Germany to facilitate efforts for peace and democratic reforms in Sudan
October 2, 2014 (KHARTOUM) – Germany will work with the Sudanese parties to facilitate a process aiming to bring peace in the east African country and achieve democratic transformation, said a statement released in Berlin on Thursday after a meeting with the Sudanese rebels.
The two-day meeting was attended by the different SRF groups, except the Sudan Liberation Movement – Abdel Wahid (SLM-AW), which demands to implement security measures aiming to protect civilians in the war zones before to engage in peace negotiations with the government.
The workshop, which included officials from the German foreign ministry, took place after a series of meetings German officials recently conducted with the Sudanese government and the African Union High-Level Implementation Panel (AUHIP).
While the SRF leaders reaffirmed their commitment towards a process leading to achieve just peace and genuine democratic change in Sudan, The German tandem agreed to with them to work on ways to end the fighting and prepare the national constitutional conference.
“Berghof Foundation/ SWP committed to work with the SRF and other Sudanese parties as well as international partners towards helping create a credible national dialogue/constitutional process in Sudan,” said a statement extended by the German mediation body to Sudan Tribune at the end of the workshop.
The Berghof Foundation further said they will support efforts aiming to “find a mechanism for stopping the wars in Sudan and assisting the Sudanese parties in closing the gaps towards a comprehensive national dialogue”.
Further, the German facilitators agreed with the SRF alliance to consult on these ideas with “a variety of Sudanese stakeholders and key international partners, notably the African Union and United Nation”.
The German foreign ministry expressed its readiness to support these objectives through its backing of the Berghof Foundation/SWP initiative.
On Monday 30 September, the German embassy in Khartoum said the Sudanese authorities are aware of the meeting with the rebel groups.
Last August; Sudanese presidential assistant Ibrahim Ghandour told Sudan Tribune they had asked Berlin to support their efforts to end war in Sudan and hold the national dialogue process inside the country with the participation of all the rebel groups.
He further expressed hopes that Germany play a role supporting Sudan’s efforts to improve its relations with the European Union countries.
The organisers of the workshop said the SRF expressed “its conviction that democratic, credible elections can occur only following a national dialogue/constitutional process”.
In early September, the SRF signed with AUHIP an agreement on the national dialogue and constitutional process providing that a comprehensive political agreement is the ideal option to end war and achieve democratic reforms.
The government and rebel delegations will meet in Addis Ababa on 12 and 15 October to discuss a cessation of hostilities in South Kordofan, Blue Nile states and Darfur region.
However, the SLM-AW did not participate in the meeting with the German facilitators.
Sudan Tribune failed to reach its leader Abdel Wahid al-Nur. However sources close to the rebel group said the workshop is perceived by the SLM-AW leadership as “pre-negotiation process”.
In an interview conducted with him in September after the SRF meeting with the AUHIP in Addis Ababa, al-Nur said they would not participate in the national dialogue process before improving the security conditions of civilians in the conflict areas.
“We reiterated our demand to protect civilians on the ground before any dialogue with the regime. Peace must begin with security and ends with a genuine democratic change,” al-Nur told Sudan Tribune on 7 September.
The rebel leader who considers that the cessation of hostilities is not enough says security measures should be unilaterally implemented by the government, adding they do not require any discussion or agreement.
(ST)