FFC-CC Delegation Arrives in Juba to Meet President Kiir

Meeting between the Forces of Freedom and Change and South Sudan mediation committee in Juba (Photo: Peter Louis / social media)

 

A delegation from the Forces for Freedom and Change-Central Council (FFC-CC) have arrived in the capital of South Sudan, Juba, at the invitation of President Salva Kiir, to discuss issues including a direct and public meeting with the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF).  

In their public statement, the Forces of Freedom and Change explained that the delegation will hold meetings with several government officials in South Sudan on ways to end the war in Sudan, achieve peace, and establish a democratic civil transition.

“Conversation topics will include efforts to unify civil democratic forces, the recent discussions in Addis Ababa, and what emerged from our meetings in Cairo, along with plans for a direct and public meeting with the SAF and RSF,” it said. 

The Executive Office of the FFC-CC kickstarted four days of meetings in the Egyptian capital, Cairo, last Thursday. 

During the African summit meetings, Salva Kiir met with the presidents of Eritrea, Ethiopia, and Kenya, in addition to SAF Commander-in-Chief and President of the Sovereignty Council Lt Gen Abdelfattah El Burhan, indicating that all parties welcome the involvement of South Sudan. 

Several initiatives are actively working to resolve the Sudanese crisis, including the Jeddah Platform, mediated by Saudi Arabia, the United States, the African Union, the Civil Front to Stop the War, and the IGAD Quartet, headed by Kenyan President William Ruto. 

EU interest 

The European Union affirmed its “interest in what is happening in Sudan,” and its keenness to end the war, address the humanitarian catastrophe, achieve stability, and resume the democratic transition. 

On Sunday, representatives of the Communication and External Relations Committee of the Forces of Freedom and Change held a meeting with a delegation from the European Union, which included the Swedish envoy to Sudan, the ambassadors of Germany, France, Spain, the Netherlands, Poland, and the European Union representative in the Arab Republic of Egypt, in Cairo. 

In their statement, the FFC-CC said that they presented their vision, which is based on the need to coordinate international and regional efforts in a unified negotiating platform, and the need for the political process to be comprehensive, and to address the reasons that led to the outbreak of war and develop final solutions to it.  

They aim for democratic civil transformation and a single professional government, and for the national army to leave politics completely. 

FFC-CC’s representatives emphasized the coalition’s involvement in efforts to build a broader anti-war civil democratic front based on the preparatory meeting that was held late last month in Addis Ababa. 

Referring to the Civil Front to Stop the War, inaugurated in Addis Ababa last month, Siddig El Sadig El Mahdi, a leader in the FFC-CC, emphasised that “real unity among democratic and civil forces is crucial for ending the war.” The meeting resulted in the formation of the Coordination of Democratic Civil Forces (Takaddum) in preparation for an inclusive founding conference. 

Last week, the EU expressed its shock at the recent escalation of violence in Darfur. High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice-President of the European Commission Josep Borrell said in a statement that “the latest atrocities are seemingly part of a wider ethnic cleansing campaign conducted by the RSF to eradicate the non-Arab Masalit community from West Darfur, and comes on top of the first wave of violence in June.”