The AU suspends its participation in the talks in Sudan for “lack of transparency and honesty”

Contacts seek to end the crisis after the October 2021 coup

June 22 (EUROPA PRESS) –

The African Union (AU) has announced the suspension of its participation in the trilateral mechanism that mediates the talks in Sudan to end the crisis after the coup in October 2021 and has pointed to a “lack of transparency and honesty “.

“The AU cannot continue in a process that lacks transparency, honesty and inclusion, as well as respect for all actors, who must be treated with the same respect”, explained the AU representative in Sudan, Mohamed Belaiche .

Thus, he pointed out that “following orders from the AU leadership, it has been decided not to continue participating in hidden, evasive and opaque meetings, in an exclusive environment,” according to the Sudanese news portal Sudan Tribune. The AU is part of the trilateral mechanism together with the United Nations and the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD).

The announcement came after the second meeting held on Monday between the military authorities and the civilian Forces for Freedom and Change (FFC) coalition, mediated by the United States and Saudi Arabia, to try to get the latter to participate in the talks, which the moment is boycotting.

In statements to the aforementioned news portal, Belaiche stressed that the AU supports the dialogue in Sudan and has stated that it will resume its participation if the situation changes. “The AU has not withdrawn from the mechanism, but it cannot continue with meetings in an atmosphere that is not one of transparency, non-exclusion, respect and honesty,” he argued.

On the other hand, he has pointed out that what happened in 2019 should not be repeated, when the political agreement for the transition after the overthrow of Omar Hassan al Bashir was limited to the FFC. “There are political parties that cannot be excluded from dialogue and everyone must participate, except those prohibited by law,” he concluded.

The October coup d’état led to the dismissal of the civilian prime minister, Abdullah Hamdok, and to the suspension of Sudan from the AU, although international pressure led to an agreement to reinstate him in office in November, which caused to lose support among the opposition and revolutionary forces.

However, Hamdok presented his resignation in January in protest against the repression of the mobilizations and after the military authorities expelled various civil groups from the Executive, arguing that they were acting against the interests of the State.

The transitional authorities were established after an agreement between the previous military junta, which emerged after the 2019 coup against Al Bashir, and various civil organizations and opposition political formations. This government had initiated a battery of social and economic reforms and has reached a peace agreement with major rebel groups in Darfur and other areas of the country.