Sudanese government, rebels to meet in Paris: minister

January 9, 2017 (KHARTOUM) – Sudan’s Information Minister Ahmed Balal Osman Monday disclosed an American initiative to hold a meeting between his government and the armed groups in France this week.

However, he didn’t give further details about who will participate in the meeting or its agenda.

The opposition Sudanese Revolutionary Front (SRF)-Agar recently announced that the Sudan Call Leadership Council would meet from 15 to 20 January, but it was not clear if they would meet a government delegation.

Since the failure of August meeting in Addis Ababa over the cessation of hostilities and humanitarian access, U.S. Special Envoy Donald Booth met several times with the rebel groups and the government. He also held informal consultations meetings for the two sides in a bid to narrow the differences between the two sides.

The government went on with its national dialogue process saying the holdout groups can join the National Document of a conference held last October and participate in the transitional government. On the other hand, the opposition groups – including the Sudan Call forces- speak more and more about the need to conjugate efforts to overthrow the regime.

Speaking to the press in the capital of South Darfur Nyala, the British Ambassador to Sudan Michael Aron Monday said that his government last week in a meeting held in London had discussed the Roadmap Agreement implementation with the SPLM-N Secretary General, adding that Sudanese people would hear good news soon.

In a related development, the Sudanese communist Party Monday issued a statement reiterating its rejection for any process leading to a negotiated agreement with the regime of President Omer al-Bashir.

“The clear position of the National Consensus Forces is to overthrow the regime by building a broader mass front,” said the statement, adding “The conservative and traditional forces managed to bar the way for the uprising, circumvented it and emptied its goals and contents. This attitude has ultimately led to the entry of the country in the dark tunnel since the NIF coup in 1989”.

The National Umma Party leader Sadiq al-Mahdi Sunday called on the United Nations in coordination with the African Union to adopt a resolution requiring Khartoum to implement the African Union Roadmap Agreement which paves the way for an inclusive process for peace and democratic reforms.

(ST)