SPLM-N regrets statements by UN chief over Sudanese rebel alliance

Khartoum
November 17, 2011 (Sudan Tribune)

The Sudan People’s Liberation Movement – North (SPLM-N) regretted the criticism addressed by the UN Secretary general to the establishment of a new rebel alliance calling to topple the Sudanese regime.

Rebels from Blue Nile, Darfur and South Kordofan, operating near the troubled border between Sudan and South Sudan, announced on 11 November an alliance called "Sudanese Revolutionary Front".

The Justice and Equality Movement (JEM), Sudan Liberation Movement factions of Abdel Wahid Al-Nur (SLM-AW) and Minni Minnawi (SLM-MM) besides the SPLM-N said the solution of their regional crises should be through political and armed struggle to overthrow the government in Khartoum.

Ban Ki-moon, on 14 November, said concerned by the growing tension between Khartoum and Juba and the war of words. He also condemned the establishment of the rebel alliance which is perceived as an additional factor of conflict escalation in the region.

SPLM-N Secretary General and former candidate of the SPLM for Sudan’s presidential election last year, Yasir Arman, said "surprised" and regretted the statement of the UN chief.

Arman further said Ban’s statement is supporting " the aggressors and war criminals" instead of "supporting the victims and the right of the Sudanese people to democracy and the respect for human rights and the rule of law".

The rebel official visited the US and several European capitals calling for an international investigation for war crimes in South Kordofan and Blue Nile and to open humanitarian corridors and safe access of aid workers to the affected areas in the two regions.

The Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations Hervé Ladsous repeated, in a briefing to the Security Council on 15 November, the criticism made by his boss to the call of Sudanese rebels to overthrow Khartoum based government.

"This represents a step further in a pattern of escalation that is counter-productive. The United Nations continues to stress that all parties to the different conflicts between the Government of Sudan and its peripheries need to return to the table of negotiations and resolve their differences through political dialogue."

A US based advocacy group, formed by American activists, Sudanese diaspora and a representative of Sudanese rebels, said today that the UN has to condemn Khartoum before because it used to aggress the Sudanese people.

"In condemning the new rebel alliance and calling for more fruitless talks, Secretary General Ban and the United Nations fail to acknowledge both that the government is the primary aggressor in Sudan’s internal conflicts," said Martina Knee, a spokesperson of Act for Sudan.

Khartoum refused to negotiate with the SPLM-N saying talks should take place inside the country and only over the implementation of a protocol related to the two regions included in the 2005 peace deal which led to the South Sudan secession this year.

Regarding the peace talks to end Darfur conflict, Khartoum signed in July 2011 a peace deal with the Liberation and Justice Movement, but JEM demands to open a framework peace text for negotiations. While the SLM-AW demands to implement a set of conditions before to join the peace process, the SLM-MM signed an agreement in 2006 but differs with Khartoum on its implementation.

The International community, which thought that the secession of the South Sudan would bring peace to the region, supports the African Union mediation to resolve the outstanding issues. Also, it established a UN mission in Juba to support the newly independent state in its efforts to build its institutions.

The war in Blue Nile and South Kordofan complicates the ongoing efforts to finalize the secession between the countries, according to the international organisation. A presidential statement is circulating at the level of the UN Security Council to condemn last week air attacks on South Sudan and calls on the parties to speed up the resolution of the pending issues.

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