SPLM-N’s Arman lays bare regime-change agendas in Sudan
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October 4, 2011 (PARIS) — The Secretary General of the armed
opposition Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N), Yasir
Arman, has clarified that recent political events in the country led
his group to reconsider the framework agreement it negotiated with
Khartoum last June and adopt regime-change agendas.
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SPLM-N’s SG Yasir Arman (Ashraf Shazly/AFP/Getty Images)
Sudan’s ruling National Congress Party (NCP) and the armed opposition
SPLM-N inked on 28 June a framework agreement brokered by the former
South African president Thabo Mbeki to negotiate a peaceful settlement
to the armed conflict which started on 5 June between the two parties
in South Kordofan State.
The deal, which was signed in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa, also
established a political partnership between the two parties to address
the outstanding issues in the implementation of the 2005 Comprehensive
Peace Agreement, particularly the popular consultation vote and
integration of SPLM-N forces into Sudan’s army (SAF).
However, President Omer Hassan al-Bashir rejected the deal some days
after. He also emphasised that talks can only continue between the two
parties inside the country and without an external mediator.
The SPLM-N at the time reacted vigorously to the presidential position
and it reiterated no talks with the Sudanese government without Addis
Ababa framework agreement.
"We in the SPLM-N are now beyond the framework agreement", Arman told
Sudan Tribune in Paris where he held meetings with officials from the
French government and political parties. He stressed that there are
new developments since last June that led them to reassess their
position.
These developments, according to Arman, are represented in the facts
that the NCP government had slapped a ban on the SPLM-N’s activities,
arrested thousands of its members, and removed its chairman Malik Agar
from his position as governor of Blue Nile State following the
eruption of clashes there between the two parties on 1 September.
Arman further pointed out the large-scale violations of human rights
committed in the country, particularly in the two war-hit states.
"Now we want a solution for all the problems of Sudan, which is regime
change", he said.
The SPLM-N Secretary General underlined that this "holistic approach"
would also bring about an end to the eight year war in the western
region of Darfur as well as normalisation of relations with the newly
independent state of South Sudan. Furthermore, he stressed that the
end of this regime would lead to ending the economic crisis caused by
the corruption of its officials, civil wars, and the economic
sanctions imposed on the country.
Asked about how the SPLM-N and its allies intend to deal with the
traditional political forces which, despite their opposition to the
regime, refuse to hold arms against the government, Arman said they
believe that all the Sudanese forces can contribute to overthrowing
Al-Bashir’s government.
He also pointed out that before the collapse of the regime, there
should be a broad coalition between the political and social forces
such as the trade unions. He said such an alliance could be
established on the basis of a political platform for the entire
country.
After the fall of the NCP, Arman said a constitutional conference
should be organised with the participation of all the political forces
in order to lay down the basis for a new democratic system in Sudan.
The SPLM-N and Darfur rebel movements, mainly two factions of the
Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM) led by Abdel Wahid al-Nur and Minni
Minnawi, in August forged a political and military alliance in the
SPLM-N’s stronghold of Kaoda in South Kordofan to coordinate efforts
in order to overthrow Al-Bashir’s government and establish a secular
state where religion and politics are clearly separated.
The Justice and Equality Movement (JEM), which is part of the
alliance, did not endorse the issue of a secular state and called for
a citizenship state where the role of religion can be maintained in
different areas related to the personal sphere like the personal
status law.
Asked about how to reconcile such different political viewpoints in
this large alliance which might also include the Popular Congress
Party (PCP) of Hassan Al-Turabi, which also calls for an Islamic
state, Arman said the most important is to agree on a political agenda
and a constitutional framework for Sudan.
"Insisting on the secular state or the citizenship should not hinder
the establishment of a democratic state in Sudan with a clear vision
for a diverse and plural nation," he said.
He pointed out that the National Umma Party of former Prime Minister
Al-Sadiq al-Mahdi and the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) of Mohamed
Osman al-Mirghani – the biggest opposition parties – also indicated
favouring of the citizenship state.
"And this does not mean they [NUP and DUP] support the idea of a
totalitarian regime", he pointed out.
The Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zinawi is undertaking a difficult
mediation between the government and the SPLM-N; but the positions of
the two parties continue to shift according to political and military
factors.
Arman is undertaking an international tour to explain the positions of
the SPLM-N which is fighting against the government troops in the Blue
Nile and Southern Kordofan.
(ST)
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