Sudan urges opposition to join peace efforts
November 29, 1999
Web posted at: 8:43 AM EST (1343 GMT)
KHARTOUM, Sudan (Reuters) -- Sudan has urged all opposition leaders to follow in the footsteps of the opposition Umma Party and make peace with the government, newspapers said on Monday.
Representatives of the government and the Umma Party, the biggest opposition group, initialled a "declaration of principles" after a meeting between President Omar Hassan al-Bashir and Umma leader Sadeq al-Mahdi in Djibouti on Friday.
The agreement was for holding talks on furthering democracy and resolving their differences through a political solution.
A cabinet meeting called on all Sudanese political groups to "respond to the call of the nation, which resulted in the declaration of principles agreement, to achieve a comprehensive political solution," the pro-government newspaper Alwan said.
Bashir praised Mahdi for "his courage" and independence and said the door for dialogue was open to all Sudanese.
He called on Mohamed Osman al-Mirghani, leader of the opposition Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), to make a deal with the government.
"The government is prepared to agree with him at any place and any time," the government-owned al-Anbaa newspaper quoted Bashir as saying in an address in Western Kordofan State, about 750 km (470 miles) southwest of Khartoum.
But leading opposition groups on Monday condemned the deal and threatened to suspend Mahdi from his position as Secretary-General of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA).
"Secretary-General (Mahdi) does not represent the NDA any more after signing the bilateral deal," the group said in a statement faxed to Reuters after an emergency meeting in Cairo on Sunday.
"The meeting recommended he (Mahdi) be suspended as Secretary-General until the leadership holds its next meeting to decide upon his status."
The NDA groups major northern and southern Sudanese factions opposed to the government, including the rebel southern Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) led by John Garang.
"The participants reached a consensus on rejecting the agreement in form and spirit," the statement said.
"(NDA) factions do not have the right to conclude individual agreements with the Khartoum regime."
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