Opposition parties welcome SRF

Say the coalition is an encouraging step towards regime change in SudanLeader of the opposition Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) and lawyer Ali Mahmoud Hassanein welcomed on Monday the formation of the Sudanese Revolutionary Front (SRF), which aims to overthrow the regime in Khartoum.The SRF comprises Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N), Justice and Equality Movement (JEM), Sudan Liberation Army-Abdul Wahid (SLA-AW) and Sudan Liberation Army-Minni Minnawi (SLA-MM). It formally established itself on November 12.Hassanein told Radio Dabanga that he welcomed any group that wanted to overthrow the National Congress Party’s (NCP’s) rule in Sudan, but nothing else. Despite his acceptance on the matter of regime change, he expressed his skepticism towards multiple platforms in the country that hinder the progress of the opposition as a whole.PCP: Our means to achieve regime change are differentKamal Omar Abdel Salam, political secretary of the PCP and one of the leaders of the national consensus forces, which includes the major opposition political forces in Sudan, welcomed the formation of the SRF.He described the new coalition as a “positive action which may lead to unity of all political forces in the future.” Salam added that the SRF could help in fighting for freedom and democratic transformation of Sudan as well as achievement of peace, justice and equality in the country.In an interview with Radio Dabanga, he said, “All the opposition political forces want to bring down the system but we differ in the means we want to adopt. My party supports democratic means to bring down the regime. We believe in strikes, sit-ins, demonstrations.”He, however, conceded that the SRF gave hope to the people of Sudan and called for the government to hand over the Darfur Regional Authority (DRA) in order to avoid another war. Salam added that this was the only way ahead for the regime.SCP: Government forced military actionMeanwhile, Siddiq Yusuf, member of the central committee of the Sudanese Communist Party (SCP) and a leader of the national consensus forces, blamed the Sudanese government for forcing the opposition movements towards opting for military means to achieve peace.“The government forced the movements to choose military means. Whether my party consents it or not, every party has the right to make such a decision,” Yusuf told Radio Dabanga.He added that the NCP hadn’t dealt with the Darfur crisis and the destruction it caused. He accused the ruling party of resorting to bilateral agreements rather than holding a comprehensive conference on Darfur.