Sudan: National Movement Boycotts Berlin Conference, Democratic Bloc Expresses Reservations

Sudanhorizon – Sabah Musa

Sudanese blocs, parties, and figures participating in the Berlin Conference have begun traveling to the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, to participate in the preparatory meeting for the conference scheduled for the 10th to the 12th of this month. However, the positions of the invitees varied full acceptance and total rejection.

Dr. Tijani Sisi, head of the National Movement Forces, explained that he received a personal invitation to attend the Berlin Conference, scheduled for the 15th of this month. He emphasized the difficulty of separating his personal participation from that of the Movement Forces, and therefore decided to decline the invitation.

In an exclusive statement to Sudanhorizon, Sisi added that the National Movement Forces had previously decided to participate in all regional and international forums and meetings dealing with the Sudanese crisis, provided that these meetings do not legitimize a parallel government in the country. He noted that they had conveyed this position to the envoys and regional organizations working to facilitate the political process in Sudan. He further stressed that this was also their position regarding the meeting that was scheduled to be held in Djibouti last December.

Sisi explained that after assessing the information received about the Berlin Conference, the National Movement forces voiced a number of reservations, including that the participation of members of the “Founding” entity in the political process—regardless of how they were selected—effectively legitimizes and recognizes the parallel government. He also criticized the method used to select and represent the participants, describing it as unfair and pointing out that it bypassed national forces, especially the National Movement forces. He stated that the majority of the National Movement’s leadership believes that participating in the Berlin Conference is pointless under these circumstances.
Meanwhile, the “Democratic Bloc” of the Forces of Freedom and Change announced that it had received an invitation to participate in the Berlin Conference from the five-member mechanism comprising the African Union, the United Nations, the Arab League, the European Union, and the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD).
The official spokesperson for the Democratic Bloc, Dr. Mohamed Zakaria, stated in an exclusive interview with Sudanhorizon that the bloc will meet with the mechanism in the coming days to discuss several observations, primarily the criteria for selecting conference participants and their number, in addition to the role of mediators and facilitators. He emphasized the need for preserving Sudanese ownership of the process, adding that, according to the bloc’s vision, the role of facilitators should be limited to facilitation without interfering in determining who participates, the nature of the participants, or exercising a veto against certain groups or individuals. Other issues to be discussed include the exclusion of the Sudanese government. He affirmed that the bloc will determine its final position on participation based on these points.
In the meantime, Sudanhorizon has learned that some figures within the bloc will attend the conference, and that the bloc’s leader has not yet discussed participation with members due to differing opinions on the matter.
It is worth noting that the five-member mechanism had invited about 40 Sudanese figures to participate in the conference, representing blocs, parties, civil forces and independent figures, while invitations were not extended to other groups and the Sudanese government was also excluded, which sparked a state of rejection and boycott due to what was considered a lack of fair representation, as most of the invitations went to the “Sumud” entity.

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