Roadmap Agreement establishes non-inclusive dialogue in Sudan: JEM leader
March 22, 2016 (KHARTOUM) – The purpose of the Roadmap Agreement endorsed by the Sudanese government Monday is to exclude some opposition and civil society groups from the national dialogue and to hold a partial political process, said Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) leader Gibril Ibrahim.
The Sudanese opposition National Umma Party (NUP), Sudan Liberation Movement-Minni Minnawi (SLM-MM), Sudan People’s Liberation Movement – North (SPLM-N) and JEM on 5 September 2014 signed an agreement with the African Union High Level Implementation Panel (AUHIP) providing to hold an inclusive national dialogue preparatory meeting in Addis Ababa to define the modalities and procedures of the national dialogue initiative launched by President Omer al-Bashir in January 2014.
A separate agreement was signed in identical terms the same day with a delegation of the National Dialogue Coordination Committee. This roadmap also was included in two decisions (456 and 539) by the African Union Peace and Security Council.
But the government since resisted the implementation of this plan but expressed its readiness only to meet the signatories of September 2014 deal. The others opposition forces, Khartoum said, are free to join the internal process notwithstanding the lack of political freedoms in the country.
” The draft roadmap agreement presented by the Mediation asked for the recognition of the Friendship Hall dialogue as the would be inclusive National Dialogue and wanted the opposition to meet the powerless 7+7 committee of the Friendship Hall dialogue immediately as a sign of that recognition,” he further said.
The mediation and international facilitators were frustrated by the refusal of some political forces inside the country and some rebel groups to join the process before some conditions are met.
However, Ibrahim stressed that they “wanted the other oppositions parties who are willing to participate in the National Dialogue, if it is a genuine one, to be allowed the opportunity to take part in the Preparatory Meeting”.
The chief mediator Thabo Mbeki during a visit to Khartoum two days before the strategic meeting met with the newly formed opposition alliance of the “Future Forces of Change” (FFC) but he didn’t meet the NCF factions.
AGREEMENT WITH FFC
Mbeki who seems determined to push forward the five-year fruitless mediation paid a short visit on Tuesday to Khartoum where he chaired a consultations meeting between the FFC and the national dialogue committee (7+7).
One the FFC leaders Ghazi salah al-Din told reporters that the meeting agreed on the need to set an agenda for their future discussions on the national dialogue.
While Ahmed Abu Algassim, another FFC member; told reporters that the participants agreed to form a four-member committee to continue discussions between the two parties and to work for a comprehensive to end war and an inclusive national dialogue process.
The government spokesperson Ahmed Balal Osman, for his part, said the aim of the consultative meeting between the 7+7 and the FFC is to agree on the expansion of dialogue after the removal of the sticking points.
Salah al-Din who is also the leader of the Reform Now Movement (RNM) expressed hope that this agreement with the 7+7 leads to “moderate decisions and national unity”.
The RNM was among the opposition forces that accepted to participate in the national dialogue but suspended its participation calling to implement confidence building measures necessary to create a conducive environment for the political process.
He also they are committed to the partnership with their “friends in the armed groups and opposition parties”, stressing they ”will consult and discuss with them” on the ongoing discussions.
(ST)