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Sudanese media awash with presidential pardon for the rebels

Posted by: APA Posted date : September 23, 2015 at 2:14 pm UTC 104 views In : Africa

Sudanese newspapers on Wednesday focused on a presidential decree issued on Tuesday by President Omar al Bashir granting pardon to the rebels to allow them participate in the national dialogue due to take place in Khartoum in October.
Sudan Tribune (English) newspaper said that President al-Bashir Tuesday has pardoned rebel leaders who are to participate in the national dialogue conference, and declared a two-month ceasefire in the war areas.

According to the official news agency (SUNA) Tuesday, Bashir issued a republican decree granting general amnesty for the leaders and members of the armed movements taking part in the national dialogue conference. Also, he issued another decree declaring a two-month ceasefire in the conflict areas.

The national dialogue conference is scheduled for 20 October 2015.

Several rebels and their leaders including the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement/North (SPLM-N) chairman Malik Agar and secretary-general Yasser Arman had been sentenced to death by Sudanese courts.

The two decrees come after a pledge al-Bashir made during the opening session of the national dialogue’s general assembly last August in which he expressed readiness to declare a two-month ceasefire in order to hold the dialogue in a healthy atmosphere.

The Sudanese army has been fighting SPLM-N rebels in South Kordofan and Blue Nile states since 2011 and the armed movements in Darfur since 2003.

Bashir launched the national dialogue initiative in January 2014 but the process suffered major setbacks after the withdrawal of the opposition National Umma Party (NUP) and the non-participation of the rebels as well as leftist forces.

Sudan Vision (English) newspaper has also reported that President Al-Bashir has officially announced a general amnesty for the Sudanese rebels to allow them to participate in the dialogue to solve the Sudanese crisis including the stoppage of the continuous civil war in Darfur, South Kordoafn and Blue Nile states.

It is the second time Bashir is announcing a general pardon for the rebels after the general amnesty he offered last May when he won the elections boycotted by the civil opposition and the rebels.

The paper said that President Bashir has issued a presidential decree that declares a general amnesty for the leaders and members of the Sudanese armed groups that participate in the national dialogue on Tuesday.

Alsudani (Arabic) newspaper stated that the president also issued another ceasefire decree for two months in the conflict areas in Sudan. He did not mention at what time this ceasefire would come into effect.

It is the second time that Al Bashir has declared a two-month cessation of hostilities in the country. Rebel movements under the banner of the Sudan Revolutionary Front also announced their readiness to sign a six-month ceasefire with the government forces and allied militias.
Neither party has thus far suggested when and where to hold their negotiations about the implementation and monitoring of the ceasefire.

The rebels have decried that the national army is still violating the ceasefire despite President Bashir’s declaration.

However, Hurriyat (Arabic) newspaper has quoted the rebel alliance of the Sudanese Revolutionary Front (SRF) as refusing the presidential offer, describing it as “Political propaganda”. It quoted the SRF chairman Malik Agar as rejecting the offer. Agar said that the current amnesty is concerning the parties who have already agreed to participate in the dialogue inside Sudan.

“We have nothing to do with this offer it is just for ‘Political propaganda’. We call on the government to be serious and come to the pre-dialogue meeting in Addis Ababa according to the AU roadmap,” he stressed.

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