Security Briefing: Cairo Forum and Radio Dabanga Interviews

Overview

In the latest developments of Sudan’s road to internal peace, Radio Dabanga held exclusive interviews with Prime Minister Hamdok and Abdelwahid El Nur, a faction leader of the Sudan Liberation movement. In addition, a forum in Cairo brought together Sudanese rebel and political groups. This briefing highlights the important statements made.

Hamdok (Radio Dabanga, 1 October)

In an exclusive interview with Radio Dabanga, Sudan’s Prime Minister Abdallah Hamdok said his Paris meeting with SLM-AW faction leader Abdelwahid El Nur – initiated by the French foreign ministry – covered, in detail, “issues of peace and the root causes of Sudanese problems, such as…marginalisation, national identity, equality, distribution of resources, or unbalanced development.”

Hamdok said he appreciated and acknowledged the role of the armed movements in the revolution and change in Sudan. He added that the dialogue with the armed movements is not difficult “because we have similar views regarding the root causes of the problems”.

Finally, Hamdok said that the issue of displaced persons and refugees is the highest priority and primary aspect in achieving peace, as well as the importance of meeting the needs of marginalised groups.

Abdelwahid El Nur (Radio Dabanga, 3 October)

Sudan Liberation Movement faction leader Abdelwahid El Nur told Radio Dabanga that he met Hamdok in a personal rather than official capacity: “because we do not recognise the new government or its Sovereign Council, which represents the Al Bashir security infrastructure.”

Nonetheless, El Nur insists that he has no problem with Hamdok, nor many of those appointed in the transitional government.

Cairo Forum (Radio Dabanga, 3 October)

Organised by the Sudan Revolutionary Front and the Sudan Call coalition of rebels, opposition parties and civil society organisations, the Cairo Forum saw various Sudanese political actors call for an end to racism in Sudan.

Minni Minawi, a factional leader of the Sudan Liberation Movement, and Yasir Arman, deputy head of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North, both stressed the need to draw lessons from the experience of the secession of South Sudan, calling for the end “hatred and systematic racism.”

Omar El Degeir, chairman of the Sudanese Congress Party (SCP), called for putting the issues of displaced persons and refugees at the top of the political agenda, which he considered “the biggest humanitarian tragedy in Sudan”