Sudan President Omar Al Bashir announced his government will engage with all political bodies and civil society groups without exception, including with groups that have taken up arms against his regime. The statement was made during his speech at the opening of the new parliamentary session on Monday. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe offer these salutations knowing that all Sudanese people are looking forward to the next step which we began by calling all conflict groups for an inclusive dialogue, thus confirming the common bond between the sons of one nation, adhering to national interests rather than other considerations, and contributing to address and resolve issues that satisfy the people of Sudan.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bashir claimed that, \u201cThe political parties\u2019 response was very positive and encouraging,\u201d before adding that the sons of one nation always welcome any call with nationalistic spirit. Opposition political forces, however, have expressed general scepticism on the president\u2019s calls for dialogue based on past experiences.<\/p>\n
During his speech, Bashir also ordered the release of all political prisoners in detention centers across Sudan. He claimed that all rights and freedoms in self-expression will be upheld in Sudan for both individuals and groups and this is demonstrated by the release of the political prisoners.<\/p>\n
National Consensus Forces: \u201cwaste of time\u201d <\/strong><\/p>\n Kamal Omer Abdel Salam, spokesman of the opposition NCF, said Bashir\u2019s calls for dialogue and his orders to release Sudanese political prisoners are a \u201cworthless and waste of time\u201d.<\/p>\n Past experiences indicate that all of Khartoum\u2019s opportunities for dialogue with other political forces were \u201cfor gaining time and acquiring legitimacy which ended in the regime\u2019s betrayal \u2026 and brought Sudan to what it is now\u201d, he said.<\/p>\n Salam said the opposition is \u201cconvinced\u201d that change in the country would not happen under the current government and its institutions. The regime should instead start a dialogue to discuss the implementation of a transitional government, he suggested.<\/p>\n National Umma Party: \u201cneed to follow words with deeds\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n Dr. Mariam Sadiq Al Mahdi, a leading figure at the NUP, welcomed the president\u2019s invitation to engage with all political forces.<\/p>\n However, she told Radio Dabanga, Bashir \u201cneeds to follow his words with deeds\u201d, which include political, expression and press freedom.<\/p>\n Deeds should also comprise preservation of human dignity, holding perpetrators accountable and creating a conductive environment for other political parties \u201cwithout incrimination\u201d.<\/p>\n This way, the president\u2019s invitation would be different than previous dialogue initiatives of the ruling National Congress Party (NCP). \u201cThey were used only for gaining time and creating instability among political forces\u201d, she said. <\/p>\n Sudanese Revolutionary Front: \u201cfalse and futile\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n Abdel Wahid, head of SLM-AW and deputy president of SRF political affairs, said the president\u2019s calls to release prisoners are \u201cfalse and futile\u201d.<\/p>\n He told Radio Dabanga that if Bashir was being sincere the \u201cdisplaced in Darfur, in Blue Nile and in South Kordofan, [in addition to] refugees in Chad and in Central African Republic\u201d should be also released.<\/p>\n \u201cThey were all displaced because of air fighters and militias, who crammed these people in prisons called camps\u201d, Abdel Wahid said. <\/p>\n If the president was being sincere, the depuy continued, he would disarm militias so that the displaced and refugees were freed from their \u201ccompulsory prisons in the camps\u201d and could return to their villages.<\/p>\n Abdel Wahid said the solution to Sudan does not lie in the dialogue with the NCP, but in changing the entire regime into one that respects freedom, democracy, justice and equal citizenship.<\/p>\n Justice and Equality Movement: \u201crepeated\u201d <\/strong><\/p>\n Jibril Adam Bilal, JEM spokesman, said Bashir\u2019s dialogue invitation is \u201crepeated, worthless and a waste of time\u201d. He added the president\u2019s calls \u201care no different than from other times which the NCP used to overcome its own internal crises\u201d.<\/p>\n The aim of Sudan\u2019s president is to \u201cexploit the resistance and the political opposition in negotiation fora stipulated by the international community in order to dismantle the country\u2019s international isolation without making any strategic political decisions or addressing issues as to why he took up arms\u201d, Bilal suggested.<\/p>\n He reinstated that the objective of the New Charter Dawn -endorsed by many opposition figures- is to topple the regime \u201cwith no room for negotiation after all the crimes committed against the Sudanese people in general and against the innocent civilians in Darfur, Blue Nile and Nuba Mountains\u201d. <\/p>\n Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North: \u201chunt opposition\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n Yasir Arman, SPLM-N secretary general and SRF secretary for external affairs, said Bashir\u2019s announcement is \u201ca new attempt to hunt the opposition\u201d.<\/p>\n He warned that taking the bait that Bashir uses for 23 years would be a \u201chistoric mistake\u201d and called upon a united opposition to reach a comprehensive peace solution.<\/p>\n \u201cConstitutional processes which are not preceded by stopping the war and leading to a new transitional arrangement are only a reproduction of the crisis and of the totalitarian regime\u201d, he told Radio Dabanga.<\/p>\n \u201cOld wine in a new bottle\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n In a press statement, Arman said the president\u2019s speech \u201cis an old wine in a new bottle. Using Islamic jargon, it is \u2018old milk in a new bottle\u2019\u201d.<\/p>\n He noted that the only new development is the release of some political prisoners, while the president is \u201ckeeping the same laws that detained them and that can detain them again or detain others\u201d.<\/p>\n In addition, Bashir is calling \u201con the opposition to join him in an empty constitutional process that will give him legitimacy and renew his license and his political group to rule Sudan, keeping the status quo and without addressing the fundamental issues\u201d.<\/p>\n These fundamental issues, according to him are to \u201copen access for humanitarian assistance for more than two million displaced persons in the Nuba Mountains, Blue Nile and Darfur. Denying access is a war crime. This was completely ignored in his speech.\u201d<\/p>\n Secondly, the government must before anything else end the wars and enable political and armed forces in conflict areas to participate effectively in any credible constitutional process. \u201cThis was ignored too\u201d, he said.<\/p>\n Although the release of political detainees is welcomed, there are another 600 prisoners whose \u201cwhereabouts are unknown\u201d. Arman said 138 of them come from the Blue Nile, more than 240 come from the Nuba Mountains and the rest comes from Darfur and other places.<\/p>\n He noted that \u201cthe army and security officers who were accused of the last coup \u2026 are being court marshaled without \u2026 the right to defend themselves\u201d. This issue has not been addressed and the laws that allow the unlawful detentions are still in place, Arman said. <\/p>\n \u201cThe freedom of the press and some newspapers were closed down. The think tanks and cultural centers were closed down. Their situation will be the same after this speech, and the media censorship will continue\u201d, SPLM-N secretary general was quoted as saying. <\/p>\n According to Arman, Sudan needs a credible constitutional process that will answer the fundamental question of \u201cHow Sudan is going to be governed\u201d and not \u201cWho is going to govern Sudan.\u201d <\/p>\n The issue at hand, he said, is not to write a beautiful constitution, it is how to end the one party system and to open the road to democratic transformation. <\/p>\n \u201cGeneral Bashir has ruled Sudan for 23 years undemocratically with his political group, divided the country, and committed genocide and war crimes continuously and yet he has the appetite to continue. Supporting him to continue up to 2015 and beyond to legitimize himself and the National Congress is to act as his accomplice\u201d Arman concluded.<\/p>\n Photo: Omar al-Bashir (smc.sd)<\/em><\/p>\n Related:<\/em> Sudanese opposition agrees to topple Khartoum regime<\/a> (6 January 2013)<\/p>\n <\/p>\n