Al Bashir extends ceasefire in Darfur, Two Areas till end 2016

Sudan’s President Omar Al Bashir has announced the extension of the ceasefire in Darfur, Nuba Mountains and the Blue Nile until the end of the 2016, and the formation of a national mechanism for a permanent Constitution for the country.

Addressing the closing session of the general assembly of the National Dialogue on Monday, Al Bashir said that the national document will be available for everyone who wants to sign including the parties, the opposition, and the armed movements which are still reluctant to join the dialogue.

The original ceasefire was announced in June by Al Bashir for the Two Areas, namely Nuba Mountains and Blue Nile state, and later extended to Darfur.

JEM

Dr Jibril Ibrahim, the head of the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM), described the dialogue as “an internal monologue for Al Bashir himself”.

He said that “the outcomes of the dialogue suggest that Al Bashir will unilaterally continue to rule the country as he has done for the past 27 years”.

He ruled out that the hold-out opposition forces will join the dialogue.

He said that Al Bashir’s ceasefire declaration until the end of this year is “a talk for media and political consumption”.

SLM-AW

Abdelwahid Mohamed El Nur, the head of the rebel Sudan Liberation Movement faction SLM-AW said that “Al Bashir’s Wathba dialogue and outcomes involve himself”.

He asserts that “Al Bashir ignored the issue of identity” and pointed out that “the Khartoum regime is based on an ideology of Islamo-Arabism, which will deepen the identity crisis without resolving it.

He said that Al Bashir’s statement that the National Dialogue is the last chance means that he wants to get ready to engage in dialogue with them via chemical weapons.

SLM-MM

Minni Arko Minawi, leader of the Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM-MM), says that “the National Dialogue is fooling the Sudanese people” and that “Al Bashir will not announce any commitment regarding the realisation of security, stability or peace-making”.

He said that “all those who participated in the dialogue are National Congress Party members and their followers.

“The political forces, the international community and the African Union’s boycott of the dialogue means that the national dialogue project hasn't started yet.”

He called upon the ruling party “to respond to the conditions of the Sudan Appeal forces, not to waste time and create a new crisis”.

SCP

The Sudanese Communist Party (SCP) described the dialogue as “a conference of the ruling party, various parties, and groups that rotate around its axis.”

The SCP agrees that the national dialogue will not resolve home issues but will rather deepen them.

Siddig Yousef of the party leadership confirmed that the party will not participate in any dialogue with the regime unless it accepts the terms of the opposition of stop of the war, delivery of relief to those affected and repealing the freedoms restricting laws, namely the national security law and the formation of a national transitional government.

He called upon the Sudanese masses to escalate the fight on all fronts so as to overthrow the regime and recover freedom and democracy.

Abdelaziz Ahmed Dafallah accused the National Congress and the Popular Congress Party of withdrawing the identity document because it stipulates the state of citizenship.

The new Justice and Equality Movement led by Mansour Arbab Younus boycotted the dialogue sessions “because of the violations and deliberate exclusion of the opinion opposing the regime”.

The Information Minister, Ahmed Bilal revealed that there were differences on 13 out of 981 recommendations reached through consensus.

He said that differences were on who will appoint the Prime Minister, whether by the Parliament or the Presidency, this as well as press and political freedoms.

The Presidents of Egypt, Mauritania, Uganda, and Chad participated in the celebration.