Disagreement on humanitarian access jeopardizes talks on Sudan’s Two Areas
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August 13, 2016 (ADDIS ABABA) - Sudanese government and the Sudan
People’s Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N) have failed to sign a
cessation of hostility agreement as the talks are stalled over the
humanitarian access from outside Sudan.
JPEG - 43.7 kb
Negotiating delegations of the Sudanese government (L) and the SPLM-N
(R) hold a meeting in presence of mediators in Addis Ababa on 12
August 2016 (courtesy photo of SPLM-N)
The African Union High Level Implementation Panel (AUHIP) on Friday
decided to extend until Sunday the talks on the cessation of
hostilities and the humanitarian access to civilians in the war
affected areas in Blue Nile and South Kordofan states, as the progress
achieved raised hope on a possible deal for Sunday.
However, on Saturday evening the two parties accused each other of
hampering the process. Nonetheless, the chief mediator called on the
parties to meet on Sunday as he is expected to submit some proposals
to break the deadlock.
The spokesperson of the government delegation Hassan Hamid told
reporters that the SPLM-N delegation insists on its demand for the
transportation of humanitarian aid from South Sudan, Kenya and
Ethiopia.
The SPLM-N insists on the "direct transportation of humanitarian
assistance from Juba and other countries to the Movement’s controlled
areas without observing the legal or technical regulations (...) which
constitutes a violation of national sovereignty," he said.
He further said that such a demand represents a "threat to the
national security" in light of the political and security situation in
South Sudan and the "military and political connections between" the
ruling party in Juba and the SPLM-N.
Since several year ago the SPLM-N demands the transportation of
humanitarian aid from outside the country, saying such procedure would
prevent Khartoum from using humanitarian aid as a tool of political
pressure. Also, it also refused the participation of Sudanese
government relief workers saying they are infiltrated by the security
apparatus.
SPLM-N Spokesperson Mubarak Ardol, disclosed that they made
significant concessions on the negotiating table in order to
facilitate an agreement on the humanitarian access, and accused the
government of seeking to fully control the whole operation.
"The SPLM-N delegation conceded and accepted mixed tracks from inside
Sudan and abroad. Even, we accepted that 80% of the relief come
through Khartoum," said Ardol in a statement he released at the
negotiation venue.
He added that the government delegation maintained its intransigence
and insisted to have the monopoly of the humanitarian operation, a
matter that reveals its "intention to use citizens in the Two Areas as
hostages of war as they do now in Darfur".
To explain why they insist on the direct access from outside Sudan,
Ardol said they fear that the government expel foreign aid groups and
prevent international officials from assessing the humanitarian
situation on the ground as it is done in Darfur.
Sources close to the negotiations said the chief mediator Thabo Mbeki
met the two sides and invited them to resume their discussions on
Sunday. It is unclear if he would continue to press them to sign an
agreement or suspend the talks as he used to do in the past.
The signing of the deal on the truce and the humanitarian access is
seen as confidence building measures paving the way for a political
process that includes the other opposition groups in a constitutional
conference to be held inside Sudan.
The leader of the National Umma Party (NUP) Sadiq al-Mahdi Saturday
urged the negotiating parties to sign a deal on the humanitarian aid
and the cessation of hostilities to move towards the political file.
"Unless the parties agree on a cessation of hostilities and security
and humanitarian arrangements, they (the government and armed groups)
obstruct the dialogue." he said in statements to the official news
agency SUNA.
He stressed that the non-signing of the cessation of hostilities
prevents the creation of a new climate for peace in Sudan, and
disrupts the confidence building measures the African mediation spoke
about.
" Now, the conditions are favourable more than ever to achieve a just
and comprehensive peace and democratic transformation acceptable to
all the parties, and (discuss) a new constitution to be agreed upon."
(ST)
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