A new round of talks between the Sudanese government, the armed movements, and the National Umma Party began on Friday in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa.
The consultative session is brokered by the AU High-level Implementation Panel (AUHIP) under the chairmanship of Thabo Mbeki, and will discuss a comprehensive ceasefire in Darfur and the Two Areas (South Kordofan and Blue Nile), cessation of hostilities, the delivery of relief to those affected, as well as the participation in the National Dialogue.
According to the chief mediator of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N), Yasir Arman, “the meeting is an attempt of the AUHIP to overcome Khartoum’s stubbornness against holding a preparatory National Dialogue meeting abroad.
“We will not allow this consultative meeting to become a substitute for the pre-Dialogue meeting, which should be attended by all Sudanese political forces,” he told Radio Dabanga on Friday. “However, if there is a way out, and an agreement on the cessation of hostilities and the provision of humanitarian aid can be reached, we will not refuse it.”
Regarding entering negotiations with the government at a time of renewed military campaigns against the rebel movements in Darfur’s Jebel Marra, the Nuba Mountains in South Kordofan, and Blue Nile State, Arman said that “We fight in response to attacks. It is not our war. The government has imposed it on us. The humanitarian situation obliges us not to refuse any negotiation attempt.”
Head of the government delegation Ibrahim Mahmoud told reporters in Khartoum on Thursday that the government considers ending the wars “a strategic option. Hereafter, the rebel fighters will be demobilised, and integrated according to the agreed-on security arrangements.
“In the event of an agreement of the cessation of hostilities, we will discuss the details of the participation of the National Dialogue,” he said.