Darfur Governor Candidate Calls for Reconciliation with Islamists

Head of the Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM), one of the armed factions that signed the Juba Peace Agreement, has called for reconciliation with the Islamists in order to reach national reconciliation in the country.

Minni Arcua Minnawi said the reconciliation could even include the dissolved National Congress Party, which was ousted from power in the April 2019 popular revolution.

Minnawi once served as senior aide to ousted President Omar al-Bashir before breaking away from him, claiming he was marginalized on government decision making processes.

During a press conference in Khartoum on Saturday, he admitted that his movement obstructed the formation of a new government because it was seeking to obtain the largest number of portfolios.

“Nothing stands in the way of coexistence with the Islamists in order to reach national reconciliation to address the disputes in the country,” he said, while still demanding that Islamists who are suspected of committing crimes be brought to justice.

“We must coexist with the Islamists, and I don’t mind holding talks with ousted former Intelligence Chief Salah Abdallah (Gosh) if he has a solution,” Minnawi announced, before later stressing that Gosh does not have a political future in Sudan.

Minnawi’s previous statements about reconciliation with the Islamists had sparked anger among the supporters of the revolution and social media activists on social media, with some figures going so far as to accuse him of hindering change in the country.

In Dec. 2019, Sudan opened an investigation into crimes committed in the Darfur region by members of Bashir’s ousted regime. The conflict left around 300,000 people dead and 2.5 million displaced, according to the United Nations.

Minnawi demanded the immediate handover of the wanted leaders of the deposed regime to the International Criminal Court.

Separately, Minnawi admitted that the SLM had sent forces to Libya, adding however, that they were not involved in the war there.

“Our forces did not voluntarily enter Libya, but the circumstances of war with the deposed regime forced many armed movements to infiltrate neighboring countries,” he explained.

Moreover, he revealed that he had asked through his own initiative to be appointed governor of Darfur as part of the partisan power-sharing process taking place among the ruling partners in the country.