March 24, 2020 (KHARTOUM) - The Sudan Liberation Movement led by Abdel Wahid al-Nur postponed the launch of its initiative for peace in Sudan due to the Coronavirus epidemic, while the Justice and Equality Movement, led by Dabjo (JEM-Dabajo), voiced its support for al-Nur’s call for an inclusive conference inside the country.

Several months ago, the exiled holdout rebel leader announced his desire to return to Sudan after the collapse of the al-Bashir regime and called to hold a comprehensive national peace conference inside Sudan.

For several months, al-Nur has been in contact with the Sudanese government and the French authorities to arrange his return to the country.

However, the Movement’s official spokesman, Mohamed Abdel-Rahman al-Nayer, announced on Monday evening that the peace initiative was postponed due to the "exceptional health conditions" in the world due to the spread of the novel Coronavirus pandemic.

"It’s with deep regret that we have to announce the postponement of the initiative’s announcement due to the current humanitarian circumstances (...), with our deepest apologies to the Sudanese people and the political, revolutionary, civil, religious, and civil forces and resistance committees, all Sudanese interested in the initiative, and our friends in the region and international community," reads a statement al-Nayer extended to Sudan Tribune.

He further reaffirmed the SLM-AW’s seriousness and its firm desire to move on with this initiative to achieve "a comprehensive, just and sustainable peace that addresses the root causes of the historical crisis through an inclusive inter-Sudanese dialogue conference inside the country.

"We renew our utmost eagerness to announce our initiative as soon as possible" after the lifting of exceptional restrictions and measures imposed by the Coronavirus pandemic.

The SLM-AW rejected to take part in the Juba process for peace in Sudan saying it was about power-sharing and would not address the root causes of the conflict in Darfur or the Sudanese crisis.

However, al-Nur expressed his support for Prime Minister Abdallah Hamdok and called for a new government after slamming the Forces for Freedom and Change.

Last October, al-Nur met with Hamdok in Paris but he was quick to underline that he met him as political leader stressing "we are not recognising the military council and we are not recognising the new government".

JEM Dabajo support
A former rebel group signatory of the Doha Document for Peace in Darfur the Justice and Equality Movement led by Bakheir Abdel-Karim Dabajo on Monday announced its support to al-Nur’s call for an inclusive conference for peace in Sudan.

"After careful scrutiny, we considered that the political programme of the Sudan Liberation Army Movement, led by Abdel Wahid Mohamed Ahmed al-Nur, is the clearest and responsible to achieve the desire of our people,"

Dabajo further said his decision to support al-Nur initiative was based on his call for a federal state based on the citizenship state and backed calls to hand over al-Bashir and others involved in Darfur war crimes to the International Criminal Court.

The group expressed hope that this move would contribute to reunite Darfur armed groups to achieve their aspiration for peace and justice in Sudan.

(ST)