Hemeti ‘astonished’ as Sudan opposition groups eschew AU-IGAD-UN dialogue

The Vice President of the Sovereignty Council, Mohamed ‘Hemeti’ Dagalo, says that he met with a number of leaders of the Forces for Freedom and Change (FFC) last week and expressed his astonishment at their refusal to enter into a dialogue with the military.

The United Nations Integrated Transition Assistance Mission in Sudan (UNITAMS), African Union, and Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) trilateral mechanism is commencing talks between a wide spectrum of Sudanese stakeholders this week.

The AU-IGAD-UNITAMS joint effort has been established to support Sudan through the next phase of the political transition: to facilitate a Sudanese-led political process with the aim of restoring a civilian-led transition to democracy.

Some rebel movements and protest groups, including the FFC and the Resistance Committees of Khartoum, refuse to participate in the tripartite initiative or take part in any dialogue with the military coup authorities and those who support them as they fear that this will legitimise the coup. Others, such as the Sudan Revolutionary Front (SRF), have called on the revolutionary parties to make concessions and engage in the dialogue.

Addressing a greeting meeting with staff at the Republican Palace in Khartoum on Tuesday, Hemeti he said that the reconciliation process between the military and civilian should include the Sudanese people without excluding anyone, refusing to limit the consensus to a specific group.

He explained that preparations for reconciliation are moving in directions “that do not serve the cause, and called for the involvement of all the 18 states in the reconciliation and not to limit the matter “to three streets in Khartoum”.

He added, “We [the military] are an essential part [of the country], and no work can be done without agreement between everyone.”

He called for transparency and the organisation of workshops. He warned of what he described as cleverness, conspiracies and agreements under the table, and accused unnamed parties of setting up barricades in front of the Higher Committee for Economic Emergencies. He further acknowledge the hardship of living.

The Executive Office of the Forces for Freedom and Change (FFC) said in a statement on Monday that it has formed a committee to formulate a detailed FFC position on the political process toward democracy.

Journalist and political analyst Shawgi Abdelazeem told Radio Dabanga on Monday that the military are not being serious about dialogue, and that they are working to frustrate any initiative that seeks a solution. “The military want dialogue on their own terms, and are working to block and embarrass the forces wishing for a real dialogue.”

He said he expects that the preparatory dialogue forum organised by UNITAMS), the AU, and IGAD will be postponed, due to the opposition’s refusal to participate, while basic conditions such as lifting the State of Emergency, the release of all political detainees, and stopping violence against demonstrators, have not been met.