Sudan’s opposition forces condemn detention of their leaders

The Sudanese political and armed opposition forces today expressed their strong denunciation of the detention of Faroug Abu Eisa, head of the National Consensus Forces (NCF, a coalition of opposition parties), Dr Amin Mekki Madani, chairman of the Sudanese Civil Society Initiative, and Dr Farah El Agar, senior consultant of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N). Security agents detained the opposition leaders at their homes in Khartoum and Omdurman on Saturday evening, a day after returning from Addis Ababa. Abu Eisa and Madani had signed the Sudan Appeal on Wednesday. In the political communiqué, co-signed by the Sudan Revolutionary Front (SRF) rebel alliance, and the National Umma Party, the allied opposition forces agreed to join their efforts to peacefully change the government, or call for a popular uprising to overthrow the regime. Today (Sunday), the NCF organised a press conference at the premises of the Sudanese Communist Party in Khartoum about the detentions. Prominent NCF member and lawyer Sati El Haj, one of the speakers at the press conference, told Radio Dabanga that the detention of Abu Eisa, Madani, and El Agar “will not deter us to continue our struggle against this dictatorial regime, until it has been wiped away. We will step up our cooperation with all opposition forces, including the Sudanese people, and will not enter into any dialogue again with these oppressors”.   Peace talks In Addis Ababa, SRF leaders also condemned the detention of the Sudan Appeal signatories and the SPLM-N consultant. El Tom Hajo, senior member of the Democratic Unionist Party, and SRF co-vice president, stated to Radio Dabanga, that the detentions “again affirm that the Sudanese government is not serious about the peace negotiations and the National Dialogue. They are opting for military and security solutions.” He called on “all the Sudanese to stand by their detained leaders and pressure the government to release them immediately”. Yasir Arman, SRF Foreign Relations Secretary, and head of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N) peace negotiation team, said at a press conference in the Ethiopian capital today that he was surprised about the move by the Sudanese security. “The Sudanese government itself is talking with the rebel movements during the peace negotiations. Furthermore, they invited all opposition parties and movements to the negotiation table under the banner of the National Dialogue, as proposed by President Al Bashir. So why detain those who defy them?” Arman stated that the SRF have “immediately demanded in writing” the release of Faroug Abu Eisa and Dr Amin Mekki Madani in informal meetings with the head of the AU High-Level Implementation Panel (AUHIP),  Thabo Mbeki, and with Dr Ibrahim Ghandour, head of the Sudanese government’s negotiation team. “Only later, we were informed about the detention of Farah Agar, senior consultant for the peace negotiations.” Peace talks between the Sudanese government and the SPLM-N about the Two Areas (South Kordofan and Blue Nile), brokered by the AUHIP in Addis Ababa, resumed on Friday, after a suspension of a week. News photo above: Speakers at the press conference of the National Consensus Forces today. Sati El Haj (with tie) is sitting at the left of Mohamed Dia, NCF Public Relations Officer who is speaking. (Radio Dabanga correspondent) News photo below: Yasir Arman, Foreign Relations Secretary of the Sudan Revolutionary Front, speaking at the press conference in Addis Ababa today. (Courtesy by the SRF)Related: Two Sudan Appeal signatories, SPLM-N official detained (7 December 2014)