SPLM-N ‘ready to resume negotiations with Sudan government’

The SPLM-N rebel faction is ready to resume direct negotiations with the Khartoum government on 6 June. In a statement to Radio Dabanga on Sunday, SPLM-N Chief Negotiator and Secretary General, Yasir Arman said that the goal is “to reach a humanitarian cessation of hostilities in accordance with UN Security Council Resolution 2046. “The SPLM-N has been informed by the Chief of Staff of the African Union High-Level Implementation Panel (AUHIP) that chairperson Thabo Mbeki will be ready to invite the SPLM-N and the Sudan government to resume negotiations in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, on 6 June, 2013. “Shortly after we received this information, President Omar Al Bashir, the head of the Sudan government, announced that he will never negotiate with the SPLM-N again, and likewise, he will not negotiate with any SRF organization. In light of this, the SPLM-N leadership wants to state the following: “The SPLM-N is ready to resume direct negotiations with the Sudan government any time that we are asked by the AUHIP. The SPLM-N will resume negotiations in accordance with UN Security Council Resolution 2046 and on the basis of the 28 June, 2011 agreement that caters for an inclusive National Constitutional Process.” The statement says that the SPLM-N is ready to reach “an immediate humanitarian cessation of hostilities”. “The SPLM-N has been offering a cessation of hostilities, which Al Bashir has refused for more than one year, thereby making him responsible for the continuation of the war.” Arman says that the SPLM-N has sent a letter to Mbeki expressing the readiness of the SPLM-N to resume direct negotiations: “We would like to draw to the attention of the African Union and the international community to the fact that it is not the first time Al Bashir has refused negotiations. He did the same when he denounced the 28 June, 2011 Agreement, which was signed by his Deputy in the National Congress.” The statement highlights that this has “resulted in prolonging the war, punishing the civilian population and denying humanitarian access for two years. Al Bashir should not be rewarded, but should be held accountable for disregarding African Union and UN Resolutions,” the statement concludes. File photo: SPLM-N Secretary General Yasir ArmanRelated: SRF dismissive of Sudan President Bashir’s dialogue refusal (29 May 2013)Bashir ‘revokes recognition of negotiation’ with SPLM-N and Darfur rebels (27 May 2013)Press release: SPLM-N expectations from Khartoum in talks (24 April 2013)EU welcomes Sudan, rebels talks but calls for end of hostilities (24 April 2013)