Int’l envoys from the Troika and EU have started talks in Sudan

Representatives of the Troika countries (USA, UK, and Norway), senior officials from France, Germany, and representatives from the European Union (EU) started their talks with Sudanese parties to discuss the current crisis in Sudan. The Forces for Freedom and Change and Resistance Committees refuse to participate in talks with the coup authorities.

The delegation's mission is to continue to encourage all parties and groups to work together to return Sudan to its democratic path.

Sources said that the envoys held meetings with political and civil parties in Sudan and with the military component to discuss the political crisis in Sudan and possibilities for economic assistance. They also spoke with the members of the tripartite initiative of the United Nations Integrated Transition Assistance Mission in Sudan (UNITAMS), African Union, and Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD).

The international delegations expressed their support for the joint efforts between the UN, the AU, and the IGAD to facilitate negotiations between different parties in Sudan and stressed that they will continue to support the people of Sudan, especially its youth and women, to achieve the goals of the December revolution: freedom, peace, and justice.

Refusal to participate

The Forces for Freedom of Change (FFC) and the Resistance Committees affirmed their refusal to participate in the dialogue announced by the tripartite mechanism, to be held on the tenth or twelfth of May.

Jafar Hassan, the leader of the FFC promised to only participate in a dialogue that clearly identifies the parties responsible for the crisis and uses a correct description of the crisis. He stressed that the FFC will not be a party to a dialogue that legitimises the coup. 

He said: "if they can conduct dialogue without the Forces for Freedom and Change and the resistance committees, let them do so".

Hassan criticised the tripartite mechanism's willingness to negotiate with the military, who are responsible for the October 25 coup, and parties that were allies of ousted dictator Omar Al-Bashir. He declared his categorical refusal to dump the revolutionary forces in one room with groups supporting the coup.

He said that any such dialogue will be like a jump dialogue between the putschists, and the forces that reject the coup will not participate. 

The Khartoum Resistance Committees also announced their categorical refusal to participate in the dialogue called for by the tripartite mechanism.

Fadhil Omar, spokesman for the Khartoum Resistance Committees, said in an interview with Radio Dabanga's Sudan Today programme that the committee adheres to the three no's: no negotiations, no partnerships, and no legitimacy for the putschists. 

Omar explained that the people have lost confidence in the coup authorities and that he considered any settlement with the coup authorities a legitimisation of the coup and a legalisation of the intimidation and violence that is taking place. He stressed that the solution lies in the overthrow of the coup regime.

The committees did, however, express their appreciation for the regional calls and efforts.