The Sudanese political and civil forces concluded their meeting in Addis Ababa by agreeing on an organizational structure that includes the Democratic Civilian Front to prepare for the founding meeting of the coordination.
Former Prime Minister Abdullah Hamdok will head the front, including representatives of political and civil forces, resistance committees, unions, and professional bodies, and a 30-member executive coordination office.
About a hundred people representing the political, civil, union, and military forces met in Addis Ababa to unite the parties demanding restoration of the democratic civil transition in the country.
During their meetings on Monday, they agreed on political, economic, humanitarian, and media papers paving the way to end the war.
- Hamdok praises the “patriotic spirit”
In a press statement, Hamdok appealed to the warring parties to facilitate procedures for humanitarian workers and humanitarian aid access.
He also called on civil forces to unite their efforts to stop the war, address the urgent humanitarian effects, and achieve comprehensive peace.
“The preparatory meeting was a first step and the beginning of a process that we hope will coordinate and unify the civil, democratic, anti-war position,” Hamdok said.
He affirmed his support for the meeting’s recommendations and final statement and expressed his readiness to chair its leadership body leading up to the founding conference.
Hamdok thanked the neighboring countries and the regional and international community for their support and appealed to them to stop the war and address the humanitarian crisis.
Furthermore, he praised Saudi Arabia, the US, the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), and the African Union (AU) in their efforts to stop the war.
Hamdok welcomed the launch of a new round of Jeddah talks under the auspice of Saudi Arabia and the US.
- Topics and workshops
In their final statement on Thursday, the civil forces said they held in-depth discussions and decided to organize specialized workshops that would recommend developing the civil negotiating position, security and military reform, transitional justice, and institutional rebuilding.
They would also establish a constitution, develop an economic program for reconstruction, and discuss issues of state and local government.
The meeting approved a paper called “General Guidelines for the Negotiating Process to Stop the War and Reestablish the Sudanese State” as a draft that expresses the point of view of the civil alliance.
It also includes foundations and principles for ending the war and establishing the Sudanese state.
The attendees stressed the importance of confronting the humanitarian catastrophe resulting from the war.
At least 20 million people in Sudan need humanitarian relief amid a political and administrative vacuum and rampant corruption.
The meeting called for a ceasefire that would allow the opening of safe corridors for relief, international oversight, and the adoption of new methods for delivering aid.
The attendees called on the National Army and the Rapid Support Forces to facilitate the passage of relief aid.
- Supporting the Jeddah Talks
The participants called on the parties rejecting the war to contribute to establishing a comprehensive civil front against the war and restore democracy.
The Preparatory Committee welcomed the resumption of negotiations between the two warring parties, welcoming the resumption of the Jeddah Talks and appreciating Saudi Arabia's and the US's efforts.
It lauded all efforts to stop the regional war, such as the IGAD and the AU initiatives, and called for their unification in the Jeddah Talks.
The final statement described the meeting as “an unprecedented historical consensus," saying the participants agreed to move forward to hold the founding conference for the Democratic Civilian Front to stop the war and restore democracy in the country.
For his part, committee member retired Lieutenant Colonel Tayeb al-Malkabi believed that creating an unparalleled alliance was a successful result of the conference.
After the meeting, Malkabi told Asharq Al-Awsat that civil forces’ representation exceeded 70 percent for the first time, noting that the participation of national figures, led by Hamdok, reveals a true sense of patriotism.
