The National Consensus Forces (NCF), an alliance of progressive political parties, reject any movements towards a political settlement after several meetings between Sudan’s Transitional Sovereignty Council and the AU-IGAD-UNITAMS Trilateral Mechanism.
On Tuesday, representatives of the Trilateral Mechanism met with the Chairman of Sudan’s Transitional Sovereignty Council, Lt Gen Abdelfattah El Burhan, after he announced that the political scene will witness a “breakthrough” in the coming days.
The meeting took place after the tripartite mechanism held a meeting with Sudan’s Vice President of the Sovereignty Council and Commander of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), Lt Gen Mohamed ‘Hemeti’ Dagalo on Monday.
According to the Trilateral Mechanism, which is composed of the UN Integrated Transition Assistance Mission (UNITAMS), African Union, and the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), the aim of the meeting with El Burhan was to discuss “the rapid developments in the Sudanese political arena and the prospects of a solution to the current political crisis.”
The official spokesperson for the Trilateral Mechanism, Ambassador Mohammed Beleche, said in a press statement yesterday that the meeting was “frank,” and characterised by a “sincere will to rush a political settlement that would be engineered by the Sudanese on the basis of the broadest possible consensus.”
“Sudan desperately needs a breakthrough, and dialogue is inevitable if we want to secure the desired democratic transition and build a new Sudan,” he added.
The meeting took place after the Trilateral Mechanism held a meeting with Sudan’s Vice President of the Sovereignty Council and Commander of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), Lt Gen Mohamed ‘Hemeti’ Dagalo on Monday.
“We see that we are getting closer and closer to a satisfactory settlement for all parties to the political process,” said Beleche after the meeting on Monday, without disclosing any details of the settlement.
Hemeti stated in a briefing on September 17 that he is committed to his previous pledge to remove the military institution from Sudan’s political scene. He added that he would ensure that the military will “devote its efforts to the tasks stipulated in the constitution and the law”.
Following a meeting with Hemeti on September 22, the Foreign Affairs Committee of the European Parliament stressed that the EU stands “at the same distance from all parties” and welcomed the army’s decision to withdraw from Sudan’s political scene.
The NCF, an alliance of progressive political parties, said that the settlement project that is now underway between the two parties aims to save the coup from an imminent fall, rather than what the tripartite mechanism promised regarding a satisfactory settlement for all parties involved in negotiations.
Adil Khalafallah, a leader of the NCF, announced the categorical rejection of any settlement with the coup in an interview with the Sudan Today programme on Radio Dabanga.
He pointed out that the settlement project historically relies on a civilian component that does not contradict the coup authority, along with regional and international forces, with the aim of expanding participation in order to save the coup.
Khalafallah called for unification of the political, social, and professional forces of the revolution and all the sincere forces in their adherence to the democratic option. He stressed the building of a broad front, leading to a political strike and civil disobedience to overthrow the coup.
In Sudan, there is plenty of scepticism around the military’s announced ‘withdrawal’.
The National Accord Forces (NAF) and the Sudan People’s Call initiative signed a political declaration on Saturday, which proposed a Supreme Council of the Armed Forces including involving coup leaders in the formation of a new cabinet.
The constitutional declaration comes in opposition to the mainstream Forces for Freedom and Change-Central Council (FFC-CC) vision for political transition in Sudan, along with visions of various other groups.
Tripartite mechanism meet with El Burhan on Monday to discuss Sudan's political crisis (File photo)
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