Sudan’s NCP softens stance on dialogue with al-Hilu in S. Kordofan
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July 24, 2011 (KHARTOUM) – A senior official in the ruling National
Congress Party (NCP) in Sudan expressed willingness to negotiate with
Abdel-Aziz al-Hilu who is leading an armed rebellion since last month
in the oil-rich state of South Kordofan.
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FILE - The SPLM governor candidate Abdul Aziz Al-Hilu smiles after
arriving to vote at a polling centre in Kadogli in South Kordofan
state, May 2, 2011 (Reuters)
Al-Hilu was the deputy governor of the state which borders Darfur and
South Sudan but last May lost in elections to incumbent governor Ahmed
Haroun who was running on NCP ticket. The Sudan People Liberation
Movement (SPLM) figure accused Khartoum of rigging the vote and vowed
not to recognize the results.
In an interview with Saudi owned Al-Sharq Al-Awsat newspaper
yesterday, al-Hilu repeated widespread accusations by UN and rights
groups that the Sudanese government has been pursuing ethnic cleansing
policy in South Kordofan.
He also denied claims by Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) of military
victories against his forces and said that many Sudanese soldiers
defected to his side.
However, the SPLA leader in the state said he is ready to negotiate
with Khartoum through a third party anywhere outside Sudan.
The head of the NCP political bureau Qutbi al-Mahdi said his party
welcomes al-Hilu’s willingness to engage in negotiations.
Al-Mahdi stressed that negotiations requires genuine desire by the
parties involved adding that al-Hilu knows what the government wants
and as such the NCP is prepared to begin dialogue with him.
The remarks by al-Mahdi marks a departure from the hardliner stance
taken by other NCP figures including president Omer Hassan al-Bashir.
It may also be an indication of a difficulty encountered by the SAF in
quelling the rebellion.
Bashir scrapped an accord signed by his powerful aide Nafie Ali Nafie
with SPLM-North in Addis Ababa that would have paved the way for a
ceasefire in South Kordofan. He ordered SAF to continue military
operations and called for the arrest of al-Hilu so he can be tried for
what he described as crimes against innocent civilians.
The Sudanese president also openly faulted his negotiators for
agreeing to the terms of the accord brokered by the African Union (AU)
in a sign of deep divisions within the NCP.
Since the eruption of violence in South Kordofan in early June, more
than 70,000 people have been displaced, according to UN figures. The
clashes escalated into artillery and aerial bombardment amid reports
of ethnic targeting of the Nuba population which largely fought
alongside the SPLM during Sudan’s second North-South civil war.
(ST)
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