{"id":20018468,"date":"2022-11-21T15:33:00","date_gmt":"2022-11-21T15:33:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/staging-new.dabangasudan.org\/all-news\/article\/eastern-sudan-issue-stalls-trilateral-mechanism-dialogue-over-power-sharing"},"modified":"2023-01-28T09:52:37","modified_gmt":"2023-01-28T08:52:37","slug":"eastern-sudan-issue-stalls-trilateral-mechanism-dialogue-over-power-sharing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.dabangasudan.org\/en\/all-news\/article\/eastern-sudan-issue-stalls-trilateral-mechanism-dialogue-over-power-sharing","title":{"rendered":"Eastern Sudan issue stalls Trilateral Mechanism dialogue"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Talks being facilitated by the AU-IGAD-UNITAMS Trilateral Mechanism between the Forces for Freedom and Change-Central Council (FFC-CC) alliance and the ruling military are being pushed towards a settlement despite disagreement over the Mechanism\u2019s involvement in eastern Sudan issues.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The Trilateral Mechanism\u00a0said that it is seeking a settlement \u201cacceptable to a sufficient number of Sudanese,\u201d and not the absolute majority, to guarantee its sustainability.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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On Thursday, at the end of his visit to Kassala in eastern Sudan, African Union (AU) Ambassador and spokesperson for the Trilateral Mechanism, Mohamed\u202fBelaiche, called on the Sudanese to accept the current settlement. \u201cThe main guarantor will be the Sudanese themselves,\u201d he said, explaining that the role of the Trilateral Mechanism<\/a> in negotiations is only to support and facilitate.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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During Belaiche\u2019s visit to Kassala, accompanied by a Mechanism delegation, they dealt with the current political process and the road map to address the issues of eastern Sudan. The delegation listened to the demands of various civil society and governmental bodies in Kassala related to development, power and wealth sharing, and the current negotiations between the military junta and the FFC-CC.<\/p>\n

Eastern Sudan protocol<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The negotiations include a review of the Juba Peace Agreement, including its Eastern Sudan Track Protocol, widely contested in the region itself. The\u00a0High Council of Beja Nazirs and Independent Chieftains, chaired by Nazir Sayed Tirik, have previously demanded the cancellation<\/a> of the Eastern Sudan Track, as agreed on in the 2020 Juba Peace Agreement and the formation of a \u2018government of technocrats\u2019 as stipulated in the Constitutional Document.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Following Belaiche\u2019s visit, Tirik condemned the proposal for the Trilateral Mechanism to participate in the dialogue over a new settlement in order \u201cto solve the eastern Sudan crisis,\u201d in a press statement on Friday.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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He explained that they have already rejected any bilateral agreement or creation of a single document out of\u00a0the dialogue, suggesting merging the initiatives presented<\/a> in the region.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Political activist Hamrour Hussein welcomed the Mechanism’s visit to Kassala. He told Radio Dabanga that the visit aims to ensure that eastern Sudan issues do not impede the transition to civilian rule in Sudan.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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He explained that the conflicts in eastern Sudan between the various tribes and political components continue to hamper political transformation\u00a0in the region and have led to the current stalemate. He said that affiliates of the defunct regime are still in control in\u00a0Kassala.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Beja Nazirs\u00a0Council<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The Beja Nazirs Council has opposed the Eastern Sudan Track\u202fsince it was first agreed upon during the peace negotiations between the Sudanese government and the Sudan Revolutionary Front rebel alliance in the South Sudan capital of Juba in February 2020. The track was negotiated by the Beja Congress in Opposition and the United Popular Front for Liberation and Justice. The Beja Nazirs Council was not involved in the talks.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The Beja leaders\u2019 council reacted at the time by calling for an inclusive eastern Sudan conference to decide on the future of the region. They organised two large protest events two years ago, in\u202fSinkat in Red Sea state\u202fand in\u202fTelkok in Kassala, where they threatened they would\u202ftake the right to self-determination<\/a>\u202ffor eastern Sudan if the government would not comply with their demands.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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In September, the\u202f Beja Nazirs Council\u202fannounced larger protest actions<\/a>\u202fto put more pressure on the Sudanese government\u202fto cancel the Eastern Sudan Track protocol.\u00a0In a visit of a\u202fhigh-level government delegation<\/a>\u202ffrom Khartoum, chaired by Sovereignty Council member Gen Shamseldin Kabashi, at the end of that month, it was agreed to continue negotiations soon. The delegation proposed to hold \u201ca comprehensive conference on eastern Sudan, the results of which would be binding for the government and the rest of the parties\u201d.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n