Oct 19, 2015 Sudan’s President Omar Hassan al-Bashir recently called on rebel and opposition groups to cooperate in dialogue efforts. This came after only one significant opposition party showed up for peace talks in Khartoum.
Bashir’s government has been confronted by rebellion in the Darfur region since 2003 when rebels accused his government of neglecting the region.
In January 2015, 18 opposition groups pulled out of a formal national reconciliation process, leaving the future of the reconciliation in doubt.
Speaking at the peace conference, president al-Bashir said:
“We issued a presidential decree to a cease fire and cessation of hostilities and the two decrees are in effect on the ground and we hereby announce our desire for cessation of hostilities if the other party commits honestly to that and to make it a permanent ceasefire if they become partners in making the best future for Sudan,”
The 72-year-old, who was re-elected in April, called for a national dialogue early last year but very headway has been achieved.
Speaking at the dialogue session, attended by the Islamist Popular Congress Party, Bashir said:
“I renew the call again to those suspicious to respond to the national dialogue call as we would like to see a greater Sudan for all Sudanese,”
Adam Brima, chairman of the National Movement for Change, a non-governmental organization in the country said:
“The top priority is to stop war. Security is the essence of life. If armed groups and government stick to the gun there will be no security, thus there will be no stability,”
The opposition Democratic Liberal Party had earlier accused the administration for trying to buy time after failing to effectively rule the country for 26 years.
Mayada Suwar Addahab, chairman of Democratic Liberal party said;
“Any dialogue process which does not accompany the popular movements is a dead process. Any dialogue which does not address the roots of the Sudanese crisis and changing the one-party state for the sake of the nation is a lame dialogue,”
Shawgi Abdul Azim, a political analyst, pointed out that the government will not achieve much if the opposition remains suspicious about the motive behind the talks.
“Either way the government is downplaying the absence of these political parties — nobody can deny that their absence has a great impact in the approach of the dialogue and people are concerned. There will definitely be a negative impact in the outcome of the process in the upcoming days,”