NUP leading figure criticizes Sudanese opposition for refusing to endorse Roadmap Agreement
March 23, 2016 (KHARTOUM) – The leading figure at the opposition National Umma Party (NUP) Mubarak al-Fadil has criticized the opposition forces which refused to endorse the Roadmap Agreement by the African mediation
In a press release extended to Sudan Tribune Wednesday al-Fadil urged leaders of the SLM-MM, SPLM-N, JEM and the SLM-AW led by Abdel-Wahid al-Nour tp sign the Roadmap Agreement in order to stop the war and engage in the inclusive national dialogue.
“We in the NUP express our support and endorsement for the Roadmap Agreement and readiness to cooperate with the African mediation and all Sudanese political forces to achieve a just peace and comprehensive national reconciliation that would lead to a democratic transformation and political stability that enables us to avoid wars and disintegration,” he said.
He praised efforts of the African mediation and the international powers which support its mission, saying “we support it because it gave priority to stopping the war and delivering humanitarian relief”.
Al-Fadil added the Roadmap Agreement paved the way for conducting an inclusive and comprehensive national dialogue that offers opportunity to arrive at a peaceful political solution to end the war and achieve stability and democratic transformation in Sudan in order to avoid the fate of Syria, Libya and Yemen.
He expressed regret that the delegates of the NUP refrained from signing the Roadmap Agreement, saying they abandoned the leading role of the party and followed agenda of the armed groups.
Al-Fadil was alluding to the leader of the NUP Al-Sadiq al-Mahdi who headed his party delegation to the strategic meeting in Addis Ababa.
He saw that the provisions of the Roadmap Agreement are perfectly in tune with the visions and positions of the NUP about how to achieve a negotiated peaceful solution since 1999.
Al-Fadil, who is al-Mahdi’s cousin, defected from the NUP in 2002 and formed the Umma Reform and Renewal Party (URRP). He was of the view at the time that the NUP should take part in the government while al-Mahdi rejected any participation in a non-democratically elected government.
The two men exchanged bitter accusations during the 2002-2003 period. He was appointed as a presidential adviser for economic affairs in 2002. Several members of his newly created party were also appointed in various positions in the government.
He was sacked in 2004 after a dispute with president Omer Hassan al-Bashir and was arrested in 2007 with a number of retired army generals and accused of attempting to stage a coup but was released five months later after it was revealed that the evidence against him and the others was fabricated.
Al-Fadil disbanded his breakaway group and rejoined the NUP in January 2011. The two men appeared to have normalised their relationship briefly before differences emerged and they renewed their personal attacks on each other.
Meanwhile, the NUP secretary general Sara Nugd Allah said the opposition forces which participated in the strategic meeting have exerted huge efforts to achieve the national interest.
She pointed the opposition presented a position paper that was accepted by the African mediation after it introduced some modification, saying however the latter took the government side.
On Wednesday, the pro-government Sudan Media Center (SMC) said the opposition forces demanded the African mediation to allow them sometime to review the Roadmap Agreement to arrive at a common vision accepted by the opposition and the government.
ACTIVATING THE “SUDAN CALL”
For its part, the “Sudan Call” forces said it agreed to speed up the measures aimed at developing and strengthening the alliance.
In a joint statement extended to Sudan Tribune Wednesday, the SPLM-N, NUP, SLM-MM, JEM and the Sudanese Congress Party (SCoP) said they agreed to introduce clear measures to allow accommodation of the opposition forces outside the “Sudan Call” and provide the appropriate formulas for those forces to fully join the alliance or coordinate efforts.
The opposition forces pointed out that they agreed to develop the joint action charter according to the recommendation of the “Sudan Call” meeting held in Paris on 13 November 2015 making it a national project and a charter that accommodates all opposition forces.
According to the statement, the parties agreed to put in place a flexible organizational structure to enhance the performance of the “Sudan Call” besides developing the necessary programs and political activities to interact with the issues of the masses who suffered from the policies and practices of the regime.
The “Sudan Call” renewed its firm and principled position toward the national dialogue and peace talks, pointing to its conditions including the comprehensive cessation of hostilities, unconditional delivering of humanitarian assistance to conflict zones, release of political prisoners and forming an interim national government.
The statement further underscored that it is high time to overthrow the regime, saying the only way to achieve that goal is by maintaining the unity of the masses to arrive at the popular uprising.
On December 3rd 2014, Sudanese political and armed opposition forces and civil society organizations signed the “Sudan Call” accord in Addis Ababa calling for ending the war, dismantlement of the one-party state, achievement of a comprehensive peace and democratic transition in the country.
(ST)