EUROPEAN UNION NEWS DIGEST
Sudan suspends all Red Cross activities
(Radio Dabanga) The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has recently received an official letter from the Sudanese Humanitarian Affairs Commission (HAC) asking it to suspend all its activities in Sudan. The suspension would go into effect on 1 February, the ICRC told Radio Dabanga. Sources say the suspension came in place because the ICRC and the Sudanese government were not able to reach anagreement on the activities the organisation conducts in the country. However, ICRC official spokesman Rafi Qureshi could not confirm this information. Qureshi told Radio Dabanga the ICRC will enter new negotiations with the HAC, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and other authorities within the upcoming days. He said the aim of ICRC is to resume its activities in favour of the victims of armed conflicts and violence in Sudan.
Read More: https://www.radiodabanga.org/
Sudan seeking “Iran-style” dialogue with international community
(Sudan Tribune) The ruling National Congress Party (NCP) has adopted a dual reform track that would address both domestic and foreign issues, a senior party official said today. The head of the foreign relations sector at Sudan’s al-Dirdeeri, Mohamed Ahmed, acknowledged the difficulty in conducting genuine national dialogue in the absence of freedoms, saying that the NCP seeks to secure them in order to demonstrate its good intentions. In an interview on government-run Radio Omdurman on Friday, the NCP official said that limits of freedoms would be defined by the current laws and constitution during which time all political forces will engage in a dialogue to draft a new consensual constitution. The statements by the NCP official suggest a move by Khartoum to mend ties with the west and particularly the United States.
Read More: http://www.sudantribune.com/
Sudan and Chad to convince Darfur rebels for Talks
(Radio Dabanga) Both President of Sudan Omar Al Bashir and President of Chad Idris Deby have agreed to send Darfuri envoys to meet with the armed rebel movements in Sudan in order to convince them to return for peace negotiations. Ali Karti, the Minister of Foreign Affairs said after President Bashir’s meeting with President Deby in Addis Ababa on Thursday that there are signs indicating that a number of the movements which have not joined the Doha Peace Agreement of 2011 “is willing to return to the peace process. Jibril Adam Bilal, spokesman for the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM), told Radio Dabanga that any attempt to split the Sudanese issue by both Presidents is totally unacceptable for the movement and the SRF. “If they really want peace to address the root causes of the crisis, they should call all Sudanese to sit down to resolve them.”
Read More: https://www.radiodabanga.org/
Sudan lifts ban on opposition newspaper
(Sun Herald) A Sudanese official says the government has lifted a ban on an opposition newspaper, a week after Khartoum announced that it would hold a national dialogue to address freedom of expression. Secretary of the National Council for Press and Publications Obeid Murawah told the Sudanese state news agency Saturday that all restrictions on “The People’s Opinion” daily had been lifted and that the paper could resume printing after completing the appropriate procedures. The paper is a mouthpiece for the Popular Congress Party, led by Islamist opposition leader Hassan al-Turabi. Authorities closed it nearly a year ago for publishing articles that they said were a threat to national security. Three other newspapers remain banned in Sudan.
Read More: http://www.sunherald.com/