Rebels discuss Sudan’s peace talks in Berlin

Members of the Sudan Revolutionary Front (SRF) met in Germany’s capital on Wednesday to discuss key negotiation issues for the upcoming peace talks on Sudan, held in Ethiopia. The spokesman for the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM), Jibril Adam Bilal, told Radio Dabanga that the preparatory meeting in Berlin will discuss the political, humanitarian, and security situation in Sudan. The alliance of Sudan’s main rebel movements aims to reach a comprehensive peace agreement for the country. “The priority of the SRF is to urge the international community to support its programme for a comprehensive solution,” Bilal explained. The AU High-Level Implementation Panel (AUHIP) scheduled negotiations with SRF delegates in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, this month. “If the government delegates do not appear at the negotiation table, we will consider our next steps,” Bilal spoke to Radio Dabanga earlier this week. The German embassy in Khartoum commented that the workshop on Wednesday and Thursday takes place with the knowledge of the Sudanese government, which was invited by the Germans to support the peace process in Sudan. President Omar Al Bashir, on the contrary, emphasised that “all issues of the country can be discussed at the national dialogue forum, without preconditions”, in his address to the general convention of the ruling National Congress Party (NCP) in Khartoum on Saturday. The German embassy stated that the Berghof Foundation organises the two-day meeting of the rebels in Berlin. The foundation operates as a think tank for conflict research and peace policy, ‘helping conflict stakeholders to identify peaceful ways of addressing their differences’, as stated on its website. File photo: Members of the Sudan Revolutionary Front in an earlier visit to Europe. Related: Sudan’s opposition ‘unimpressed’ by Al Bashir speech (28 September 2014) Revolutionary Front leaders welcome AU decisions on Sudan (16 September 2014)