Opposition leader distances himself from 100-day scheme to topple regime
Article
Comments (4)
email Email
print Print
pdfSave
separation
increase
decrease
separation
separation
facebook
myspace
twitter
buzzyahoo
June 12, 2013 (KHARTOUM) – The leader of the opposition National Umma
Party (NUP), Al-Sadig Al-Mahdi, has distanced himself from the 100-day
plan to overthrow the government which was adopted last week by the
opposition umbrella National Consensus forces (NCF).
JPEG - 32.5 kb
Al-Sadiq Al-Mahdi (Reuters)
Al-Mahdi said at a press conference on Wednesday that the ruling
National Congress Party (NCP) has to choose between sitting at round
table with all opposition forces to resolve the issues of the country
and forming a transitional government or facing a popular uprising and
peaceful protests.
The former Prime Minister also announced a new initiative to change
the regime through collecting a million signature and organizing
sit-ins in public squares and
He pointed out that the initiative will be implemented expeditiously
to avert any possible war between Khartoum and Juba as well as working
to arrive at a common ground with the rebels of Sudan Revolutionary
Front (SRF).
Al-Mahdi disclosed that he was approached to participate in the summit
meeting which will soon be organized by the presidency, saying that he
had been assured that all parties will participate in the meeting and
freedom of discussion is fully guaranteed.
The NUP leader, who avoided using the phrase “toppling the regime” and
instead used “changing the regime”, said that his initiative differs
from the 100-day plan of the NCF which he downplayed its
effectiveness.
He further called upon the authorities not to suppress the sit-ins and
said “We will try to avoid clashes with the authorities and the latter
must respect the desire of the people" and added that internal
circumstances are conducive for change.
Al-Mahdi also revealed that he made contacts with some international
parties about the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) arrest warrant
against Sudan’s president to arrive at an agreement, saying that these
parties showed flexibility towards his call for reconciling between
stability and the implications of the arrest warrant.
He directed scathing criticism at the NCF saying the 100-day plan to
topple the regime is in effect an explicit call to suppress it and
said that his party was not involved in the preparation and
coordination of the plan, stressing that he supports change through
peaceful means and not toppling the government within hundred days.
But NUP’s representative at the NCF, Abd Al-Galil Al-Basha, passed a
note to Al-Mahdi during his remarks saying that he participated in all
stages and preparations of the 100-day plan.
However, al-Mahdi ignored the note and instead said that the NCP plans
means mobilizing and not overthrowing the regime.
The NUP leader further called upon the government to reconsider its
decision to halt flow of South Sudan’s oil through Sudan’s territory
and said that the government’s pretext for stoppage is a lame excuse
because support for rebels has continued even when Juba shut down the
oil fields, praising remarks of president Salva Kiir and his call for
calm.
Khartoum has said that its decision to halt flow of the southern oil
move was in response to South Sudan’s funding of rebels fighting his
government.
Al-Mahdi said that the African Union mediator Thabo Mbeki will put
forward new proposals to bring closer the views of Sudan and South
Sudan notably the formation of a committee of wise men to take up
complaints of the two sides, saying that Mbeki believes that the main
differences between the two countries are the support of the armed
opposition and disagreement over border areas.
In a separate issue, the opposition leader said that Sudan would
largely benefit from the controversial Ethiopian renaissance dam as it
will provide continuous water flow throughout the year as well as
reducing sedimentation in Al-Rusairs dam and producing cheap
electricity which could be exported to Sudan.
The remarks by the NUP chief will likely fuel long-standing suspicions
by other opposition parties that al-Mahdi is working to frustrate any
efforts to move in the direction of regime change.
Since Al-Mahdi’s son Abdel-Rahman took up the post of president
Bashir’s presidential assistant it was widely seen as a step by
al-Mahdi to appease to the ruling NCP.
Some within the NUP politburo privately say that they believe al-Mahdi
has forged a secret deal with the NCP by which he would work to block
any efforts in the direction of regime change.
(ST)
--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups
"South Sudan Info - The Kob" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email
to [email protected].
To post to this group, send email to [email protected].
To view this discussion on the web visit
https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/SouthSudanKob/CAJb14opSPnLuSTL%2BiJY_hjz%2Bx29sVfxG_bn0T7KWxF8nFA5LoA%40mail.gmail.com?hl=en-US.
For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out.
