Nafie shrugs off opposition boycott of constitution talks
February 21, 2012 (KHARTOUM) – A ruling party official in Sudan has downplayed the decision of some opposition forces to boycott discussions on the country’s new constitution, saying it will not impact national consensus.
NCP officials, including President Omer Al-Bashir, have indicated that the new constitution will be purely based on Islamic Shari’ah law to reflect what they believe is the homogenous nature of the country after the mainly-Christian south seceded.
The vice-chairman of the National Congress Party (NCP), Nafie Ali Nafie, on Tuesday revealed that he held a meeting with officials of the political parties that are represented in the government to the end of discussing how to move forward in drafting a new constitution.
Nafie said in statements published by the official news agency (SUNA) that the ongoing dialogue with political parties on the new constitution had reached an advanced stage and discussions are now expected to move to the point of how to form the constitutional committee.
However, the hard-line NCP figure said that the position of the Popular Congress Party (PCP) of the veteran Islamist Hassan Al-Turabi, and the Sudanese Communist Party (SCP), on boycotting the discussions does not detract from national consensus.
The SCP and the PCP in particular appear to be the most committed opposition forces to the goal of regime change through popular uprising.
The National Umma Party (NUP) of former Prime Minister Al-Sadiq al-Mahdi has refused to join the “broad-base” government formed by the NCP last year but Al-Mahdi maintains mild criticism of the government and says he prefers dialogue with the NCP.
Nafie described the regime change rhetoric of the PCP and the SCP as mere “dreams and illusions.”
The NCP has largely escaped the contagion of revolts that toppled long-serving regimes in Sudan’s Arab milieu in 2011. However, the party is grappling with increased dissent due to worsening economic conditions and perceived corruption.
Malik Agar
In a separate subject, Nafie also downplayed the selection of Malik Aggar as a leader of the Sudanese Revolutionary Forces (SRF).
Aggar, who is the chairman of the armed opposition Sudan People’s Liberation Movement North (SPLM-N), was elected on Monday as President of the SRF which comprises his group plus three rebel factions from the country’s western region of Darfur.
The declared goal of the SRF alliance is to topple the Sudanese government through armed struggle.
Nafie said that Aggar’s election bears nothing new and suggests that Darfur groups were being marginalized within the SRF alliance.
SPLM-N fighters have been fighting government forces in South Kordofan and Blue Nile state since last year.
Aggar was the governor of Blue Nile until he was sacked by Al-Bashir following the eruption of the conflict in Blue Nile in September.
(ST)
