Sudan’s HAG picks apart newly announced opposition alliance
May 18, 2015 (KHARTOUM) – Sudan’s opposition New Forces Movement (HAG) has criticized the initiative launched by the Liberal Democratic Unionist Party (LDUP) to unify opposition forces describing the move as an attempt to “fragment the opposition”.
Several opposition parties and civil society organizations singed on Saturday the “tomorrow’s Sudan” initiative and agreed on a regulatory mechanism to lead their work to end the totalitarian regime.
HAG, in a statement on Monday, denied being part of this new body and stressed that the person who signed on behalf of their movement is not a member of HAG.
“However they agreed to let him forge the signature of HAG and to sign their initiative on behalf of a body which he doesn’t belong to,” the statement read.
The statement considered the move nothing but “deception”, saying the initiative has not introduced anything new except an obvious attempt to divide the opposition which has been “united by the “Sudan Call” declaration in an unprecedented manner”.
The left party underscored that they have nothing to do with the initiative, stressing they refused to sign it for several political and organizational reasons.
The statement pointed out the chairman of the LDUP, Mayada Swar al-Zahab, sent them a copy of the initiative and asked them to sign it before the signing ceremony on Saturday.
“We apologized to her for being unable to sign the initiative for several reasons including adherence to our membership in the opposition [alliance] of the National Consensus Forces (NCF) and the “Sudan Call”. We informed her that we wouldn’t sign any political declaration or otherwise unless it was first discussed within the NCF”, the statement added.
HAG added they also told her there was not enough time to discuss the initiative within the movement’s organs in order to take a decision on it, saying despite of that the leadership of the LDUP falsely announced that we have signed the initiative.
“That what makes us question the intentions of those who stood behind the initiative and those who signed it,” they added.
The opposition LDUP was established late last year when the Sudanese Liberal Party (SLP) merged with a splinter faction from the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) of Mohamed Osman al-Merghani.
(ST)