NJEM accuses Sudan dialogue secretariat of “falsifying” the conference’s outcome

February 24, 2016 (KHARTOUM) – The New Justice and Equality Movement (NJEM) led by Mansour Arbab Younis has accused Sudan dialogue secretariat of being biased towards the ruling National Congress Party (NCP) and casted doubts on the outcome of the dialogue conference.

The internal dialogue conference was inaugurated in Khartoum on October 10 th, 2015 amid large boycott from the major political and armed opposition.

NJEM, a breakaway faction from the mother rebel group Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) that fights the Sudanese Government in Darfur, joined the dialogue last December.

However, the movement suspended its participation last week following a decision by the dialogue secretariat to end the accommodation of its delegation at one of the hotels in the capital, Khartoum.

In a statement extended to Sudan Tribune Wednesday, NJEM said it suspended participation in the conference for several reasons including that heads of the committees often adjourn the sessions before the specified time in order to avoid listening to opinions that contravenes with the NCP views, naming particularly the Governance Issues Committee.

According to the statement which was signed by the NJEM information secretary, Adam Abdel-Rahman Yahia, the outcome of the dialogue’s Freedoms and Fundamental Rights Committee has been manipulated.

The statement stressed that the dialogue’s General Secretariat has clearly sided with the NCP views and complaints, pointing that several delegates of political parties and armed groups have been removed from the general secretariat after they presented a legal complaint against the falsification of the recommendations which have been approved in the Freedoms and Fundamental Rights Committee.

It noteworthy that the rapporteur of the Freedoms and Fundamental Rights Committee Amar al-Sajad last week claimed that the recommendations of his panel have been manipulated to please NCP.

The NJEM described the General Secretariat move to end the accommodation of its delegation at the hotel as an attempt to threaten its delegates to adopt stances of the NCP and abandon their own brave and constructive views.

The statement added that the dialogue secretary general Hashim Ali Salim told the NJEM delegation that the conference has “ended up”, pointing that some committees haven’t yet handed over its recommendations and didn’t finish drafting the final document.

NJEM pointed that its delegation checked out of the hotel but continue to stay at its own expense until the dialogue’s General Secretariat and the Higher Coordination Committee issue an official clarification on the issue.

The movement further underscored its commitment to the principles of dialogue and a negotiation, saying this commitment is contingent upon holding a serious and genuine dialogue that tackles the root causes of the Sudanese crisis.