SPLM-N Deputy-Chairman Yasir Arman arrives in Khartoum, meets US diplomat

Deputy chairman of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North under the leadership of Malik Agar (SPLM-N Agar) Yasir Arman and secretary-general Ismail Khamis arrived in Khartoum in the early hours of Sunday.

Arman was not subjected to any harassment at his arrival at Khartoum airport, in spite of a death penalty hanging over his head, as was condemned to death in absentia by the Al Bashir regime and the present military junta refused to cancel the sentence.

“Our main goal is to go to Khartoum, reach a just peace, linking between peace, democracy, and citizenship without discrimination and social justice,” he said.

Today, Arman and representatives of the SPLM-N Agar met with US Chargé d’Affaires Steven Koutsis. The meeting discussed ways forward on the establishment of a civilian-led government.

A statement via the US Embassy in Khartoum says that “any arrangement for the transitional period must include an inclusive dialogue for a lasting peace. All factions willing to join in the process should be allowed to return to Sudan immediately without restrictions.”

Two weeks ago a SPLM-N advance delegation arrived in Khartoum  and was received by representatives of the Alliance for Freedom and Change (AFC) and the Sudan Call (a coalition of armed movements, opposition parties, and civil society organisations). It was then announced that SPLM-N Agar leaders would soon travel to Khartoum.

National front against ‘fascism’

Arman issued a statement later on Sunday, saying that he wanted to form a national front against “fascism”. He reiterated the SPLM-N commitment to the Alliance for Freedom and Change and warned that the SPLM-N would not accept a new military rule.

The ultimate goal,  Arman said, is a democratic civil state based on citizenship without discrimination. To reach that, a civilian government needs to be established and the army needs to play a role in the transition process as well.

Islamists

The SPLM-N deputy chairman reached out to the Islamists who want to establish a new regime that will be open to all Sudanese. “We will meet anyone who opposed the Al Bashir regime from the beginning or in the last days”, Arman said.

Arman left Sudan after the outbreak of the war in the Blue Nile in September 2011 after failed attempts to quell the conflict in the Nuba Mountains, which began in June of the same year.

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