ُEU, Troika diplomats call to expedite intra-Sudanese talks to restore civilian government
April 29, 2022 (KHARTOUM) – European Union and Troika countries diplomats called to expedite talks to restore a civilian-led transition in Sudan and expressed their support for the dialogue process facilitated by the tripartite mechanism.
Envoys from France, Germany, Norway, the United Kingdom, the United States of America, and the European Union on Thursday held joint meetings with the Sudanese stakeholders including the military-led Sovereign Council, the Sudanese Revolutionary Front (SRF), the National Consensus groups and the Forces for Freedom and Change (FFC).
In a statement released on Friday, the envoys said the visit aimed to show their support for the people of Sudan and a civilian-led transition towards democracy.
“They called for immediate progress towards a civilian transitional government, agreed through the Sudanese-led political process being facilitated by the United Nations Integrated Transition Assistance Mission to Sudan (UNITAMS), the African Union (AU), and the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD),” further stressed the statement.
The visiting delegation consisted of French Special Envoy for the Horn of Africa Frederic Clavier, German Director for East Africa and the Horn of Africa Thorsten Hutter, Norwegian Director-General for Regional Affairs May-Elin Stener, UK Special Envoy for the Horn of Africa and the Red Sea Philip Parham, U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary for East Africa, Sudan, and South Sudan Peter Lord, and EU Special Representative for the Horn of Africa Annette Weber.
The Sovereign Council said the delegation met with its chairman Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and his deputy Mohamed Hamdan Daglo aka Hemetti.
“Al-Burhan reiterated the government’s full commitment to the political dialogue process to reach a political consensus to manage the remainder of the transitional period,” said the statement.
The SRF said they briefed the visiting envoys about their initiative to end the political strife and discussed suspending the economic support provided by the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, and Sudan’s debt relief process.
The National Consensus groups said they want an inclusive process and called to resume the economic support to the country.
The Troika and EU diplomats, also, met with the Forces for Freedom and Change (FFC).
FFC leading member Yasir Arman told the Sudan Tribune that the meeting was “good” and that understanding and frankness prevailed at the meeting”.
The FFC stressed that the resolution of the political crisis in the country must achieve the aspirations of the people for peace, freedom and justice, otherwise, it is doomed to failure, as what happened to the November 21 agreement, he said.
The envoys said they called for constructive participation and pointed out the dangers of any further delay.
“The delegation warned against any agreement or government resulting from non-inclusive processes which would lack credibility with the Sudanese public and the international community,” stressed the EU and Troika diplomats. n
The tripartite mechanism announced on Wednesday that the intra-Sudanese dialogue process would start in mid-May.
The visiting Western officials pledged to continue humanitarian and other forms of direct assistance to the Sudanese people.
However, they made it clear that the resumption of international financial support for the Sudanese government, including debt relief, “could only follow establishment of a credible civilian government”.
“They expressed concern that without this, Sudan might lose billions of dollars in development assistance from the World Bank, and that Sudan’s IMF programme and $19 billion in associated debt relief would be imperilled”.
(ST)