Sudan opposition sceptic about Bashir’s calls for dialogue, prisoners release

Sudan President Omar Al Bashir announced his government will engage with all political bodies and civil society groups without exception, including with groups that have taken up arms against his regime. The statement was made during his speech at the opening of the new parliamentary session on Monday.  “We offer these salutations knowing that all Sudanese people are looking forward to the next step which we began by calling all conflict groups for an inclusive dialogue, thus confirming the common bond between the sons of one nation, adhering to national interests rather than other considerations, and contributing to address and resolve issues that satisfy the people of Sudan.”Bashir claimed that, “The political parties’ response was very positive and encouraging,” before adding that the sons of one nation always welcome any call with nationalistic spirit. Opposition political forces, however, have expressed general scepticism on the president’s calls for dialogue based on past experiences.During his speech, Bashir also ordered the release of all political prisoners in detention centers across Sudan.  He claimed that all rights and freedoms in self-expression will be upheld in Sudan for both individuals and groups and this is demonstrated by the release of the political prisoners.National Consensus Forces: “waste of time” Kamal Omer Abdel Salam, spokesman of the opposition NCF, said Bashir’s calls for dialogue and his orders to release Sudanese political prisoners are a “worthless and waste of time”.Past experiences indicate that all of Khartoum’s opportunities for dialogue with other political forces were “for gaining time and acquiring legitimacy which ended in the regime’s betrayal … and brought Sudan to what it is now”, he said.Salam said the opposition is “convinced” that change in the country would not happen under the current government and its institutions. The regime should instead start a dialogue to discuss the implementation of a transitional government, he suggested.National Umma Party: “need to follow words with deeds” Dr. Mariam Sadiq Al Mahdi, a leading figure at the NUP, welcomed the president’s invitation to engage with all political forces.However, she told Radio Dabanga, Bashir “needs to follow his words with deeds”, which include political, expression and press freedom.Deeds should also comprise preservation of human dignity, holding perpetrators accountable and creating a conductive environment for other political parties “without incrimination”.This way, the president’s invitation would be different than previous dialogue initiatives of the ruling National Congress Party (NCP). “They were used only for gaining time and creating instability among political forces”, she said. Sudanese Revolutionary Front: “false and futile” Abdel Wahid, head of SLM-AW and deputy president of SRF political affairs, said the president’s calls to release prisoners are “false and futile”.He told Radio Dabanga that if Bashir was being sincere the “displaced in Darfur, in Blue Nile and in South Kordofan, [in addition to] refugees in Chad and in Central African Republic” should be also released.“They were all displaced because of air fighters and militias, who crammed these people in prisons called camps”, Abdel Wahid said.  If the president was being sincere, the depuy continued, he would disarm militias so that the displaced and refugees were freed from their “compulsory prisons in the camps” and could return to their villages.Abdel Wahid said the solution to Sudan does not lie in the dialogue with the NCP, but in changing the entire regime into one that respects freedom, democracy, justice and equal citizenship.Justice and Equality Movement: “repeated” Jibril Adam Bilal, JEM spokesman, said Bashir’s dialogue invitation is “repeated, worthless and a waste of time”.  He added the president’s calls “are no different than from other times which the NCP used to overcome its own internal crises”.The aim of Sudan’s president is to “exploit the resistance and the political opposition in negotiation fora stipulated by the international community in order to dismantle the country’s international isolation without making any strategic political decisions or addressing issues as to why he took up arms”, Bilal suggested.He reinstated that the objective of the New Charter Dawn -endorsed by many opposition figures- is to topple the regime “with no room for negotiation after all the crimes committed against the Sudanese people in general and against the innocent civilians in Darfur, Blue Nile and Nuba Mountains”. Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North: “hunt opposition” Yasir Arman, SPLM-N secretary general and SRF secretary for external affairs, said Bashir’s announcement is “a new attempt to hunt the opposition”.He warned that taking the bait that Bashir uses for 23 years would be a “historic mistake” and called upon a united opposition to reach a comprehensive peace solution.“Constitutional processes which are not preceded by stopping the war and leading to a new transitional arrangement are only a reproduction of the crisis and of the totalitarian regime”, he told Radio Dabanga.“Old wine in a new bottle” In a press statement, Arman said the president’s speech “is an old wine in a new bottle.  Using Islamic jargon, it is ‘old milk in a new bottle’”.He noted that the only new development is the release of some political prisoners, while the president is “keeping the same laws that detained them and that can detain them again or detain others”.In addition, Bashir is calling “on the opposition to join him in an empty constitutional process that will give him legitimacy and renew his license and his political group to rule Sudan, keeping the status quo and without addressing the fundamental issues”.These fundamental issues, according to him are to “open access for humanitarian assistance for more than two million displaced persons in the Nuba Mountains, Blue Nile and Darfur. Denying access is a war crime.  This was completely ignored in his speech.”Secondly, the government must before anything else end the wars and enable political and armed forces in conflict areas to participate effectively in any credible constitutional process.  “This was ignored too”, he said.Although the release of political detainees is welcomed, there are another 600 prisoners whose “whereabouts are unknown”. Arman said 138 of them come from the Blue Nile, more than 240 come from the Nuba Mountains and the rest comes from Darfur and other places.He noted that “the army and security officers who were accused of the last coup … are being court marshaled without … the right to defend themselves”. This issue has not been addressed and the laws that allow the unlawful detentions are still in place, Arman said. “The freedom of the press and some newspapers were closed down.  The think tanks and cultural centers were closed down.  Their situation will be the same after this speech, and the media censorship will continue”, SPLM-N secretary general was quoted as saying. According to Arman, Sudan needs a credible constitutional process that will answer the fundamental question of “How Sudan is going to be governed” and not “Who is going to govern Sudan.” The issue at hand, he said, is not to write a beautiful constitution, it is how to end the one party system and to open the road to democratic transformation. “General Bashir has ruled Sudan for 23 years undemocratically with his political group, divided the country, and committed genocide and war crimes continuously and yet he has the appetite to continue.  Supporting him to continue up to 2015 and beyond to legitimize himself and the National Congress is to act as his accomplice” Arman concluded.Photo: Omar al-Bashir (smc.sd)Related: Sudanese opposition agrees to topple Khartoum regime (6 January 2013)