SPLM: Bashir ‘in a state of turmoil and defeat’

SPLM spokespeople in Blue Nile and South Kordofan comment on Bashir’s refusal to negociateThe Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM) scoffed President Omar al-Bashir’s statements on his refusal to negotiate with them. The SPLM described al-Bashir as “a person who is bundled and defeated”. Arno Nagalto Lody, official spokesperson of SPLM – North, described Mr. Bashir’s statement to not negotiate with the SPLM as “surprising”, adding that “the SPLM never mentioned a desire for negotiations in the first place, since we are progressing with our plans to bring down the regime.” He also emphasized that the regime of the National Congress Party (NCP) had received consecutive defeats in both South Kordofan and Blue Nile in the past years, and that it had failed to destroy the unity of the SPLM. “Those who remain loyal to the NCP are losers,” he added. Mr. Lody attributed Mr. Bashir’s comments to the state of turmoil and defeat which he said the president is currently experiencing. On the other hand, Suleiman Osman Hamid SPLM-spokesman in Blue Nile,  described the wars in Sudan as political, explaining that “The NCP is using national institutions, including the military, in the wars with opposing parties. Its purpose is to impose NCP policies, which are based on Arabism and religious extremism.” Mr. Hamid added that NCP’s recent speech on jihad had become old-fashioned and out of date. “Even the tankers did not respond to this speech.” The Khartoum regime is now justifying the wars in Darfur, Blue Nile, and South Kordofan with ethnical reasons.