PCP calls for visa-free travel between north and south Sudan

August 10, 2015 (KHARTOUM) – The Popular Congress Party (PCP) led by Hassan al-Turabi has called for allowing freedom of movement and cancelling entry visa between Sudan and South Sudan.

PCP political secretary Kamal Omer urged for building strong relations between Juba and Khartoum away from the conflict of interests associated with oil and trade, saying that secession of South Sudan occurred due to political reasons.

Omer, who spoke at his party’s regular forum on Monday, said the PCP seeks to improve and promote ties with South Sudan.

South Sudan seceded from Sudan on July 9th 2011 following a referendum on whether the semi-autonomous region should remain a part of the country or become independent. 99% of the southern voters chose independence.

Sudan and South Sudan inked a framework agreement in March 2012 allowing citizens of both states to enjoy freedom of residence, freedom of movement, freedom to undertake economic activity and freedom to acquire and dispose property.

However, it was not signed until 27 September as one of nine deals agreed between the presidents of Sudan and South Sudan at African Union mediated talks in Addis Ababa.

NATIONAL DIALOGUE

Meanwhile, Omer said the dialogue’s general assembly would convene on 20 August, pointing it would determine names of the 50 national figures, heads of the six dialogue committees, the five facilitators besides the 25 members of the general secretariat.

PCP political secretary considered the convening of the general assembly the official start of the dialogue, pointing that the meeting of the dialogue coordination body authorised the political forces to contact the armed groups and opposition parties to convince them to join the process.

He said the pre-dialogue preparatory meeting which would be held abroad will be confined to the armed groups in order to discuss to necessary guarantees for its leaders to participate in the dialogue in Khartoum.

Last week, Sudan’s first vice-president, Bakri Hassan Saleh, vowed that the government would provide the necessary guarantees to secure the participation of the rebel umbrella, Sudan Revolutionary Forces (SRF) leaders in the national dialogue inside Sudan.

He said that president Omer al-Bashir has offered religious and moral commitment to ensure the safety of the SRF leaders to come to Khartoum to participate in the national dialogue.

“We will sit with them to discuss the nature of the guarantees which they demand,” he added.

In the same context, the member of the dialogue coordination body and head of the Federal Truth Party (FTP), Fadl al-Sayed Shuaib, said his party contacted one of the armed group, pointing it agreed in principle to participate in the dialogue.

He pointed they might meet with the leaders of the armed group abroad without disclosing time and place of the meeting.

Shuaib told the pro-government Ashorooq TV website that the presidency had earlier authorized the political parties to contact the armed groups to convince them to join the national dialogue.

He didn’t rule out that a delegation from the dialogue coordination body would travel during the few coming days to a foreign capital to meet with the armed groups.

In a meeting chaired by president Omer Hassan al-Bashir on Wednesday Sudan’s dialogue coordination body mechanism decided to launch the national dialogue process on 10 October and to intensify efforts to bring in holdout opposition and rebel groups.

The political and armed groups opposed to the dialogue process refuse to join it under the current conditions asking to stop war and to ensure political freedoms.

Last April after the government’s rejection to participate in a pre-dialogue meeting, the opposition went to call for a new process under the auspices of the international community and brokered by the African Union Mediation team.

(ST)