Sudan threatens to crush SPLM-N rebels militarily
May 16, 2015 (KHARTOUM) – Presidential assistant and government chief negotiator Ibrahim Ghandour accused the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement – North (SPLM-N) of obstructing peace in South Kordofan and Blue Nile states and threatened to militarily crush the insurgency.
During the electoral period the SPLM-N launched a campaign aiming to disrupt the elections in South Kordofan state. The National Election Commission admitted the insecurity in the state and cancelled the process in seven out of 24 constituencies there.
Ghandour told the meeting that his government is resolved to reach peace and to dialogue with the opposition forces to provide security and basic services to the people. But, he accused the SPLM-N of killing civilians, obstructing peace and resorting to foreign forces to achieve its objectives.
“They do not deserve to negotiate with them” he said.
“If the rebels continued their transgression, killing innocents and shelling civilians, there is no dialogue with them, and then will dialogue with them the heroes of the (government) armed forces who taught rebels a lesson they will never forget in Goz Dnigo (South Darfur),” he further stressed.
The Sudanese official was referring to the defeat of the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) fighters in the remote area of Goz Dnigo by the end of last April.
Peace talks between the Sudanese government and the rebel SPLM-N was suspended last December following the failure of the warring parties to reach a declaration of principles leading to a cessation of hostilities agreement.
Since, the two sides resumed clashes in South Kordofan and Blue Nile. However the SPLM-N and the opposition groups members of the Sudan Call charter agreed to meet the government on 30-31 March to discuss a framework for the national dialogue, but Khartoum refused to participate in such meeting before the elections.
Ghanour accused the SPLM-N of stealing the resources of South Kordofan state and taking it into the neighbouring South Sudan and their own accounts, adding that his government kept calling for peace during seven rounds of talks with the rebels.
“However, the SPLM demands and insistence for secularism, a weakened and divided state pushed the government delegation to reject their proposals,” said Ghandour who heads the government delegation in the peace talks.
During the last round of talks in Addis Ababa, government and rebels diverged on how to connect discussions on peace in the Two Areas with the national dialogue process which would include all the political forces to discuss constitutional reforms.
The SPLM-N also insisted on the need to implement a clause in the 2005 peace agreement providing to hold a popular consultation on the administrative status of the Two Areas, adding they want a self-rule for Blue Nile and South Kordofan.
Sudanese government officials, since, accuse the SPLM-N rebels of seeking to divide the country stressing that the former rebel SPLM separated the South Sudan and brought war and instability to the whole region.
SPLM-N leaders say self-governance is not a synonym for secession. “This is a pure propaganda. Our position is to demand self-governance within a united Sudan,” said last January the SPLM-N leader Malik Agar.
(ST)