Africa

December 20, 2015 (KHARTOUM) - The director of Sudan's National Intelligence and Security Services (NISS) Mohamed Atta has held the newspapers responsible for the exceptional measures taken against the press by his agency.

The head of Sudan's National Intelligence and Security Services (NISS), Mohamed Atta Abbas Al-Moula (Photo: Reuters)

In an interview with Al-Sudani newspaper Sunday, Atta said that the measures taken against newspapers are not “arbitrary” but based upon the law, noting they are forced to take those measures.

He accused the Sudanese press of using sensationalism and exaggeration to attract readers, citing newspapers reports on child abuse incidents in school buses.

Last May, the NISS seized copies of 10 newspapers and suspended four of them indefinitely. The move was a reaction to reports published by those newspapers on incidents of sexual harassment and child rape taking place inside school buses.

“Sometimes we are forced to take an action against a major violation [by the newspapers] but strangely, when we suspended ten newspapers for one day for reporting the child abuse incidents, the issue was not directed against the NISS or its personnel but rather the whole [Sudanese] society,” he said.

“That is a sort of mistakes that newspapers commit on daily bases, we wish to reach a point where we aren't forced to take any action [against the newspapers]”, he added.

The spy chief defended his agency's move to suspend the ten newspapers, describing the child abuse story as “untrue, exaggerated and unfounded lie”.

He acknowledged that seizure and suspension of the newspapers could distort the image of the freedoms in Sudan, accusing the journalists of being responsible for that distortion.

It is noteworthy that NISS seized copies of al-Tayyar newspapers in the early hours of last Monday from the printing house without giving reasons. On Tuesday, the newspaper was suspended indefinitely.

Sudan's constitution guarantees freedom of expression but laws subordinate to the constitution such as the National Security Forces Act of 2010 contains articles that can be potentially used to curtail press freedom and instigate legal proceedings against newspapers and individual journalists.

Sudanese journalists work under tight daily censorship controls exercised by the NISS.

Journalists say that NISS uses seizures of print copies of newspapers, not only to censor the media but also to weaken them economically.

(ST)

December 20, 2015 (ADDIS ABABA) – The long-awaited arrival to the South Sudanese capital, Juba, of the advance team of the armed opposition faction of the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM-IO) under the leadership of former vice-president, Riek Machar, will happen on Monday, officials have confirmed.

Taban Deng Gai, head of delegation of the armed opposition faction led by the former vice-president Riek Machar, and the three mediators arrive to attend a special consultation meeting in support of the IGAD-led South Sudan peace process in Khartoum on 12 January 2015 (Photo: Reuters/Mohamed Nureldin Abdallah)

The first group of the advance team will leave Pagak to Juba through the airport in Gambella town, the regional capital of the western Gambella region of the neighbouring Ethiopia, from where they will be airlifted.

“The first group of the advance team of SPLM/SPLA (IO) comprising 150 cadres will arrive in Juba on Monday, December 21,” confirmed James Gatdet Dak, official spokesman of the opposition leader, Riek Machar, in a statement to the media on Sunday.

“They will be led by the Chief Negotiator, General Taban Deng Gai,” he said.

He said a remaining number of 459 to make a total of 609 will follow on different dates before the end of the year.

Dak said the first group that will arrive in Juba on Monday will mainly compose of members who will be participating in meetings of various institutions established under the peace agreement, including their support staff.

He also said a number of senior military generals from the military council of the opposition army will also be among the first group that will arrive on Monday.

In Juba, Akol Paul Kordit, who is the spokesman of the national committee set up by the government to receive and accommodate the advance team also confirmed that the team will arrive on Monday.

The government's national committee for the reception of the advance team is chaired by the minister of finance and economic planning, David Deng Athorbei.

The arrival of the team had been cancelled many times in the past due to disagreements between the government and the opposition faction.

While the SPLM-IO wanted the over 600 to return to Juba and other states in order to mobilize the populations in support to the full implementation of the peace deal, the government wanted less than 50 of them, saying the “huge number” constituted a security risk, resulting to the delays.

However, with this week's intervention of the chairman of the Joint Monitoring and Evaluation Commission (JMEC), Festus Mogae, former president of Botswana, who is tasked with the responsibility to oversee the implementation of the peace agreement, the government finally accepted to receive the number.

Upon arrival at Juba airport at around 1:30pm, the team will hold a press conference at the airport in Juba, then move to the mausoleum of late Dr. John Garang to pay respect, and then visit the SPLM House before finally going to their hotels where they will be accommodated.

The parties are now expected to jump-start the implementation of the first phases of the peace agreement including deployment of joint integrated forces in Juba, constitutional amendment, selections of ministerial portfolios and designated ministers and additional members to the national parliament as well as formation of a transitional government of national unity by 22 January 2016.

(ST)

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December 19, 2015 (JUBA) – An alliance of 18 South Sudanese political parties claim majority of South Sudanese have now discovered the idea behind the creation of the 28 new state states and have joined voices objecting to President Salva Kiir's directive.

President Salva Kiir addresses the nation at the South Sudan National Parliament in Juba, November 18, 2015. (Photo Reuters/Jok Solomun)

“This government, the present government has been living in a different world and behalves differently. It has been adopting a strange policy, a policy of acting first and think later in order to fool the people of South Sudan. Now the very people have discovered that the government was no longer working for the interest of the very people it purports to represent”, Martin Aligo, the secretary general of the alliance told Sudan Tribune.

Aligo said the way people reacted when exchange rates were floated was a demonstration that government cared less about policies which would harm ordinary people, but rather utilized it to maximise their interests at all cost.

“People have been coming to us at the alliance to say thank you for standing for truth and we told them congratulation for discovery. Now if they care about the people, let them do a survey and see what the reaction would be about these economic reforms. The result would certainly be embarrassing for them. And I challenge them to do so and let us see what happens if they deny. People are fed up”, said Aligo.

"Some of the people who initially supported the creation of 28 states are now regretting and they are the ones now championing the reverse of the decision because they have now discovered the reason", he added.

In October President Salva Kiir criticized his current governance system which he said had been holding the people's power in the center within Juba and proposed the need to adopt a federal system of governance in the world's youngest nation.

“Over the last ten years, the power which was given to you by the CPA [Comprehensive Peace Agreement] has remained in the center,” Kiir told the state-owned SSTV, referring to the peace deal signed in January 2005 with Sudan.

The CPA granted South Sudanese a referendum on self-determination which resulted to overwhelming vote for secession from Sudan in 2011. He said his rationale for delaying creation of more states in devolution of powers to the people was because he was allegedly busy preparing for referendum from 2005 to 2011.

“My administration in the center was busy with issues to do with your self-determination such that you become free and sovereign state. Now, indeed you are free, therefore, there is no reason for me to retain your constitutional right for self-governance, self-reliance, self-development and determine your through free, fair and democratic elections in three years to come,” said the South Sudanese leader.

According to President Kiir, the creation of the 28 states, which was meant to come into effect within 30 days, would provide an opportunity to “develop your locality, your home villages through mobilization of local and states resources.”

“We should therefore abandon culture of war and embrace culture of peace, co-existence and hard work such [that] you and I together develop our country because our country is a country of opportunities,” stressed the president.

The order number 36/2015 AD for creation of new states of South Sudan stated that the president would now have the chance to nominate more state governors and additional members of the state assembly in his newly created states.

The sitting state members of parliament (MPs) will be maintained at 21 members in each state and there will be no more than 21 lawmakers.

The president acknowledged that his administration has been facing economic declines, surging unemployment as a consequence of the war which erupted on 15 December 2013.

It is not clear where more resources will be mobilized to fund the development of the states as the creation of 18 more states, which came as a surprise to the nation and the international community.

THE NEW STATES

In the breakdown of the states, Kiir created 8 states for greater Equatoria which included Imatong, Namurnyang, Maridi, Budi, Amadi, Jubek, Terekeka and Yei river.

For greater Bahr el Ghazal he decreed into being 10 states namely, Wau, Aweil, Ngor, Aweil East, Twic, Gogrial, Tonj, Eastern Lakes, Western Lakes and Gok.

In greater Upper Nile he decreed 10 states to include Leer, Northern Guit, Ruweng, Eastern Nile, Jonglei, Western Nile, Eastern Bie, Lajor, Buma and Western Bie.

(ST)

December 19, 2015 (KHARTOUM) - A passerby in the streets of Khartoum can see hundreds of Syrian families who fled the devastating war that swept most of the Mediterranean nation's territories.

Sudanese and Syrian protesters demonstrate against the continued violence in Syria outside Sudan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Khartoum November 23, 2011. (Reuters)

As a result of that carnage, millions of civilians were scattered around the world in search of safety. Like many other countries, Sudan had had its share of these asylum seekers.

In the elite Riyadh and New Extension suburbs of Khartoum, one can see a lot of small businesses run by Syrian nationals. Some of these shops sell delicious Syrian food substances that range from candy to fast food, attracting noteworthy numbers of customers.

Some of these refugees have also opened a lot of crafts shops.

These small businesses provide lots of Syrian refugees with what can be described as scratchy livelihoods , given the harsh economic conditions of Sudan.

An estimated 105 thousand Syrian refugees now live in Sudan. The Government has given them the rights of residence , movement, work, free education and medication . Some philanthropic Sudanese families have hosted Syrian families who cannot afford the high house rents.

Compared to the many Syrian refugees who found a means of bread winning, hundreds of Syrian asylum seekers who failed to be classified as refugees depend on handouts from local charities and from Sudanese and Syrian traders .

Some of these refugees beg in the City streets or around mosques and marketplaces.

Mazin Abul Khair , an official of ‘the office for serving Syrian families in Sudan' said just about 100 Syrian nationals live on begging.

“The office has tried to help these but they declined to accept food baskets and financial aid we offered them, because they feel begging is far more lucrative than what we give,'' Khair told Sudan Tribune.

He said in the year 2012 some Syrian traders living in Sudan had set up a committee to take care of the refugees .The committee, that started with six families , now aids 700 families .

He said his office is run on voluntary basis and depends , primarily, on Syrian traders and some Sudanese businessmen. The office also receives some assistance from local charities.

The office offers a food basket for each of the registered families. It also provides job opportunities to the youth and pays house rents for the poor families.

Khair lamented the fact that many Syrian children could not continue with their education though the Sudanese Government had exempted all Syrian refugee children from school fees. "This is because of the difference in dialect and the difficult educational environment here," he said.

To secure the future of these children , the office has embarked on the establishment of a Syrian school , he said, adding that the office has already obtained all the required paper work and is now looking for funding for the school.

Sudanese refugees commissioner al-Mardi Salih said they strive to find lodgings to the Syrian refugees.

He said the Government of Sudan had accorded the Syrian refugees all the rights of citizenship enjoyed by any Sudanese national.

Salih also said his commission has embarked on the registration of these Syrians , giving them ‘'guest IDs'' that allow them access to free education and medical care.

‘' In the long run we can provide these people with housing in the form of camps in Khartoum. We can also give them sums to rent homes,'' he said.

(ST)

December 19, 2015 (ADDIS ABABA) - The rebel Sudan People's Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N) has dismissed media reports Saturday in Khartoum claiming that the movement would participate in the final session of the dialogue conference.

A SPLA-N fighter holds up his rifle near Jebel Kwo village in the rebel-held territory of the Nuba Mountains in South Kordofan on 2 May 2012 (Photo: Goran Tomasevic/Reuters)

The government-led national dialogue conference was inaugurated in Khartoum on October 10th amid large boycott from the major political and armed opposition.

In a press release Saturday, SPLM-N peace file spokesperson, Mubarak Ardol, dismissed as “untrue” press reports that a delegation from the movement would participate in the final session of the dialogue conference in Khartoum.

He stressed that those reports has nothing to do with the informal discussions that took place between the SPLM-N and the government in Addis Ababa.

In a press conference Friday, member of the dialogue body known as 7+7 Faisal Hassan Ibrahim expected that several members of the SPLM-N would soon join the dialogue conference.

However, Ardol pointed in his statement that the SPLM-N is negotiating with the Sudanese government not the 7+7 mechanism, saying the latter should refrain from issuing inaccurate statements.

“Unless its [the 7+7 mechanism] objective was to spoil the unremitting efforts made by the conflicting parties to achieve comprehensive solutions and equitable dialogue with the participation of all parties in order to end the war in the Two Areas and Darfur and to achieve national consensus and to bring Sudan's political and economic isolation to an end,” he said.

Last November the government and the SPLM-N failed to reach cessation of hostilities and humanitarian access agreements in the Two Areas, as the five-day talks showed that important gaps persist in the positions of the two sides.

On Friday, the two sides wrapped up a three-day informal meeting organized by the African Union High Implementation Panel (AUHIP) in Addis Ababa to explore ways to overcome their differences.

The two sides were not able to reach an agreement on the main outstanding issues but agreed to resume discussions soon.

The rare appearance of the SPLM-N chief negotiator Yasser Arman on the government-owned Sudan TV channel following the end of the informal discussions has prompted speculations that a political settlement was imminent, particularly as security services prevents local newspapers and official TV channels from mentioning any statements or remarks by rebel leaders.

The SPLM-N calls for a comprehensive peace agreement in Sudan including the political opposition, saying they refuses to repeat the 2005 peace agreement that led to the separation of South Sudan. They say the issue of the Two Areas should be resolved within a national approach.

The Sudanese army has been fighting SPLM-N rebels in Blue Nile and South Kordofan since 2011.

December 19, 2015 (JUBA) – A senior leader of the ruling Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM), Majak Agot, has called on the people of greater Dinka Bor community in general and his Twic clan in particular to exercise calm over the recent abusive attack on Rebecca Nyandeng, widow of the founder of the SPLM, John Garang de Mabior, in a church in Juba.

Rebecca Nyandeng de Mabior (ST File Photo)

Sudan Tribune two weeks ago published the report of the attack on the lady whom many South Sudanese referred to as the ‘mother' of the newly founded nation.

Nyandeng was disrespectfully insulted only two days after her return to the national capital, Juba, from Nairobi, Kenya, where she had been in exile for two years following the eruption of the war on 15 December 2015.

Due to her condemnation of the war, blaming it on the South Sudanese president, Salva Kiir, whom she accused of dictatorship and massacre of thousands of members of the Nuer ethnic group in Juba by his presidential guards, she was criticized by those who disapproved of her stance.

A woman, who allegedly hails from Dinka Bor county, uttered insults at Nyandeng while on attendance of a church service at Emmanuel Jieng Parish church in Juba, and reportedly approached her with the intention to slap her before she was restrained by other church leaders and members.

The attack also prompted reactions from members of the Twic East community, where she and her late husband hail, with those mainly in the diaspora publishing condemnation articles in the media, describing it as an attack on Twic East community in general by the Bor community of Bor county.

However, on Saturday, Agot, who was deputy minister for defense and veterans affairs before the country's crisis, appealed to the people of the three greater Bor community of Bor, Twic East and Duk counties to let go the anger generated by the attack on Nyandeng.

Agot, who was accompanying Nyandeng to the church when the insults were uttered at her, confirmed the incident which he said he witnessed despite attempts by some quarters to bury the truth of what transpired in the church, but added the incident was a normal occurrence in the culture of politics in the country.

“I know there are some people here in this country who do not want the truth to be said but we have to break that circle and try to be honest to our people,” Agot told his community gathering at Kush Resort during Duk County fundraising ceremony on Friday in Juba.

“In politics 10 people may like you whereas other 10 people will not like you and that is politics,” a Juba-based The Nation Mirror quoted him as saying on Friday.

Agot, who is a member of the 10-person group known as the ‘former detainees' who together returned to Juba with Nyandeng last month however said the incident was bad because it happened inside a church.

The recent appeal by the political leader from the greater Dinka community came as the church incident seemed to have continued to linger in the minds of those who condemned it.

Nyandeng is being blamed by a section of her Bor community for being vocal about the weaknesses of president Salva Kiir's government and for allowing her eldest son, Mabior Garang, to join the armed opposition faction led by former vice-president, Riek Machar.

(ST)

December 19, 2015 (NYALA) - Police in South Darfur said that it has burned more than five thousands hectares of cannabis and seized 60,870 weed heads in Sango and Al-Radoom areas in the largest anti-drug operation in the area.

Photo showing amounts of Sudanese Cannabis or Bango as called by locals

South Darfur's police director Ahmed Osman Mohamed, who addressed the national police day celebration Saturday in the state's capital, Nyala, said the police managed to destroy 5,000 hectares of cannabis, pointing to fierce clashes with the drugs traffickers.

He noted the police arrested several drugs traders and seized large amounts of cannabis which were in their possession, underscoring the perpetrators would be brought before trial following the completion of the investigation.

Mohamed added the police also seized large quantity of weapons from the drugs traders, stressing they intend to eradicate drugs cultivation in the state besides monitoring drug trafficking from neighboring countries.

Last week, 12 people were killed in clashes between gunmen and drug traffickers in Balbala area in the locality of Al-Fardous, East Darfur state.

Drug trade is spread in the southern localities of East Darfur state due to its close proximity to areas where cannabis is grown such as Al-Radom and Sango in South Darfur state.

Meanwhile, the police director pointed they put in place a precise plan to achieve several objectives including securing primary and high schools exams next March, protecting the planting season and reducing tribal clashes.

For his part, the governor of South Darfur state Adam al-Faki said the regular forces managed to crush rebellion and is currently fighting against drug traders, noting that illegal drugs is a major source of destabilization in the state.

He underlined that the regular forces would make every possible effort to dry out sources of drugs production, saying that illegal drugs pose the same danger as rebellion and tribal conflicts.

South Darfur state is considered one of the major sources of illegal drugs production in Sudan. Cannabis is being cultivated in three main areas in the state including Sango, Al-Radom and East Jebel Marra.

Drug traders usually use small and heavy arms to protect their farms against police raids which led to the killing of several police officers.

(ST)

By Tesfa-Alem Tekle

December 19, 2015 (ADDIS ABABA) – At least 75 people have so been killed during the weeks of protests that are taking place in Ethiopia's Oromia region against the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa's expansion plan, Human Rights Watch said Saturday.

A group of protestors carry placards in support of Oromia region (Opride.com)

Since last month, students from Ethiopia's largest ethnic group, Oromo, have been protesting against the controversial “Addis Ababa Integrated Development Master Plan” proposed by the central government to expand Addis Ababa to parts of Oromia region.

The majority of those protesting have argues that the expansion plan will lead to large scale evictions of several farmers from their ancestral lands.

They also fear their land will be grabbed without appropriate compensation.
Presently, an estimated two million people, mostly farmers live in the Oromia region areas that have proposed by the government for expansion.

Hundreds of farmers have also joined the protest, which continues in larger parts of the region amid fears it could spread to other parts of the country.

The Ethiopian government has earlier acknowledged that only five of the protesters were killed following the ongoing clashes with security forces since began on 12 November in western Oromia regional state, but the rights body says 75 people died.

“Police and military forces have fired on demonstrations, killing at least 75 protesters and wounding many others, according to activists”, is said.

According to Human Rights Watch, the Ethiopian government on December 15 announced that the protesters had a “direct connection with forces that have taken missions from foreign terrorist groups” and that Ethiopia's Anti-Terrorism Task Force would lead the response.

“The Ethiopian government's response to the Oromia protests has resulted in scores dead and a rapidly rising risk of greater bloodshed,” said Leslie Lefkow, the deputy Africa director at Human Rights Watch.

It accused Ethiopian security forces of using excessive lethal force.

“While police have the responsibility to maintain order during protests, they should only use force when strictly necessary and in a proportionate manner”, it said, calling for freedom of expression and peaceful assembly.

The human rights group further urged authorities in Ethiopia to support prompt, independent investigations into the events in Oromia region, including by the United Nations and African Union (AU) human rights experts on freedom of expression, peaceful assembly and association.

Governments and intergovernmental organizations, including the AU, should raise concerns about the excessive use of force against protesters and call on Ethiopia to respect fundamental human rights in its response to the protests, the rights entity said.

“Ethiopia's security forces seem to have learned nothing from last year's protests, and, instead of trying to address the grievances that are catalyzing the protests, are shooting down more protesters,” said Lefkow.

He added, “Concerned governments and institutions should call on Ethiopia to halt its excessive use of force and stop this spiral into further violence”.

The government accuses some of the protesters of having links with some anti-peace forces including with Ginbot-7, an exiled opposition movement which had long been designated by Addis Ababa as a terrorist entity.

“The government's labeling of largely peaceful protesters as ‘terrorists' and deploying military forces is a very dangerous escalation of this volatile situation,” stressed Lefkow.

Meanwhile, Ethiopian police said Friday that it seized from Addis Ababa bus station weapons which were being transported to unspecified place.

Last week, Ethiopian security forces detained 10 members of Ginbot-7 who they claimed were allegedly deployed by arch-rival Eritrea to carryout terrorist attacks on the public and government development institutions.

They were arrested some few days before a hand grenade attack at Ethiopia's biggest mosque in the capital last week left 24 people wounded.

(ST)

December 18, 2015 (BOR) - The Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) has distributed 16 wooden canoes to boost an estimated 400 fishermen in South Sudan's Jonglei state.

Fishermen in Mayen village loading boats for distribution, December 17, 2015 (ST)

The donation was part of efforts to improve fishing in the capital, Bor.

One of the major fish producing states along the River Nile, Jonglei lacked fishing equipment, preservative boxes and good landing sites, which were identified as major challenges in region before NRC came in to support the local fishing communities.

“We are giving boats because we have seen huge needs for them. These people are doing fishing but they have challenges and we have identified they don't have boats which they can use for fishing”, said David Machar, a food security officer with NRC.

The agency had planned to distribute a total of 16 boats with carrying capacities of at least half tone, depending on whether it was dry or wet fish.

Distribution of the boats started from Akuak and Mayen villages at the riverside to Gakyuom in Bor and expected to reach Kolnyang in a few days.

According to NRC's plan, one boat would serve 25 fishermen involved in the activity. In total, 400 beneficiaries would receive 16 boats at the end.

Before the South Sudan crisis erupted in December 2013, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) distributed small canoes to the population in Jonglei through its partners. Many of the boats are, however, idly lying in areas like Likuangule town in Pibor county.

Adeng Ngong, the chief of Mayen village said his people would be able to access far fishing grounds and catch lots of fish using the distributed canoes.

“With these canoes in hands, we will be able to take our nets for fishing to places we never reached before, this will increase our catch”, said Ngong.

Meanwhile some of the locals also said they would easily use the boats to ferry people to the other side of the river in case another conflict breaks out.

South Sudan is traditionally a cattle-dominated economy. However, according to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), the fishing sector, if fully developed, could give 80,000 South Sudanese employment and enough food to eat while exporting fish could reportedly earn the world's youngest nation an estimated half a billion dollars annually.

(ST)

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December 18, 2015 (WAU) - Fire on Friday has burned down more than five hundred water plastic pipes in South Sudan's Western Bahr el Ghazal state.

WBGS firemen train their hoses during a fire at an open storage area of plastic pipelines in Wau, on December 18, 2015 (ST Photo)

The plastic pipelines have been used by the state ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Urban Cooperation Development for connecting clean water supplies into resident's homes in Wau town, the state capital.

General Gregorous Thiepdit Akol who is a state commissioner for civil defence [Fire Brigade] was at the scene when the fire engulfed the area. He told Sudan Tribune that the outbreak of the fire was caused by street children, adding that firemen could not respond on time due to lack of water tanks for firefighting.

“This fire which burns many pipes was caused by the street children and we the fire fighters did not respond on time. This is because we lack fire [fighting] water tanks in Wau. We have only one which is at the airport,” he said.

“This time, we have our water tankers on the way from Dubai, they may arrive in the country as soon as possible,” he said.

The plastic pipe lines were assembled in open space for some years without being connected to supply water to residents. Many more others have also been lying idle in some parts of the town since 2010 after the ministry launched the project to connect homes in the town with clean water but the project stopped due to lack of funds.

After the project stopped, the ministry was unable to reassemble its many carters across the town with trucks left in open spaces due to lack of fuel while other needed mechanical repair.

One of the off-road trucks which was used for transporting the pipe line was also gutted in the fire.

The site project manager now said the ministry was preparing to open a court case against the damages and loss in the fire.

Firemen had been more blamed for their negligence if such incidents occurred. Last year, fire consumed stores at the University of Bahr el Ghazal, burning more than 1000 mattresses used by students.

(ST)

December 18, 2015 (KHARTOUM) - Sudan's dialogue body known as 7+7 has stressed that the national dialogue conference won't be extended saying it would wrap up on January 10th.

Sudan's President Omer al-Bashir and his Chadian counterpart Idriss Deby (L) listen to the national anthem during opening session of Sudan National Dialogue conference in Khartoum October 10, 2015. (Photo SUNA)

The government-led national dialogue conference was inaugurated in Khartoum on October 10th amid large boycott from the major political and armed opposition.

Member of the 7+7 mechanism Faisal Hassan Ibrahim described the conference as a new phase in Sudan's political life, saying it offers an opportunity to arrive at common principles that lead to the advancement of the Sudanese nation and promote its ties with the regional and international community.

He stressed in a press conference Friday that the meeting of the political and armed groups to discuss Sudan's issues including the constitution would create an effective political system that overcomes crises and challenges facing the nation in areas of freedoms, economy, governance, identity and peace and unity.

Ibrahim pointed out that the general secretariat of the dialogue conference has documented the minutes of the sessions by audio and video, saying this high degree of transparency has enhanced its credibility among the skeptics.

He stressed that there is no intention to extend the dialogue conference, saying it is expected to wind up on January 10th, 2016.

Ibrahim pointed that several opposition activists have arrived in Khartoum to participate in the conference including Taragie Mustafa, expecting that several members of the rebel Sudan People's Liberation Movement/North (SPLM-N) would soon join the conference.

“The national dialogue [conference] which is being currently held Khartoum coincides with the anniversary of Sudan's independence. The dialogue recommendations would represent the true meaning of the independence,” he said.

For his part, the secretary general of the Popular Congress Party (PCP) and member of the 7+7 mechanism Kamal Omer said the conference had faced the challenge to achieve political consensus in order to resolve the country's crises, noting the conference would reach an agreement on a permanent constitution.

He said the ongoing dialogue would achieve security and stability in the country, saying the holdout parties have missed the opportunity to participate in the conference.

Omer further described the dialogue conference as the “true independence” of Sudan, saying dialogue would continue until it achieves the national consensus.

The rapporteur of the general secretariat Omer Haydar for his part reviewed the deliberations of the six committees of the conference, pointing the participants included 80 political parties, 29 armed groups and 48 national figures.

He said the committees have so far discussed 420 working papers besides listening to several lectures by academics and experts on the various issues of the dialogue.

(ST)