Date: Sun, 21 Sep 2014 11:57:29 +0200
Sudanese opposition figures say the country is on the brink of collapse
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September 21, 2014 (KHARTOUM) - Several Sudanese opposition figures have
drawn a bleak picture of the situation in the country saying Sudan is
witnessing a deep political crisis which puts it on the verge of the
collapse.
The deputy chairman of the National Umma Party (NUP), Meriam al-Mahdi, who
spoke in a symposium organised by the Reform Now Movement (RNM) on Saturday,
said the ruling National Congress Party (NCP) bears the greater
responsibility for the current Sudanese problems, calling for the need to
embrace the principle of transparency and recognize problems and mistakes in
order to resolve the country's crises.
She said the government policies weakened the state's institutions including
the Sudanese army, pointing to the great powers enjoyed by the National
Intelligence and Security forces (NISS) at the expense of the police and the
army.
Al-Mahdi emphasised that the NCP could no longer control NISS, stressing
that change in Sudan is inevitable in light of the failure of the state to
perform its necessary functions.
The NUP official added that the regime seeks to entangle political forces
into participation in the government in order to share responsibility of its
failures, warning that cosmetic changes within the regime will have serious
implications including extreme violence and intervention of international
powers.
She further noted the national dialogue began to witness a shift towards
making fundamental change in the regime, saying that elections as a tool for
achieving peaceful resolution was aborted since 2010 elections.
Al-Mahdi underscored the need to adhere to national dialogue and those who
seek to manipulate it, considering it the only hope for achieving peaceful
transformation in the country.
The leading figure at the National Movement for Change (NMC), Mohamed
Mahjoub Haroun, for his part, said Sudan is going through a state of
"frustration" and the Sudanese people are desperate and have lost hope,
pointing to lack of security and stability in the country.
He noted the negative changes in the Sudanese society including the racial,
regional, and class divisions besides the increase in crime rate and the
greater tendency towards violence, pointing to the high cost of Sudan's
ill-relation with the international community.
Haroun warned that Sudan is on the brink of the abyss due to corruption and
failure to achieve renaissance, pointing the national dialogue produced two
trends including the one which is occupied with "change" of power and the
other which seeks to "overthrow" the regime through popular uprising.
He also pointed to existence of two trends within the regime, saying some
are scared from the forces representing the marginalised people and others
believe the regime has come to an end.
The NMC figure underscored the need for reaching a compromise in order to
make the necessary change through a genuine dialogue, warning the country
would fall in the abyss if such a move was not realised.
The deputy chairman of the RNM, Hassan Rizg, warned the government against
manipulation of the national dialogue process, stressing that dialogue is
progressing well.
He called for adoption of the positive items included in the Paris
Declaration signed between the NUP and the rebel alliance of the Sudan
Revolutionary Forces (SRF).
Rizg further accused the NCP of using government money to finance its
conferences.
"All NCP conferences are funded by billions [of government money] not
members subscriptions [or financial contributions]", he added
Last January, the Sudanese president, Omer Hassan al-Bashir unveiled a
national dialogue initiative aimed at holding an comprehensive conference on
a new constitution and ways to end the armed conflicts in the Blue Nile,
South Kordofan and Darfur.
The NUP led by al-Sadiq al-Mahdi and the RNM led by Ghazi Salah al-Din
al-Attabani suspended their participation in the national dialogue before
the latter rejoined the process.
The opposition alliance of the National Consensus Forces (NCF) and the rebel
SRF refused to join the dialogue from the outset.
On August 8th, the NUP and SRF signed the "Paris Declaration" which calls
for ending the wars and engaging in a genuine national dialogue aimed at
restoring democracy in Sudan.
JPEG - 18.9 kb
Sudanese president Omer al-Bashir (C-R) greets supporters while Hassan
al-Turabi (L) smiles and Ghazi Salah Al-Deen Attabani stands besides him
after his speech calling for national dialogue on 27 January 2014 (Photo:
AFP/Ebrahim Hamid)
(image/jpeg attachment: image001.jpg)