Opposition party says dialogue’s general assembly brought nothing new
August 22, 2015 (KHARTOUM) – Sudan’s opposition Reform Now Movement (RNM) led by Ghazi al-Attabani has downplayed the outcome of the recent general assembly of the national dialogue saying it didn’t come up with anything new in the form or content.
In a statement extended to Sudan Tribune on Saturday, the RNM demanded the political forces and individuals who agreed to engage in the government-led dialogue to reconsider their decision.
“The worst thing that could happen to the dialogue is to be manipulated by the controlling party [ government] in order to legitimize its [rule] without offering solutions,” it added.
The statement described the general assembly as a “duplicate copy” of the previous meetings, saying it didn’t come up with anything new.
It added the meeting was set up in a way that guarantees support for the president’s decisions beforehand, saying the majority of those who were portrayed as national figures are in fact members of the ruling National Congress Party (NCP).
The RNM pointed that the number of participants was less than the previous times, saying the words of the speakers were being carefully chosen for fear that someone might deviate from the specified path.
It stressed that absence of major political and armed oppositions from the meeting poses the natural question of “why such a dialogue was initiated in the first place? and for who? and how?”.
The statement has sharply criticized the speech of president Bashir before the general assembly, saying it was boring and didn’t contain anything new except repeated promises.
It added that the president should have directed his advises regarding upholding credibility of political work and renouncing tribalism and regionalism to his government who is largely accused of committing such sins.
“Even the [president’s] talk about the ceasefire was nothing but a declaration of preparation [for war] since people know that military operations stop in the rainy season,” it added.
The RNM stressed the dialogue has produced nothing tangible during 18 months since its perception, saying the regime used the process as a cover to fulfil its goals such as approval of the constitutional amendment, holding the general elections and forming the new government.
It is worth mentioning that the RNM pulled out of the dialogue last year blaming the NCP for its refusal to implement a number of confidence building measures aimed at creating a conducive environment before the start of the process.
SCoP REFUTES BASHIR’S STATEMENT ON DETAINEES
Meanwhile, the Sudanese Congress Party (SCoP) has dismissed statements by Bashir in the general assembly in which he said that authorities don’t currently hold any political detainees.
In a statement on Saturday, SCoP said that three of its members are being forced to report to the National Intelligence Security Services (NISS) on a daily basis since the first week of August until today.
The legal sector at the SCoP pointed that its members have been interrogated about the public speeches they deliver to peacefully express their party’s vision in the public issues.
It is worth noting that SCoP continued to hold speeches in public areas such as the markets and gathering places to urge the citizens to resist the government policies.
The statement added that the NISS also continued to summon Wifaq Qurashi, Nugd Allah Osman and al-Bashir Mohamed on a daily basis since last week.
SCoP said they filed a complaint with the Political Parties Affairs Council (PPAC) urging them to interfere to preserve rights of the party members.
The statement also pointed to the complaint filed by Sudanese Committee for Solidarity (SCS) to the Sudan National Human Rights Commission (SNHRC) against human rights violations committed by the NISS particularly the recent detention campaign carried out against members of the opposition Sudanese Congress Party (SCoP).
SCoP further called for stopping arbitrary detentions against party members and all political opponents, saying they would take the necessary constitutional and legal measures to confront those violations.
NISS enjoys wide-ranging powers of arrest, detention, search and seizure under the country’s 2010 National Security Act.
(ST)