SPLM-N Agar extends cessation of hostilities, rejects PCP initiative

December 28, 2017 (KHARTOUM) – The Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North under the leadership of Malik Agar has extended for a six-month period a unilateral cessation of hostilities and declined to meet the leader of the Popular Congress Party (PCP) who proposes to build up a peace initiative parallel to the African Union process.

The SPLM-N Agar Executive Leadership including its chairperson Malik Agar, his deputy Yasir Arman and the secretary General Ismail Jalab discussed the humanitarian situation in the group held areas and expressed its readiness to end the fighting with the other SPLM-N faction led by Abdel Aziz al-Hilu in the Blue Nile state.

The meeting denounced al-Hilu rejection to negotiate ways to end the fighting and protect civilians in the rebel-held areas as it was proposed by the UN special envoy for Sudan and South Sudan Nicholas Haysom.

Further, “The meeting (unilaterally) extended the cessation of hostilities for another six months from now onwards between the SPLA-N in the Blue Nile and the Khartoum regime,” added the statement.

The statement issued at the end of the meeting on Thursday condemned the “violations” of the truce by the Sudanese army during the past three months.

The extension didn’t mention the Nuba Mountains area in South Kordofan state which under the control of the SPLM-N al-Hilu.

Following a split in the group over the right of self-determination for the Nuba Mountains earlier this year, the former deputy chairman al-Hilu organized an extraordinary general conference last October where he has been elected as a leader of the group.

On this respect, the meeting welcomed a proposition by the Sadiq al-Mahdi, the leader of the National Umma Party that the two factions continue to coordinate within the other opposition groups members of the Sudan Call alliance.
“We welcome the position of Imam al-Sadiq al-Mahdi and his call to the two (factions) of the SPLM-(N) to stick to the Sudan Call and to hold to the same principles, although they differ organizationally. For our part, this is our principled and firm position, and we will not deviate from”.

REJECTION OF PCP INITIATIVE

The statement disclosed that they declined to meet the leader of the Popular Congress Party Ali al-Haj who launched an imitative for peace and constitutional reforms based on the recommendations of the National Dialogue Conference.

The statement explained that based on their six-year experience they know that the regime is not willing to achieve peace, and pointed that the ruling National Congress Party even refuses to implement the output of the dialogue process.

Therefore, “we do not want multiple platforms. The dilemma is in the nature of the regime itself and the Popular Congress Party knows that well,” emphasized the statement. However, the group said willing to discuss the discuss the national crisis and ways to end it with the PCP leader.

Al-Haj met in Bonn, Germany on 18 December with the Justice and Equality Movement leader Gibril Ibrahim and Minni Minnawi the of a Sudan Liberation Movement faction to discuss his initiative for peace in Sudan.

In a statement issued after the meeting, the two sides said they agreed to work for peace based on the African Union-brokered roadmap agreement and the national dialogue recommendations.

The PCP rejects foreign initiatives for peace in Sudan based on IGAD process that led to the secession of South Sudan in 2011.

(ST)