Sudanese opposition welcomes army’s recapture of South Kordofan town
May 28, 2013 (KHARTOUM) - Two main opposition parties in Khartoum welcomed the recapture of a town in South Kordofan on Monday by the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) and called to settle the conflict through peaceful negotiations. The Umma National Party (UNP) of Sadiq Al Mahdi and Popular Congress Party (PCP) of Hassan Al-Turabi congratulated the Sudanese army for the seizure back of Abu Kershola which had been controlled by the rebels for a month. In separate statements released on Tuesday, the two political forces further criticised the rebel Sudanese Revolutionary Front (SRF) for their attacks on several towns in Kordofan region. The UNP called on SRF groups to refrain from "military adventures which aggravate the bad situation in the country and to show serious willingness to cooperate for a just and comprehensive peace". The party of Sadiq Al-Mahdi further blamed the government for not taking the right measures to protect civilians in Kordofan, pointing out that it had plenty reports about the plans of the rebels last April. While the PCP called on Bashir to make some concessions and to set on the negotiating table with the rebels, adding that "the taking up arms by rebels caused disaster and tragedies to their families and brought negative results". PCP deputy secretary general Ibrahim Al-Sanousi further said that "We do not know what to do between the bearers of weapons and the government, we tried to talk to them but they did not listen to us, and now we are just spectators". However the UNP welcomed the findings of a meeting held by the SRF leadership from 23 to 27 May stressing it included an opportunity for peaceful solution and cooperation with the political forces. The rebels in their meeting said that a comprehensive and inclusive conference aiming to restore democracy in Sudan and to settle the problems of the different regions can avoid the military solution. The opposition forces realise that the increase of military activities by rebel groups against the government forces gradually have marginalised them and become voiceless. Also their attempts to mobilise the street against the regime are paralysed by the fighting. Sadiq Al-Mahdi was the first opposition leader to express loudly his objection of a strategy set by the rebel groups to dislodge the regime by arms and to attack Khartoum directly after capturing different regions. But this is the second time that the opposition PCP, which is seen supportive to rebel groups, distances itself from the rebel groups. The Sudanese National Assembly discussed during their Tuesday’s setting the recapture of Abu Kershol. MPs reiterated their support to the army and denounced the opposition and its links with the rebels. But some law makers dedicated their criticism against Farouk Abu Eissa, the leader of the opposition alliance National Consensus Forces and described him as the head of "the fifth column" and asked the government to take tough decision against it. (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/CAJb14oo4dv6zVHMQFxRMmbt__2%2BiWWazG_zWu7Ptipwrvts0mA%40mail.gmail.com?hl=en-US. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out.
