to the Egyptian President, Hosni Mubarak but also to thank the Egyptian authority who started the first efforts to iron the differences between the two partners.
(ST)