Opposition forces sign ‘Sudan Appeal’ in Addis Ababa
The main Sudanese opposition leaders who met in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa this week, agreed today on the text of a political communiqué, in which they call for the establishment of a “democratic Sudan based on equal citizenship”. The declaration, entitled Sudan Appeal, is signed by El Sadig El Mahdi, president of the National Umma Party, Minni Arko Minawi, co-vice president of the Sudan Revolutionary Front (SRF, an alliance of the main rebel movements), Faroug Abu Eisa, head of the National Consensus Forces (NCF, a coalition of opposition parties), and Dr Amin Mekki Madani, chairman of the Sudanese Civil Society Initiative. In the two-page communiqué, the joint opposition forces ascertain that Sudan is slipping into an abyss. They refer to the various crises in the country, the violent conflicts, wars, and humanitarian suffering on the one hand, and economic and political bankruptcy on the other, stressing that a comprehensive solution cannot be adjourned much longer. They state that the regime that came to power in a military coup in 1989 “has torn the country apart, created wars, imposed a single identity, and spread hatred, disorder, and contempt” among its citizens. The opposition forces point to the hardships the Sudanese people are facing, in particular the millions of displaced and refugees who had to flee the violence in Darfur, South Kordofan, and the Blue Nile. Human right The Sudanese people are in need of support to continue “their struggle to survive under this oppressive regime for a quarter of a century”. Therefore the signatories of Sudan Appeal agreed to cooperate in order to “dismantle the system of one-party rule for the sake of a nation based on equal citizenship”. This is to be achieved “through daily efforts by the people that should develop into a popular uprising”. “A solid basis” is to be established, “granting the Sudanese their human right to liberate themselves from absolutism, violence, and impoverishment.” The opposition forces reiterate their conditions for convening a broad dialogue and a comprehensive political solution, such as an end to the wars, the restoration of freedom, and the formation of a broad interim government. In this regard, they welcome the Communiqué of the 465th Meeting of the AU Peace and Security Council on 12 September this year, in which the Council supports these same conditions. The signatories stress that the text of the communiqué is to be “realised by actions”, by the opposition forces in cooperation with the Sudanese people, in particular the youth, in order “not to lose hope” on a new, democratic Sudan. News photos above and below: Opposition leaders at today’s signing of the Sudan Appeal in Addis Ababa (Radio Dabanga correspondents)
The main Sudanese opposition leaders who met in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa this week, agreed today on the text of a political communiqué, in which they call for the establishment of a “democratic Sudan based on equal citizenship”.
The declaration, entitled Sudan Appeal, is signed by El Sadig El Mahdi, president of the National Umma Party, Minni Arko Minawi, co-vice president of the Sudan Revolutionary Front (SRF, an alliance of the main rebel movements), Faroug Abu Eisa, head of the National Consensus Forces (NCF, a coalition of opposition parties), and Dr Amin Mekki Madani, chairman of the Sudanese Civil Society Initiative.
In the two-page communiqué, the joint opposition forces ascertain that Sudan is slipping into an abyss. They refer to the various crises in the country, the violent conflicts, wars, and humanitarian suffering on the one hand, and economic and political bankruptcy on the other, stressing that a comprehensive solution cannot be adjourned much longer.
They state that the regime that came to power in a military coup in 1989 “has torn the country apart, created wars, imposed a single identity, and spread hatred, disorder, and contempt” among its citizens. The opposition forces point to the hardships the Sudanese people are facing, in particular the millions of displaced and refugees who had to flee the violence in Darfur, South Kordofan, and the Blue Nile.
Human right
The Sudanese people are in need of support to continue “their struggle to survive under this oppressive regime for a quarter of a century”. Therefore the signatories of Sudan Appeal agreed to cooperate in order to “dismantle the system of one-party rule for the sake of a nation based on equal citizenship”.
This is to be achieved “through daily efforts by the people that should develop into a popular uprising”.
“A solid basis” is to be established, “granting the Sudanese their human right to liberate themselves from absolutism, violence, and impoverishment.”
The opposition forces reiterate their conditions for convening a broad dialogue and a comprehensive political solution, such as an end to the wars, the restoration of freedom, and the formation of a broad interim government. In this regard, they welcome the Communiqué of the 465th Meeting of the AU Peace and Security Council on 12 September this year, in which the Council supports these same conditions.
The signatories stress that the text of the communiqué is to be “realised by actions”, by the opposition forces in cooperation with the Sudanese people, in particular the youth, in order “not to lose hope” on a new, democratic Sudan.
News photos above and below: Opposition leaders at today's signing of the Sudan Appeal in Addis Ababa (Radio Dabanga correspondents)
and then