SLM-N must engage in constructive talks after losing ground and popular support

Quote: The seventh round of talks between the Sudanese government and the Sudan Liberation Movement-North (SLM-N) opened in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, on Wednesday is very important for the two sides. The two parties, therefore, have to take this last opportunity to engage in positive and constructive talks to end the three year-old fighting. For the Sudanese government, peace and stability is priority and strategic goals so as to push ahead President Al Bashir’s call for political parties and the rebels to engage in national dialogue to resolve national issues ahead of the coming general elections scheduled for April, 2015. This may be the last round of talks, so it’s also important for the rebels. The success of the fresh negotiations held under the auspices of the African Union High-level Implementation Panel (AUHIP) will them make a breakthrough in the different dossiers. In the past, the rebel leaders tended to absent themselves from the rounds of talks, betting on the military victories over the Sudanese army, but the equation has changed. The rebels have no military existence on the ground. The Sudanese army has forced the rebels to pull out from strategic posts following the decisive summer operation. As a result, they have lost popular support in the region and better negotiating position and most of the senior rebel commanders fled to safe havens. Since 2011, the SLM-N rebels have been seeking to create another crisis after the crisis of the former south Sudan before secession. This dream faded away when the people in South Kordofan, particularly the Nuba realized that SPLM-N leaders misrepresent them and that the y are are only intruders to South Kordofan and Blue Nile. The rebels have also bet on the humanitarian issues and captives, using radio Dabanga as a tool of propaganda, but the West turned deaf ear to their claim and lies following crimes against humanity they (the rebel) have committed in Abu Karshoula and other areas in the region. The Sudanese government is fighting the rebels with regular forces - the army, police and national security - which are made up of different personnel from the different parts of Sudan i.e the Nuba Mountains, Blue Nile, easten and central Sudan etc. These forces have a national nature. They believe only in national issues rather the dictated agenda. The rebels, hence, have to join the current talks with new spirit apart from their propaganda and unyielding fabrication of lies about alleged bombing of civilians including farmers and herdsmen.