Egypt hosts conference to discuss ending war in Sudan

Khartoum – Cairo will host a conference on Saturday and Sunday that will bring together Sudan’s warring parties to discuss ending the war, addressing the humanitarian crisis, and preparing for the political track.

This is an event that observers considered a step to break the psychological barrier and build trust between the parties who will sit under one roof for the first time since the outbreak of war in their country regarding 15 months ago.

The Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs invited more than 50 leaders of political, civil and community forces, national figures, religious figures and civil administrations, and the invitation extended to organizations rather than political blocs went beyond the Islamic movement.

The call took into account the balances on both sides of the Sudanese scene, as it included the forces under the National Charter Forces Alliance supporting the army, and the democratic civil forces “Progress” accused by its opponents of being loyal to the Rapid Support Forces.

According to the invitation letter, the conference, hosted by the New Administrative Capital in Cairo, will listen, during parallel sessions, to the visions of civil and political forces regarding the negative repercussions of the current conflict in Sudan, ways to address it, and the nature of the needs required by those affected, as well as shedding light on the determinants of the Sudanese-Sudanese political dialogue.

Former Sudanese Prime Minister Abdullah Hamdok at the head of the participants in the Cairo conference (social media)

The most prominent participants include the head of the Civil Democratic Forces Authority “Progress” Abdullah Hamdok, the head of the Umma Party Fadlallah Burma Nasser, the head of the executive office of the Federal Gathering Party Babiker Faisal, the head of the Sudanese Congress Party Omar Al-Degair, the head of the Baath Party Kamal Bulad, the leader of the Sudan Liberation Movement-Transitional Council Al-Hadi Idris, and the leader of the Sudan Liberation Forces Gathering Al-Tahir Hajar, in addition to representatives of professionals, unions, civil society, and resistance committees.

In a remarkable development, the Arab Socialist Baath Party said that its leader, Ali al-Rayeh al-Sanhuri, will participate in the Cairo conference following a long period of absence, since the party left the Forces of Freedom and Change coalition.

The invitation was also extended to Jaafar Al-Mirghani, Deputy Chairman of the Democratic Unionist Party, the Chairman of the Sudan Liberation Movement, Minni Arko Minawi, the Leader of the Justice and Equality Movement, Gibril Ibrahim, the Chairman of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North, Malik Agar, the Chairman of the Umma Party, Mubarak Al-Fadil, and the Chairman of the Supreme Council of Beja and Independent Chiefdoms, Mohamed Al-Amin Turk.

The invitation also included the head of the Popular Front for Liberation and Justice, Amin Daoud, and the head of the Liberation Party, Tijani Al-Sisi, in addition to national figures, including Ambassador Noureddine Satti, Al-Wathiq Kamir, Siddiq Ombada, Alam Abbas, Al-Mahboub Abdul Salam, and Al-Shafi’i Khader.

The Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North, headed by Abdel Aziz Al-Hilu, announced that it would not participate in the Cairo conference. Buthaina Dinar, Vice President of the Democratic Revolutionary Current, also announced her apology for participating in the conference, calling on the “Progress” coalition, to which she belongs, to adopt a clear vision regarding the political process before participating.

For his part, Sadiq Al-Sadiq Al-Mahdi, Secretary-General of the “Progress” Coordination and Assistant Chairman of the National Umma Party, said during a meeting with a group of media professionals in Cairo on Wednesday that they are optimistic regarding the Cairo conference in terms of it addressing the issues of war and seeking to employ regional and international solidarity to end the ongoing fighting in the country.

Al-Mahdi believed that Cairo was capable of pressuring the intransigent party to stop the war, and that the outcome of the conference would establish a new reality that required the integration of roles in order to unify the position of civilians, because that would put pressure on both sides of the war to stop it.

For his part, the leftist political thinker Al-Shafi’i Khader believes that the agreement of the civil and political forces to participate in the conference means that they have become convinced that the entire country is at risk, that an imminent danger threatens everyone, and that what unites these forces in terms of interests in the minimum necessary for life in a secure Sudan is stronger than what separates them, and that they must meet and work seriously and sincerely to prevent the collapse of the Sudanese state.

The Sudanese thinker believes, in an open letter on the occasion of the conference, that the greatest and primary responsibility for stopping the destructive war lies with the Sudanese civil forces, because they are the ones entrusted with designing and leading the political process without which the war will not end. He expected that the conference participants would seek to double the commonalities and agree on practical proposals.

The speaker ruled out that the conference would resolve all the issues raised at first glance, because they require several other meetings, and suggested that the outcome of the conference be limited to emphasizing the general principles of stopping the war through negotiation, addressing the humanitarian crisis, preserving the unity of Sudan, a political process that establishes a founding transitional period, and agreeing on a preparatory committee for subsequent complementary meetings.

For her part, Amani Al-Tawil, the Egyptian writer and director of the African program at the Al-Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies, believes that the Cairo conference comes in the context of a cumulative effort to formulate an exploratory position regarding stopping the war, and that forces were excluded from the conference due to their role in the war and their failure to present visions for stopping it.

According to the writer’s statement to Al Jazeera Net, Egypt is following a studied and cautious approach to bring the positions of the Sudanese parties closer together, but achieving progress depends on the availability of will among the Sudanese parties, and international and regional powers will support this trend if positive understandings are reached.

The spokeswoman added that the conference is an exploratory tour, and should not be viewed as ending the war, but rather as an attempt to build new relations on new foundations, to formulate a roadmap towards resolving the Sudanese crisis.

In turn, writer and political analyst Mohamed Latif believes that the success of the conference depends on the participating parties overcoming treason, counter-treason, blame and accountability for the past, and their ability to strip the current events in the country of political burdens and address them responsibly as a crisis facing the Sudanese people.

Speaking to Al Jazeera Net, the analyst believes that the conference is an opportunity for the anti-war parties to convince the forces that support them of the error of their position, and push them into a new square to spare the country further destruction and displacement of citizens.

Source: Al Jazeera