EU proposes dialogue for peace in Sudan

The Ambassadors of the European Union (EU) have informed the leader of the National Umma Party Al Sadiq Al Mahdi of the EU’s determination to hold a meeting bringing together the political forces of Sudan. The EU intends to host the meeting in the German city of Heidelberg to facilitate the process of national reconciliation in the country. A statement issued by the Umma Party said the Ambassadors had confirmed their intention to hold an inclusive meeting for the Sudanese political forces. It is designed to pave the way for national reconciliation through learning about their positions in the current phase of dialogue. The party’s statement welcomes the EU initiative and other initiatives calling for dialogue, be they national or foreign. It called for a collective forum in order to reach a comprehensive agreement that will achieve just and comprehensive peace and complete democratic transformation. In the same regard, the Popular Congress Party has revealed an expected meeting would be held with the EU ambassadors next Monday. The Popular Congress Party (PCP) led by Hassan Al Turabi announcement ‘s agreeing to be involved in dialogue with the National Congress Party (NCP). PCP secretary for political affairs, Kamal Omar, said that agreeing to become involved in dialogue with the NCP came as a result of “purely partisan estimates dictated by the circumstances in the country”. Omar stressed to Radio Dabanga that the acceptance does not mean in any way that there is a bilateral dialogue planned between the NCP and PCP. “We agreed on conducive dialogue to resolve the crisis of the country and engage in a full transitional situation that gets us out of the authoritarian box to a transitional square,” Omar said. He confirmed that this transitional situation must be acceptable to all people, and most important of all, the entire government must step down, including President Omar Al Bashir himself. ‘Workshop’ The NCP hastened to downplay the importance of the proposed EU initiative, stating that they “only view the Heidelberg meeting as a workshop”. The Party’s head of Foreign Relations, Dirdiri Mohamed Ahmed, told reporters on Tuesday that President Omar Al Bashir will have to be part of any dialogue. “The appeal for dialogue launched by the President was recently held between the Sudanese, within Sudanese territory. It does not talk about a dialogue between the parties outside the country’s borders,” Ahmed stressed. He confirmed the Sudanese Government has not received any invitation from the EU to participoate in dialogue at national level. “We regard the EU proposal as a training workshop for some of those in charge of the dialogue with regard to constitutional matters. We welcomed the proposal as a workshop rather than a dialogue as it is administered outside the borders of Sudan.” File photo: The German city of Heidelberg (Wikimedia Commons) Related: Sudanese opposition deny reports of ‘confidential dialogue’ (11 February 2014)