Sudanese meetings in Addis Ababa to discuss post-war arrangements

Addis Ababa – Meetings organized by the African Union, which include a number of Sudanese forces, will begin in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, today, Friday, to discuss the political path of the Sudanese crisis and the arrangements for governance after the cessation of the war in the country.

The meetings are scheduled to last for 3 days, with the participation of the Coordination of Civil Democratic Forces Alliance, known by the acronym “Progress”, the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement in South Kordofan and Blue Nile led by Abdel Aziz Al-Hilu, the Sudan Liberation Movement led by Abdel Wahid Mohamed Nour, and the Arab Socialist Baath Party in Sudan.

The official spokesman for the “Progress” Coordination, Bakri Al-Jak, told Al Jazeera that the meetings “come within the framework of launching a political process that establishes a post-war reality, in conjunction with the ceasefire talks.”

He added that the forces participating in the meetings, “despite the differences that may exist between them, they remain the forces that carry a different vision for the future of the country, based on equal citizenship and good management of diversity, through a national development project in which most Sudanese see themselves.”

He also pointed out that the aim of the meetings is to “develop a common vision that paves the way for perceptions about the agenda and parties to the political process to correct the wrong start that accompanied the African Union meeting last July, which brought together a group most of whom support the vision of war and de facto authority, and hold perceptions that work to legitimize the war and its continuation.”

As for the armed Sudan Liberation Movement in Darfur, led by Abdul Wahid al-Nur, it said that it was participating in the meetings “after the African Union confirmed to it that the deposed National Congress Party would not participate in the Sudanese revolution,” and it stressed in a statement that its position is that it “will not participate in any meeting or conference in which the deposed National Congress Party is represented.”

For his part, the spokesman for the Arab Socialist Baath Party, Adel Khalaf Allah, confirmed to Al Jazeera that the meetings, in which his party is participating, “are of a preparatory nature to prepare for the political process after the cessation of the war, its topics, and the demands of its parties.”

The African Union had organized meetings last July on the Sudanese crisis and its political path, which were attended by political forces, while the forces participating in tomorrow’s meetings boycotted them.

Tomorrow’s meetings will be preceded by negotiations initiated and called for by the United States to stop the Sudanese war, scheduled to begin in Switzerland on August 14. While the Rapid Support Forces have agreed to participate in the Swiss negotiations, the Sudanese army has not yet confirmed its participation in them.