SUDAN NEWS ALERT: Sudan Tribune - Peace talks stalled by ambiguity over secular state

3/1/2020: Sudan Tribune - Peace talks stalled by ambiguity over secular state

Sudan Tribune reports that Abdelaziz El-Hilu, a faction leader of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North, renewed demands for a secular state in Sudan, attributing the stalemate in peace talks to the government’s ambiguity on the matter.

In comments to UAE news site Al-Ain, El-Hilu said:  "the question of secularism is fundamental for us. If we are keen to preserve Sudan’s unity - a just unity that achieves stability, development, and the transition from a state of poverty to a welfare state - then religion must be separated from the state.”

El-Hilu re-iterated threats to fight for self-determination in the Blue Nile and South Kordofan, unless the transitional government accepts secularism. He alleged that the government rejected a drafted Declaration of Principles filed by his movement, which formalized those threats.

The Sudanese government maintains that the issue should be determined in a Constitutional Conference held after peace agreements are signed.