Opposition: ‘Sudan planned to abort National Dialogue outputs’

The National Umma Party (NUP) claimed that the Sudanese government aborted several outcomes of the National Dialogue, aimed at changing current principles and restrictions on freedoms, to keep the policies unchanged.

The party held a press conference in Omdurman on Thursday, accusing the government of using the National Dialogue “to dry-up the real dialogue with the real opposition parties […] and wasting the country's resources to convince the international community of its seriousness for change”.

Members of the opposition party described the new Government of National Accord as “rewards for those who sold the national issues for government posts”.

Last week Sudan’s First Vice-President and Prime Minister, Lt. Gen. Bakri Hassan Saleh, announced the formation of the new government, based on the outcomes of the National Dialogue in October last year. The new coalition government shows but a few changes with the old government, but President Omar Al Bashir also appointed 65 members of parliament who represent the political groups that participated in the National Dialogue.

“The burdens and costs of the government will be shouldered by the vulnerable people.”

Yesterday the Umma Party pointed to the spread of poverty, deterioration of livelihood, health, education and water services, and the spread of infectious diseases such as cholera, to which it demands the government to react.

There is “a steady deterioration in freedoms and human rights, proven by the arrests of journalists and activists, the targeting of Darfuri students in universities, and the crackdown on political parties and civil society organisations”.