Date: Sun, 29 Nov 2015 20:50:47 +0100
November 29, 2015 (KHARTOUM) - Sudanese government and Sudan People’s Liberation Movement - North (SPLM-N) traded accusation over the failure of the tenth round of talks in Addis Ababa last week.
- SPLM-N Yasir Arman (L) in a private discussion on the contentious issues with government chief negotiators Amin Hassan Omer (R) and Ibrahim Mahmoud Hamid at the venue of the talks in Addis Ababa,on November 22, 2015 (ST Photo)
Under the auspice of the African Union High Level Implementation Panel (AUHIP) the Sudanese government and the SPLM-N met from 19 to 23 November in Addis Ababa to discuss a cessation of hostilities and humanitarian access in South Kordofan and Blue Nile in a way to pave the way for the armed group to join the national dialogue.
However despite the optimism of the mediators, the talks were suspended without any progress.
Presidential assistant and head of the government negotiating team, Ibrahim Mahmoud Hamid, told a public meeting in the capital of South Kordofan state Kadugli on Saturday, that his government is committed to achieve peace in the region, but he pointed an accusing finger to a faction in the rebel movement saying it does not care about the conditions of civilians affected by this conflict since 25 years ago.
Hamid stressed that his government would not accept any peace deal that brings back the scenario of 2011 "particularly with regard to the security arrangements and the state full sovereignty over the country by a single government".
During the last round of talks as it was the case in the previous rounds of talks between the warring parties in the Two Areas, the government delegation demanded a peace agreement that leads to disarm the SPLM-N fighters.
But the rebel group insists on the need to keep its troops during the transitional period of the peace implementation, saying the Disarmament Demobilization and Reintegration (DDR) process can take place once the agreement is fully enforced.
Also Hamid repeated his government refusal to involve the other conflicts or national issues in the peace talks with the SPLM-N, saying all these items should be discussed at the national dialogue conference.
From his part the SPLM-N secretary general and chief negotiator Yasir Arman said in remarks released Saturday that the government is not serious to reach a political agreement, but they will continue to negotiate for the sack of civilians in the war areas.
"Recent negotiations made clear what is already known to the Sudanese people that the regime has not taken a strategic decision to accept a peaceful solution or to implement reforms," Arman said.
Nonetheless, he brushed aside criticisms for negotiating with the government saying they cannot refuse to negotiate with the regime and pointed to the need to alleviate the suffering of the war affected civilians.
"Stopping the war and the delivery of humanitarian aid remain key issues in the political agenda of ordinary people, and this cannot be ignored or overlooked," he said.
During the last round of talks the SPLM-N said the humanitarian agreement shall be a first step towards a negotiated agreement but the government delegation insisted that a political agreement shall pave the way for the humanitarian assistance.