“Sudan Call” meeting shrouded in mystery amid conflicting statements from its leaders
June 13, 2016 (KHARTOUM) – Leaders of the Sudan Call forces have issued conflicting statements regarding a proposed meeting of the alliance to decide whether or not to meet the chief African mediator Thabo Mbeki to discuss the Roadmap Agreement for peace and dialogue in Sudan.
However, the opposition groups, Justice and Equality Movement ((JEM), NUP, Sudan People’s Liberation Movement -North (SPLM-N), and Sudan Liberation Movement-Minni Minnawi (SLM-MM) refused the roadmap saying it acknowledges a government controlled dialogue conference and would lead to reproduce the regime.
Following a meeting held last week to discuss the opposition refusal of the Roadmap Agreement, NUP leader Sadiq al-Mahdi said he agreed with Mbeki to hold a meeting with the Sudan Call forces to discuss the matter.
The NUP leader pointed that he proposed that the Sudan Call forces participating in the dialogue should send an official letter demanding a meeting with Mbeki to reach an agreement on those issues, saying the latter accepted his suggestion.
In a letter extended to Sudan Tribune Monday, al-Mahdi directed veiled criticism at some parties of the alliance, saying their actions indicate that the Sudan Call is not a coherent entity that seeks to establish a new regime through dialogue or popular uprising as stated in its founding statement.
He pointed to the importance for holding the proposed meeting in Addis Ababa, saying the meeting would basically discuss the completion of the alliance’s structures besides exchanging views on the letter that should be sent to Mbeki as soon as possible.
Al-Mahdi warned that the postponement or cancellation of the Sudan Call meeting “would represent a precious gift for the regime and a terrible loss for the legitimate demands of our people”, saying the alliance must keep pace with the rapid developments and use it to advance the national agenda instead of allowing it to serve the interests of the tyrants.
“The dialogue [conference] is criticizing the regime and some founding leaders of the regime are abandoning it and the internal atmosphere is calling for a new regime and the recommendations of the internal dialogue are echoing the views of the opposition,” he said
He said this atmosphere requires the Sudan Call forces to show unity and prove they are serious about establishing a new regime through dialogue or peaceful popular uprising.
“However, actions of some Sudan Call parties implies the opposite of these expected stances … this would frustrate the hopes of the Sudanese people,” he added.
Al-Mahdi further called for increasing the isolation of the regime by backing the African mediation, saying the Sudan Call should express support the positive items of the Roadmap and seek to address its shortcomings on the same basis that he mentioned in his letter to Mbeki.
He said the refusal of some Sudan Call parties to discuss the Roadmap would cast doubts on the opposition seriousness and weaken the position of its international allies while strengthening the stance of the regime’s backers and would eventually push Mbeki to criticize the opposition in his report to the African peace body.
For his part, the leader of JEM Gibril Ibrahim told radio Afia Darfur that the United States Special Envoy to Sudan and South Sudan, Donald Booth, has extended the invitation to the Sudan Call forces to discuss the Roadmap next Thursday in Addis Ababa.
He added that the rest of the Sudan Call forces and Thabo Mbeki would participate in the talks at a later stage.
Last week, the alliance of the National Consensus Forces (NCF) has distanced itself from any discussions about the roadmap, saying the ongoing talks with Mbeki do not mean anything for it.
The NCF is a member of the Sudan Call coalition but says the regime is not credible and points that the popular uprising is the best way to achieve regime change.
Mbeki form his side, deals in his peace initiative with the forces that signed an agreement with his panel on the national dialogue on 5 September 2014 including the JEM, NUP, SLM-MM and the SPLM-N.
The leading figure at SLM-MM Bishara Manago said the four opposition forces who received the invitation from the American envoy would ask for amending the roadmap and holding a preparatory dialogue meeting abroad.
However, SLM-MM leader Minni Minnawi , in a post at his Facebook page stressed that the proposed Sudan Call meeting has been delayed, saying another meeting with the international envoys under the title “signing the roadmap that has lost its road” would be held instead.
He expected that the meeting with the international envoys would force the opposition forces to join the internal dialogue, pointing to the conflicting goals of the envoys, Mbeki and those who seek to introduce real changes to the roadmap.
In the same context, SPLM-N peace file spokesperson Mubarak Ardol expressed commitment to attend the Sudan Call meeting and to ensure its success, accusing several quarters including the Sudanese government of obfuscating on the meeting.
In a statement extended to Sudan Tribune Monday, Ardol denied existence of any arrangements to meet with the AUHIP or Mbeki or to sign the roadmap, saying the Sudan Call meeting would discuss the latest internal and external developments in order arrive at decisions that promote change and just peace.