Light at the End of the Political Crisis Tunnel
Dr. Ahmed Mufti
The key “proposals” of the final statement of the Cairo workshop, call on all forces supporting a democratic transition, to agree on it, meaning that it can be merged with the framework agreement in one document for a national consensus.
By reviewing the text of the final statement of the Cairo workshop on Sudanese-Sudanese dialogue, I would conclude that it can be read with the framework agreement, and produce one document for national consensus, because the statement included the term “proposals”, and even called on all forces supporting a democratic transition, to discuss those proposals, to reach a national consensus on those matters.
In this article, I would like to review the key proposals of the final statement, which we believe could be agreeable to the signatories to the framework agreement and other stakeholders. The 14 proposals are:
1.Proposals are approved by “forces supporting democratic transition.”
- The Council of Ministers shall be composed of competent professionals, who are biased toward the revolution, without being involved in partisan political work.
- The workshop reached suggestions regarding the mechanism, which will select members of the executive and sovereign authority, but the statement did not disclose its details.
- The regular forces should stand at the same distance from all political and societal forces, and shall not interfere in political affairs, including the formation of their institutions, such as the Security and National Defense Council.
- Agree on a realistic “program” to be implemented by the transitional government, after approval by the forces supporting the democratic transition.
- Commitment to the implementation of the Juba Peace Agreement, and to create conditions for peace, by improving the economic and living conditions of the marginal areas.
- The importance of addressing the situation in eastern Sudan through a negotiating platform and acceptable to the people of the east.
- Speeding up the implementation of security arrangements, by a security and military reform plan, leading to a single national army, and the required integration of the Rapid Support Forces and the forces of armed movements into the armed forces, by specific and agreed timetables.
- Placing the investment and commercial activities of all regular forces (army, rapid support, general intelligence, police), under the authority of the Ministry of Finance, except those related to defense industries, military missions, and the Special Social Insurance Fund for the Armed Forces.
- Adopting the principles of responsibility and accountability, so that those responsible are held accountable politically and legally, by the prevailing laws, through traditional justice, applied by the courts, and through transitional justice, based on the principles of truth and reconciliation.
- The necessity of dismantling the enabling structure of the system of the thirtieth of June 1989, as part of the process of establishing the rule of law, which requires adherence to the law and constitutional authorities.
- Formation of an independent electoral commission, provided that elections shall be held within a maximum period of two years from the date of appointment of the Prime Minister.
- The participants in the workshop issued the “Political Consensus Document”, the “Governing Document for the Transitional Period”, and the formation of the “Coordination of National Democratic Forces”, as a collective body for all blocs, components, and personalities that participated in the workshop, to communicate with all parties supporting the democratic transition.
- Calling on all forces supporting the democratic transition to discuss proposals to reach a national consensus on them.
Third: It is very important, to complete the picture, and to publish everything that came out of the workshop, such as what was mentioned in paragraph II/13 above, which is:
- Political consensus document.
- The document governing the transitional period