Call to restructure Sudan’s Forces for Freedom and Change

Political parties and armed movements have demanded restructuring the Forces for Freedom and Change (FFC) in an institutional manner, to allow active participation of the signatory forces to the Declaration of Freedom and Change.

In a joint statement, the Darfur Sudan Liberation Movement faction under of the leadership of Minni Minawi (SLM-MM), the Sudan Liberation Forces Alliance (SLFA), and the eastern Sudanese United Popular Front for Liberation and Justice, called to hold a meeting of the Sudan Call alliance of armed movements, political parties, and civil society activists to address the challenges of the unity of the revolutionary forces and expand national participation in the management of the transition period.

They also called for the development of the Declaration of Freedom and Change into a national charter setting out issues of democracy, peace, justice, and development.

They stressed the need to move the FFC from the status of power centre and the absence of vision to the ability to create the required consensus among the partners of change.

Unamid

A delegation of the UN-AU Mission in Darfur (Unamid) met with representatives of the mainstream Sudan Liberation Movement led by Abdelwahid El Nur (SLM-AW) in the area of Manabo in Jebel Marra on Tuesday, at the request of the mission.

The area is under the control of the movement.

The Unamid delegation was headed by the Golo Head of Mission, Gilberto Aquino Ramirez.

During the meeting, SLM-AW military spokesman Waleed Abakar and two other rebel representatives reiterated firm commitment to unilaterally stop hostilities, accusing the government of repeated violations.

In a statement on Wednesday, the SLM-AW said Abakar also expressed the movement’s concern that Unamid has not issued any statement condemning “repeated government aggressions”, the latest of which was an attempted attack on the area of Saboun El Fagur.

Neutral

They called on Unamid to remain neutral among all parties and not to side itself with the government.

The movement affirmed that it does not recognise the new Juba platform for peace negotiations, “which is not very different from the former ones because the basis for it is to recognise the bilateral agreement and give it false legitimacy”.

The Unamid Head of Mission, Jeremiah Mamabolo, has called on the remaining hold-out armed movements to join the peace talks.

At a press conference in the UN Development Programme’s Merowe Hall in Khartoum last week, Mamabolo called on armed movements that have not yet joined the peace process “to seize the historic opportunity and join the negotiating table”.

Masalilo asserted that “the December revolution created a real opportunity to achieve a just and comprehensive peace in Darfur and in Sudan as a whole”. He called on the government and armed groups to work with the United Nations and humanitarian workers to support access to remote areas in Darfur, specifically to ensure timely and effective humanitarian access.

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