Agreement with rebels rattled position of parties boycotting dialogue: NCP
September 14, 2014 (KHARTOUM) – Sudan’s ruling National Congress Party (NCP) said that political stances of opposition parties which refused to participate in the national dialogue have been weakened following the signing of the framework agreement between the national dialogue committee known as 7+7 and the Paris Declaration forces.
The NCP political secretary, Mustafa Osman Ismail, told reporters on Sunday that the African Union Peace and Security Council (AUPSC) and the international community increased pressure on political forces which rejected participation in the government-led national dialogue.
He pointed to the statement issued by the head of the African Union High Implementation Panel (AUHIP), Thabo Mbeki, on Friday in which he demanded these forces to join the national dialogue.
The AUHIP, in a special session on Friday, listened to a report by Mbeki on the progress of Sudan’s peace process in which he emphasized seriousness towards of both opposition and government sides towards comprehensive dialogue.
Ismail said he expects that some opposition parties would join the dialogue process at any of its stages, stressing that they will take part particularly after ending the war and participation of rebel groups in the dialogue.
He also predicted that the general assembly of the national dialogue parties would grant the 7+7 committee further powers during its upcoming meeting which will be held in the coming days.
The NCP official noted that the general assembly will approve a final document on achievements of the 7+7 committee including the framework agreement and proposal of the dialogue’s structure and timetable besides contacts with rebel groups.
Last January, the Sudanese president, Omer Hassan al-Bashir unveiled a national dialogue initiative aimed at holding an comprehensive conference on a new constitution and ways to end the armed conflicts in the Blue Nile, South Kordofan and Darfur.
The NUP led by al-Sadiq al-Mahdi and the Reform Now Movement (RNM) led by Ghazi Salah al-Din al-Attabani suspended their participation in the national dialogue before the latter rejoined the process.
The opposition alliance of the National Consensus Forces (NCF) and the rebel alliance of the Sudan Revolutionary Front (SRF) refused to join the dialogue from the outset.
On August 8th, the NUP and SRF signed the “Paris Declaration” which calls for ending the wars and engaging in a genuine national dialogue aimed at restoring democracy in Sudan.
(ST)