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Sudan dialogue body to meet rebel groups in Addis Ababa

November 5, 2014 (KHARTOUM) – The head of the African Union High-Level Implementation Panel (AUHIP) urged the national dialogue mechanism (7+7) to meet the rebel groups in Addis Ababa and to persuade them to take part in the internal process.

AUHIP chief Thabo Mbeki speaks to reporters following a meeting with Sudanese president Omer Hassan al-Bashir on 5 November 2014 (SUNA)
AUHIP chief Thabo Mbeki speaks to reporters following a meeting with Sudanese president Omer Hassan al-Bashir on 5 November 2014 (SUNA)
In statements to the media following a meeting with the AUHIP chief Thabo Mbeki on Wednesday, the 7+7 mechanism members also said they are preparing to meet with the holdout political parties to convince them to join the inclusive operation for peace and democratic reform.

Thabo Mbeki is in Khartoum for talks with the Sudanese government officials, as he prepares to launch a series of parallel discussions aiming to reach a cessation of hostilities agreement between the government and rebel groups on 12 and 22 Novembers.

Following what he plans to gather all the Sudanese political forces and rebel groups in Addis for talks over the a framework agreement on the national dialogue which should be held inside the country.

“Mbeki demanded the whole mechanism to leave for Addis Ababa to meet with the armed movements which will be there on 22 November,” said the co-spokesperson of the national dialogue committee, Fadel Alseed Shuaib, after a meeting with the AUHIP visiting delegation.

Shuaib further said the 7+7 mechanism members approved Mbeki’s request, indicating that their travel will encourage rebel groups to participate the national dialogue.

Another member of the dialogue committee Bushara Gumma told reporters that the 7+7 plans to meet in the coming days with the opposition parties that reject the dialogue to urge them to engage in the political process.

Gumma went further to say that Mbeki convinced the holdout parties including the Sudanese Communist Party and National Umma Party (NUP) to meet the dialogue mechanism.

The 7+7 members further said that the European Union and Troika countries (US, UK and Norway) support the comprehensive process, and push opposition forces to join the national process.

The opposition umbrella National Consensus Forces (NCF) and the NUP demand that the government ensures political freedoms and creates a conducive environment before to join it together with the rebel groups.

They signed political agreements with the rebel alliance Sudanese Revolutionary Front (SRF) calling to create suitable atmosphere for the political process and to provide humanitarian assistance to civilians in the conflict zones.

INTERNATIONAL ATTENTION

In his remarks to the press, the AUHIP chairperson said they had a successful meeting and confirmed that the dialogue committee will meet with the rebel groups soon in Addis Ababa to discuss the internal process and what was agreed in Khartoum in this regard.

Mbeki said that the meeting touched on a number of important topics related to the comprehensive process. He pointed out that the inter-Sudanese dialogue gained international attention, adding that confirms the importance of the process.

He said he felt the seriousness of the 7+7 members to hold the dialogue and to reach its desired goals, adding they did a good job in order to push forward the process.

In a meeting held last Sunday, the second general assembly of the national dialogue endorsed an agreement on the national dialogue and constitutional process signed between the AUHIP and national dialogue subcommittee for external relations.

The African mediation signed the same deal, which calls for a comprehensive political solution in Sudan, with the rebel groups.

(ST)

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