SPLM-N is sticking to comprehensive solution :Arman
November 11, 2015 (KHARTOUM) – The Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N) said it has received an invitation from the African Union High Implementation Panel (AUHIP) to resume talks on the Two Areas next Wednesday in Addis Ababa.
In press statements extended to Sudan Tribune Wednesday, SPLM-N secretary general Yasir Arman welcomed the resumption of talks on the humanitarian cessation of hostilities, reiterating that his group would only accept a comprehensive solution and a cessation of hostilities from Blue Nile state to Darfur region.
Arman, who is also the SPLM-N chief negotiator, said they received the AUHIP invitation for the tenth round of talks with the government, stressing the two sides will discuss a cessation of hostilities for humanitarian purposes.
“We welcome the invitation particularly as it pertains to the right of civilian population for humanitarian assistance and the refusal of the Sudanese government for that right over the past years is considered a war crime,” he said.
He added that their delegation would head for the talks with an open mind and heart in order to reach an agreement on delivering humanitarian assistance and ceasing hostilities.
The border states of South Kordofan and Blue Nile state have been the scene of a violent conflict since 2011 when fighting broke out between the SPLM-N and Sudanese army.
Nine rounds of talks between the two sides have stalled over issues pertaining to the security, humanitarian and political arrangements.
SPLM-N chief negotiator expressed hope that the upcoming round of talks would dissipate the negative climate created by the government’s ongoing summer campaign in northern Blue Nile and its significant military reinforcements in South Kordofan and Blue Nile states.
He also condemned the government ban on travel of the leaders of the “Sudan Call” forces to Paris to attend the meeting of the alliance, saying the ban coincides with the repeated government statements on dialogue and the escalation of the arrest campaign against opposition activists.
Arman further directed harsh criticism to the ruling National Congress Party (NCP) leaders, saying they send large troops to combat zones while simultaneously speak about the peaceful solution at the government-led dialogue conference.
He stressed that the NCP refuses the national dialogue preparatory meeting and also rejects the participation of the opposition alliance of the National Consensus Forces (NCF) and the original dialogue body known as 7+7 which signed the Addis Ababa agreement in September 2014.
“We are now [meeting] in Paris and we will send a clear message about the unity of the opposition [forces] and the need to develop the “Sudan Call” [charter],” he added
The opposition “Sudan Call” forces include the rebel umbrella Sudan Revolutionary Front (SRF), National Umma Party (NUP), NCF and the civil society organizations.
Khartoum had previously refused to participate in a comprehensive preparatory meeting including the NCF and civil society groups. Only it reiterated its readiness to meet the rebels to discuss the conditions and guarantees related to their participation in the internal process.
However, the Sudanese president Omer al-Bashir last month instructed the 7+7 committee to meet with the signatories of Addis Ababa agreement including the SRF and the NUP.
The SRF and the NUP from one side and 7+7 committee from the other side signed an agreement on identical terms with the AU High Implementation Panel (AUHIP) “on the national dialogue and constitutional process” on 5 September 2014.
APPEALING TO SAUDI ARABIA
Meanwhile, Arman said his movement rejects the decision of Saudi Arabia to fund the construction of three water dams in the River Nile and Northern states.
Last week, Sudan and Saudi Arabia signed a framework agreement to fund the building of Kajbar, Dal and Al-Shiraik water dams.
Following the signing of the deal, Sudan’s finance minister Badr al-Din Mahmoud disclosed that Saudi Arabia has committed to invest 1.7 Billion U.S dollars for the dam projects.
Arman called upon the Kingdom to refrain from funding those projects, saying the dams would be built against the will of the Sudanese peoples particularly the population in the River Nile and the Northern states.
“Those dams represent a cultural genocide and they would wipe out a precious part of Sudan’s history … they [dams] were being rejected by the residents of the area who lost martyrs [in the protests] against [the construction of the dams],” he added
He said that Sudan’s land must not be offered as a guarantee for any foreign loans, stressing that interests of the Sudanese people must come first.
SPLM-N secretary general stressed the Sudanese regime will be gone soon, saying it represents all forces hostile to Saudi Arabia and the Gulf States.
“Those nations [Gulf States] have no interest in supporting this regime because it would be against the desire of the Sudanese people,” he said.
He added the Sudanese regime is involved in the ongoing war in Libya and part of the plots against neighbouring countries, saying it is the Sudanese people who will remain in place and the regime would eventually be removed.
(ST)