Troika countries call on opposition groups to sign Sudan Roadmap

April 8, 2016 (WASHINGTON) – The Troika countries called on the Sudanese opposition groups to sign a Roadmap Agreement brokered last March by African Union High-level Implementation Panel (AUHIP) to end armed conflict in Sudan and include the stakeholders in comprehensive national dialogue process.

In a statement released on Saturday Norway, the United Kingdom and the United States have joined regional and international efforts to bring the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM), the Sudan Liberation Movement-Minni Minawi (SLM-MM), the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N), and the National Umma Party (NUP) to sign a roadmap that Sudanese government has already on 21 March.

The four opposition groups said the peace plan endorses the ongoing national dialogue inside the country pointing it is entirely controlled by the ruling National Congress Party (NCP) and is held under unsuitable conditions due to the lack of freedoms in Sudan. They also call for the inclusion of the opposition alliance National Consensus Forces (NCF) and others credible groups in the pre-dialogue meeting, claiming that Khartoum is not interested in an inclusive process.

However, the international and regional facilitators support the roadmap saying it is important to prioritize the end of war and the humanitarian access to the civilians in the conflict affected areas.

Ina statement released on Saturday the Troika welcomed the signing of the Roadmap Agreement by the government and urged Khartoum to ” to clarify its commitments regarding the inclusion of other relevant stakeholders in the National Dialogue and to uphold the results of any National Dialogue preparatory meetings”

“Once that is done, we would urge the Justice and Equality Movement, the Sudan Liberation Movement-Minni Minawi, the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N), and the National Umma Party to sign the Roadmap”.

“The AUHIP Roadmap could allow genuine political dialogue at both regional and national levels that is needed to address the underlying causes of the armed conflicts that have plagued Sudan for so long,” stressed the statement.

The Chairperson of the African Union Commission, Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma and the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon welcomed the signing of the roadmap by the Sudanese government and called on the opposition groups to ink the agreement.

CALL TO CEASE HOSTILITIES

The Troika also called on the Sudanese government and the SPLM-N to stop the ongoing fighting in the Blue Nile and South Kordofan state saying they are “deeply concerned” by the negative effects of the ground and air attacks on the civilians.

“We call on both sides to renew their unilateral cessation of hostilities commitments and to fully respect those commitments in order to create a more conducive environment for implementation of the AUHIP Roadmap,” said the statement

“The Troika calls on all parties at conflict in Sudan to seize this opportunity to end the wars and find a path towards lasting peace”.

(ST)