Bashir promises broad based government and release of SA peacekeepers

April 25, 2010 (KHARTOUM) — The Sudanese president Omer Hassan Al-Bashir held two separate meetings today with the former South African president and chairman of African Union High Level Implementation Panel (AUHIP) Thabo Mbeki as well as UNAMID chief Ibrahim Gambari for talks on the recent elections and the fate of four South African peacekeepers abducted this month in Darfur by unknown gunmen.

Sudan official news agency (SUNA) said that Bashir told Mbeki, who was accompanied by former Burundian President Pierre Buyoya, that he is keen on dialogue and including all parties in the upcoming government even those who boycotted.

The ruling National Congress Party (NCP) headed by Bashir have gave conflicting statements on whether opposition would be allowed to join the post-election government.

The major Northern opposition parties boycotted the elections with the exception of the Popular Congress Party (PCP) and the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP). But both parties later slammed the election process alleging fraud and saying they will not recognize the results.

They also vowed not to take part in any government formed in accordance with the election outcome.

The Sudanese president has said this month that only parties that participated in the elections could join the government.

Today the government sponsored Al-Ahram newspaper in Egypt reported that the NCP is in talks with the DUP on whether they are interested in being part of the broad based government.

Mbeki said in a press statements afterwards his talks with Bashir that the meeting focused on the formation of the upcoming government revealing that he will meet with South Sudan President Salva Kiir in Juba.

He stressed that the dialogue with Sudanese political forces is not a venue to make decisions as those will be made by the parliament and other government bodies.

In the other meeting Bashir affirmed the keenness to secure the release of the four abducted peacekeepers of the United Nations and African Union Mission in Darfur (UNAMID). He assured Gambari that he will spare no effort to secure their release and prevent abduction of any peacekeeper in the future.

A report by the Netherlands based Radio Dabanga said that the kidnapping was the work of a new group called the Movement for the Struggle of the People in Darfur which claimed responsibility. They said they wanted a $500,000 ransom.

This week it was reported that the group would release the peacekeepers after the elections results are released.

“We will release them after the results of the elections,” Ibrahim al-Dukki, of the People’s Democratic Struggle Movement, told AFP by telephone.

Dukki said his group wanted to avoid releasing the hostages during any potential clashes after the results of Sudan’s first competitive election in 24 years, which ended on Thursday.

“We want to wait until the election results are out. We want to make sure first that there is no trouble before we release them. We will definitely release them after the election result,” Dukki said.

Meanwhile, Gambari announced in a statement to the press that the UNAMID and the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC) have agreed to enhance their cooperation to follow up the implementation of the decisions of the International Donors Conference in Darfur, which was held last month in Cairo

He referred to the outcome of his recent visit to Saudi Arabia and his meeting with the Secretary General of the OIC, Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu

Gambari explained that his meeting with the President of the Republic touched on the elections in Sudan and the necessity to create an atmosphere convenient for the voluntary repatriation of the displaced people as well as boosting the security in Darfur.

(ST)