March 2, 2015 (KHARTOUM) – A visiting German delegation Monday briefed the Sudanese foreign minister, Ali Karti, about the outcome of a meeting the Sudanese opposition groups held last week in Berlin.

German foreign minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier (R) and his counterpart from Sudan Ali Ahmed Karti brief the media after a bilateral meeting at the foreign ministry in Berlin on 4 June 2014 (Photo: AP/Markus Schreiber)

The “Sudan Call” signatories, including the opposition alliance National Consensus Forces (NCF), rebel umbrella Sudanese Revolutionary Front (SRF), National Umma Party (NUP) and civil society groups, issued on Saturday the Berlin Declaration where they expressed their readiness to discuss the requirements and procedures of the national dialogue in a preparatory meeting to be held in Addis Ababa.

A statement issued by the Sudanese foreign ministry on Monday said the delegation included the head of East Africa department and the general secretary of the political directorate at the German foreign ministry.

The meeting discussed the talks between the German officials and the Sudanese opposition and the Berlin Declaration.

Sudanese foreign ministry spokesperson Ali al-Sadiq said the German side pointed that there are some members of the opposition who are open for a negotiated settlement while the others showed more intransigence towards the dialogue.

Al-Sadiq further said that the German officials praised the government for allowing opposition representatives to travel to Berlin, considering it as a positive step from the government towards dialogue.

The Sudanese government bans meetings with the rebel groups saying such encounters deceive the army and undermine the moral of troops .

Since last December, the security service detains the NCF leader Farouk Abu Issa and prominent rights activist Amin Mekki Mandani for meeting the rebel groups in Addis Ababa and signing the “Sudan Call” with them.

Foreign Minister Ali Karti criticised the opposition forces saying that some opponents enjoy travelling between the capitals of the world where they are received by officials, meet the media and get material and moral support.

“Therefore they have no interest in dialogue and do not want to reach an agreement,” Karti added.

The minister commended Germany for showing interest to Sudan’s political crises, adding “Today, the world knows who is keen to achieve peace and who seeks to undermine peace and stability in the country”.

The visiting delegation will meet several Sudanese officials, including the first vice-president Bakri Hassan Saleh, presidential assistant Ibrahim Ghandour and the director of the intelligence and security services Mohamed Atta.

REBEL POSITIONS ON PEACE TALKS

The SFR groups said they held a meeting before to head to Berlin last week in Paris where they discussed the positions of the different rebel groups from the negotiations with the Sudanese government and reaffirmed their commitment to a comprehensive solution in Sudan.

According to a statement released on Sunday, the rebel groups said they discussed the position of the Sudan Liberation Movement - Abdel Wahid al-Nur (SLM-AW) which refuses to participate in the African Union mediated peace talk.

The SLM-AW considers negotiating with the regime as “a waste of time” and efforts should be directed to overthrow it, the statement said.

On the other hand, the groups negotiating with the government said they should commit themselves to the decisions of the regional and international community, adding that the peace talks allow to expose the ugly face of the regime. They further said they have to negotiate with the regime to address the humanitarian issues.

The statement said the parties agreed that difference on the negotiations should not affect the strategic unity of the Sudanese rebel groups.

Last December the African Union High Level Implementation Panel (AUHIP) organised two tracks of talks one for the government and the SPLM-N on the Two Areas and another on Darfur crisis for the government and the Justice and Equality Movement and the SLM-Minni Minnawi.

(ST)