Political groups warn against attempts to control Sudan’s internal dialogue process

July 21, 2024 (Addis Ababa) – Political groups and civil society representatives attending a preparatory meeting for the Sudanese intra-dialogue have raised concerns. They warned that the Tagadum coalition of civil forces could try to dominate the political process.

From July 10 to 15, the two sides discussed the dialogue agenda and participating forces. However, the AU’s invitation to the National Congress Party, the former ruling party of the Bashir regime, was boycotted by Tagadoum, the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N) led by Abdul Aziz Hilu and the Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM) led by Abdul Wahid Noor.

Following the boycott, the AU High-Level Panel on Sudan (HLP-Sudan) withdrew its invitation to the NCP. However, the boycotting group did not rejoin its first meeting.

On July 21, representatives of the first preparatory meeting of the Sudan-Sudan dialogue sent a letter to Mohammed bin Chambas, chairman of the African Union High-Level Panel on Sudan (HLP-Sudan). The letter, seen by Sudan Tribune, expressed concerns about repeating the mistakes of the Framework Political Agreement of December 5, 2022. Disagreements on the implementation of military arrangements in the agreement ultimately led to the ongoing conflict.

The letter stressed that Sudan’s HLP must “redouble its efforts” to avoid repeating past mistakes. The letter criticized Taqaddum’s attempt to dominate the dialogue process. They believe that this undermines international and regional efforts and has the potential to further exacerbate instability.

The statement reiterates support for inclusive participation, excluding only those suspected of war crimes or crimes against humanity, or those explicitly opposed in the 2019 Transitional Constitutional Declaration, which mentions the NCP. Finally, the statement emphasizes the importance of fair participation by all groups and calls on the African Union, IGAD and the international community to remain neutral and impartial throughout the dialogue process.

On July 18, the African Union (AU) announced plans to hold further preparatory talks that will notably include groups that did not participate in the first round of consultations of the Sudan-Africa dialogue.

The AU stressed the importance of inclusiveness in achieving lasting peace. The AU statement urged “all Sudanese political and civil actors to put the country’s highest interests above all other considerations and work together to stop the war and restore constitutional, peaceful and consensual governance in Sudan.”