Sudan’s governing party, the National Congress Party (NCP), have called upon South Sudan’s government to cut ties with the SPLM-North, along with opposition in Blue Nile and South Kordofan states, before they will consider entering into negotiations with the Sudanese rebel group.

The call came in response to an African Union (AU) Peace and Security Council’s resolution which demanded that the Khartoum begin direct negotiations with the SPLM-N and the groups in Blue Nile.

They also confirmed their commitment to resolving the situation through dialogue which, they claim, is the only solution to the fighting in these areas.

The party political bureau, during its meeting in Khartoum on last Monday, stressed the importance of adopting the terms of the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) as the final point of reference in such a negotiation process.

However, the NCP secretary for political affairs, Hassabu Abdel Rahaman, said regarding the AU peace and Security Council resolution, “We agree with the principle of negotiation but we require disengagement between the northern sector and South Sudan’s ruling party (SPLM). The negotiation should not be exclusively to one group but it must involve all the stakeholders of the two regions.”

Hassabu confirmed his party’s rejection of the SPLM-N’s claims that they are the only true representative of the people in these two regions during any negotiation process.  Instead, he called for all stakeholders to be involved in any negotiations.

File photo: Parliament building in Khartoum