Sudan’s dialogue body to discuss resumption of its activities on Tuesday

July 4, 2015 (KHARTOUM) – Sudan’s dialogue committee known as 7+7 would meet on Tuesday to discuss resumption of the national dialogue ahead of its meeting with president Omer Hassan al-Bashir.

On Thursday al-Bashir who is also the chairman of the ruling National Congress Party (NCP) directed his party to prepare in cooperation with the 7+7 to convene the national dialogue following Eid al-Fitr holiday within two weeks.

7+7 committee spokesperson and political secretary of the Popular Congress Party (PCP), Kamal Omer, said in press statements on Saturday that the committee would meet at twelve o’clock noon (local time) on Tuesday.

He said the opposition parties at the committee have underscored their full right to provide visions to develop and improve the dialogue process, adding that it is wrong to think that dialogue is controlled by the NCP.

Omer emphasised that political parties and the entire Sudanese people have the right to participate in the dialogue, saying they reject interference of the international community in the process.

“We believe that the government must meet basic requirements of the dialogue including the release of political detainees and convicts, securing participation of the rebel leaders [in the dialogue inside Sudan], stopping the war and allowing freedoms. All those requirements must be agreed upon by political parties within the dialogue,” he added.

On Friday, 7+7 member from the government side and head of the Liaison Committee with the rebel movements Ahmed Saad Omer told the pro-government Sudan Media Center (SMC) that they would meet president Bashir before the end of Ramadan.

He pointed out that the 7+7 would meet prior to the Bashir’s meeting to assess the efforts done to resume the internal process.

Bashir launched the national dialogue initiative more than a year and a half ago in which he urged opposition parties and rebels alike to join the dialogue table to discuss all the pressing issues.

However, the government refusal to create a conducive environment including the implementation of confidence building measures led the National Umma Party (NUP) to suspend its participation in the process. Also, the Reform Now Movement (RNM) and the Just Peace Forum (JPF) marked their distance with the process but the latter resumed its participation recently.

In February 2015, the holdout National Consensus Forces (NCF), the alliance of rebel groups, Sudanese Revolutionary Forces and the NUP accepted to negotiate with the government on pre-dialogue measures before to join the internal process but the ruling party declined to meet them before the elections.

(ST)