Sudanese government awaits outcome of international pressures on opposition: minister
June 15, 2016 (KHARTOUM) – Sudan’s Minister of Information Ahmed Bilal said the opposition Sudan Call forces are divided and fragmented and wouldn’t unite and pointed they are waiting for the outcome of the pressures to compel them to sign the Roadmap Agreement.
However, four of the Sudan Call forces refused to sign the peace plan saying it excludes important opposition groups, acknowledges the internal dialogue process and ignores important confidence building measures such as ensuring political freedoms and release of political prisoners and detainees.
On Monday, leaders of the Sudan Call forces 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 peace deal.
The rebel Sudan People’s Liberation Movement/North (SPLM-N) accused several quarters including the Sudanese government of obfuscating on the Sudan Call meeting.
However, Osman described the SPLM-N accusations as an “attempt to justify the opposition failure”, saying the government has nothing to do with the opposition meeting.
Osman, who is also the government spokesperson, told the pro-government Sudan Media Center (SMC) that the SPLM-N and the Sudan Call forces failed to achieve unity in several meetings including in Paris and Berlin, adding the opposition parties can’t agree with each other.
He pointed that the government didn’t receive any official notification from any party that the opposition has agreed to sign the Roadmap Agreement despite the pressures that have been exerted on them, saying “we are waiting for the results [of these pressures]”.
Sudan Call forces had earlier disclosed that international parties including the United States (US) are making efforts to convince them to endorse the Roadmap Agreement.
MAHDI’S COMMENTS ON THE DIALOGUE OUTCOME
Meanwhile, the ruling political secretary of the National Congress Party (NCP) Hamid Mumtaz has described the recent remarks of the National Umma Party (NUP) leader al-Sadiq al-Mahdi on the outcome of the dialogue conference as proof of the inclusivity of the national dialogue.
Last week, al-Mahdi disclosed he got a copy of the recommendations that the internal dialogue conference has reached and stressed they are surprisingly identical with so many agendas that the opposition forces are calling for.
Mumtaz also told SMC that the ongoing dialogue’s arrangements were meant to approve the recommendations according to the desires of the Sudanese people and the political forces.
He said that fixing the date of the general assembly has sent a message for those who doubted the feasibility of the dialogue initiative, adding that the dialogue is currently in its third phase and the general assembly would approve the final recommendations.
Following its meeting with President Omer al-Bashir on Sunday, Sudan’s dialogue body known as 7+7 committee said that the national dialogue’s general assembly would be held on August 6th.
Mumtaz stressed that his party would go forward to complete the political consensus and implement its outcome in order to achieve the national objectives that aim to unify the internal front to confront the challenges facing the country and on top of which realizing security and stability.
He praised the efforts of the African mediation to convince the opposition holdout groups to join the dialogue.
The internal dialogue conference was inaugurated in Khartoum on October 10th, 2015 amid large boycott from the major political and armed opposition.
(ST)