SPLM-N rebels to release POWs as Sudan’s ruling party welcomes move
December 28, 2014 (KHARTOUM) – Sudan’s ruling National Congress Party (NCP) welcomed the announcement by the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement North (SPLM-N) that it plans to release 20 POWs in response to an initiative of the Islamist group known as Sa’ihoon.
“We welcome the move and hope that it would translate into action .. A move like this we encourage and support,” the NCP head of the political sector Mustafa Osman Ismail said in press statements.
Sa’ihoon group, which means ‘God-seeking wanderers’ in Arabic, is a loose association of committed Islamists and former Popular Defence Forces (PDF) combatants who at one point formed the backbone of the regime which came to power through a coup in 1989.
A statement by Sa’ihoon spokesman Ali Osman said the group handed over both the government and the SPLM-N their vision for the release of the POW’s including confidence building measures and demonstration of good intentions and visits to POW’s sites to check on their well being and eventually releasing them after obtaining some technical details regarding their numbers and units they belong to.
“In accordance to this vision today we received a formal response from the two sides, the Sudanese government and the SPLM-N,” the statement reads.
Sa’ihoon welcomed “the courageous and humanitarian move undertaken by the SPLM-N for the release of 20 prisoners” adding that their release is a positive step that confirms the credibility of the SPLM-N and its commitment to its obligations that paves the way for the release of all prisoners in their custody.
The spokesman expressed their intention to carry on the dialogue with the SPLM-N which started in Addis Ababa to end the war and remove tensions and create a conducive climate in order to reach a lasting peace.
The Secretary-General of Sa’ihoon held a rare and lengthy meeting in Addis Ababa last November with the Secretary General of the SPLM-N Yasir Arman which led an agreement that Sa’ihoon would mediate between Khartoum and the Sudanese Revolutionary Front (SRF) to release prisoners held by the parties to the conflict.
Sa’ihoon also praised “humanitarian stances” demonstrated by Arman and his commitment to a positive deal for the release of prisoners.
They commended positive attitudes of the Sudanese government and its welcoming of its initiative and its commitment to releasing prisoners and saluted in particular the efforts of presidential assistant Ibrahim Ghandour to find a solution to release the prisoners.
They vowed to continue this path despite the challenges and difficulties “in order to stop the war between the sons of one nation and heal the wounds of the nation and stop the bleeding”.
Sa’ihoon emphasized that dialogue is the best way to resolving the country crises.
(ST)