Sudanese Press on the National Dialogue Conference
14 October, 2015KHARTOUM (SUDANOW)—A number of Sudanese columnists view the national dialogue process as a sign of desire by the government in reconciliation and reform of the country and the rejectionists as lacking a national responsibility. Other columnists, for their part, slam the dialogue as meaningless. The two groups, however, share two points- first, suspicion in commitment by the government to implementation of the recommendations of the dialogue conference and, second, the impact of absence of the opposition forces as well as the regional and international representation in the conference.
Tayeb Mustafa, the proprietor of Al-Saihah daily newspaper and chairman of the Just Peace Forum that boycotted the conference, wrote:- "In his speech in the opening session of the National dialogue Conference, President Omar al-Beshir made some concessions which we wish the political forces would benefit from and which would serve peace, development and progress for our crisis-struck country, if they are seriously implemented, unlike previous decisions the implementation of which was obstructed by some saboteurs. The issue this time requires a stronger commitment under the President's personal supervision.
"The conference, in its inaugural session, was confronted with a regional and international isolationism which the National Congress must agree that it was grave and calls for a measure of courage for reconsidering the catastrophic policies which resulted in this isolationism.
"The most noticeable was the absence of the African Union, the AUPSC, the AUHIP of Thabo Mbeki that has always been part of the Sudanese political scene, the European Union, the Troika and the United Nations. Those present at the opening session were Chad President Idriss Deby and Arab League Secretary-General Nabil al-Arabi who tended to take part in any event, however insignificant. Another remarkable absence was that of symbolic leader Sadek al-Mahdi beside the unmistakable absence of a number of political parties and major armed movements, although the most important goal of the dialogue is stopping the war.
"The conference, in its present shape, will not achieve its goals and therefore I call upon the President to correct the matter as it is he who is responsible for correction of the situation and the political activity in the country."
After praising in his Aljareedah column the chances offered to leaders of the participant organizations for speaking in transparency in the opening session, columnist Mahjoub Urwah pointed out a number of negative points in the conference.
The first negative remark, according to Urwah, was absence of a weighty regional and international representation which was undoubtedly less than humble. The participation by President Deby alone in absence of leaders and representatives of the neighboring countries has failed in bestowing a political gravity upon the conference, Urwah said. Add to this the absence of the African Union and its Peace and Security Council and that of Thabo Mbeki who is tasked with this dossier, something which has made a negative impression, the columnist said.
He depreciated as unimportant the presence of Nabil al-Arabi, the Secretary-General of the Arab League, describing as crippled the League which, like the Islamic Cooperation Organization, could not play any role in the pivotal issues the latest of which was the Russian aggression on the people of Syria, the Israeli aggression of the Palestinians and Aqsa Mosque beside what is happening in Yemen, Egypt, Libya, Iraq, Somalia and Syria. All those are failing states and regime and are facing a threat of chaos. He questioned the importance of the presence or absence of the Arab League, compared to the noticeable presence or boycott of the international community.
A major negativity in the conference, Urwah went on, was the wide boycott of such political forces as the coalition of the National Umma Party (NUP) in addition to the boycott by the alliance of the national forces consisting of 15 organizations and parties which are influential in the current political scene and which include parties that withdrew from the coordination 7+7 committee like the Reform Now, the Nasserites, the Just Peace, etc., a move which weakens the credibility of the mechanism of the conference. The columnist indicated that barring two senior politicians from traveling abroad (Ibrahim al-Shiekh of the Sudanese Congress Party and Sideeg Yousif of the Communist Party revealed that they have been barred from traveling late September) was a blow to the presidential decision on general amnesty to participants in the dialogue, wondering whether there is somebody within the regime who plans to undermine the dialogue process.
Muzamil Abul Gassim, of Alyoum Altaly, wrote:-
"it is needless to say that any effort for solving the crisis peacefully cannot be depreciated even if it does not win the blessing of the opponents, but the wide boycott of the dialogue conference will certainly weakens its outcome. What happens at present will not lead to a cessation of fighting and any effort that does not result in ending the armed conflict cannot be considered a successful conclusion of the conference. The argument by the opposition that it could not participate in a conference which it did not take part in its preparation cannot be belittled, besides that some acts recently made by the government could not help provide a conducive environment for a successful conference. It is illogical that the government talks about its desire in reconciliation with others and about seeking a political solution based on ensuring public freedoms and at the same time prevents influential political figures from traveling abroad and continues confiscating newspapers a few days before the start of the conference. How can the leaders of the armed movements believe they can depart from Khartoum safely if they accept to come and take part in the conference while some opponents who have never taken up arms are prevented from exercising their constitutional right of movement and are returned from the airport without a prior notice? Such strange decisions aggravate the tension which dominates the dialogue, weakens the confidence between the participants in the dialogue and undermines any effort for consolidating the dialogue culture in the political scene.
"Nevertheless, we must indicate that the dialogue is an added value to any political action, however deficient it is and for this reason we have stated more than once that the National Congress has to consider what is going on now is only a beginning, as insistence on passing the outcome of the dialogue by any number of people who participate will empty it from its content."
Journalist writer cum proprietor of Altayar daily newspaper Osman Mirghani wrote:-
"The picture seems puzzling and confusing… instead of the dialogue, the Sudan split into two camps: the supporters led by the National Congress Party (NCP), its companion Popular Congress Party (PCP) and a group of other parties; and the opponents led by the National Umma Party (NUP) and a group of other parties. The plans appears crystal clear- the supporters camp diligently strives to reap the (media) fruit of the scene by rallying the greatest possible amount of limelight and stars during the inaugural session and exerts every effort to obtain participation of Sayyeds Sadek al-Mahdi and Mohamed Osman al-Mirghani and the prominent leaders of the opposition parties like the Communist, the Sudanese Congress and the Reform Now. Yet those parties feared a repetition of the experience of taking token pictures during such session and their role comes to an end.
"For its part, the NCP did not do much to close the missing trust gap with the opposition and instead of issuing decisions and measures for reassurance, the NCP only bothered itself by dispatching high-level envoys to meet Mahdi in Cairo to persuade him into returning home for taking part in the conference, as if it is only the eloquence which is missing in the political scene.
There one chance, perhaps the last one, for the NCP to realize that what is needed are decisions, rather than speeches, and those decisions are extremely clear- open the playground widely to everyone and apply the principle of participation by all people in determining and building the future of the country. Otherwise, there is no benefit to be gained from any dialogue and the train will not reach anywhere and will remain in Zero station after a journey of two full years lost from the history of the Sudan (the president suggested the dialogue conference in January 2014).
"If the opposition and government resort to frankness and God makes them to speak in transparency, the opposition people would ask the NCP to go to the Radio Omdurman and broadcast, in full faculty, a final communique, declare stepping down from power voluntarily and politely ask the opposition to assume power.
"The NCP, for its part would want nothing from the opposition but to board the back carriage of the train and follow the dictum written on the back of the public transport bus in Saudi Arabia which says: (Leave the leadership to us and enjoy the trip.)
"The gap between the wishes of the NCP and those of the opposition seems impossible, as the NCP will voluntarily relinquish power even after a hundred years and the opposition will not board the back carriage of the NCP train. What is the solution, then?
"It is obvious that both parties are not bitten by the hands of the clock which continue rotating days and years. Both are not bothered by their sons in the IDP camps in Darfur, Kordofan and the Blue Nile and they do not suffer along with the people who count the hours waiting for relief in their day-to-day living.
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