KHARTOUM -

The joint UN-African mediation to resolve the Sudanese crisis sponsored a conference to settle the issue of the eastern region, amid a boycott of the Beja Council and Independent Al-Amoudiat, which represents the largest social components of the region, which perpetuated the division in the east of the country, according to observers.

The conference kicked off last Sunday, and ends tomorrow, Wednesday, under the title "Roadmap for Political and Security Stability in Eastern Sudan", as part of the final stage of a political settlement to the country's crisis, under the auspices of the tripartite mechanism that includes the United Nations, the African Union, and the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD).

During the opening speech of the conference, the representative of the tripartite mechanism, Ismail Weiss, said, "The allocation of a conference to eastern Sudan demonstrates the urgent need for the political process in the country to confront the challenges faced by the east due to historical grievances," considering the conference as a first step for dialogue and discussion regarding solutions to challenges in eastern Sudan.


Refusal and threat

On the other hand, the head of the Supreme Council of Beja Glasses, Muhammad Al-Amin Turk, saw that the conference is an extension of the Juba Agreement and the path of the eastern region, which was rejected by the residents of the east, and said that those who were invited to participate in the conference were not part of the crowds that closed ports and roads and led the mass escalation during the last period, rejecting For the course and policies of the central government towards the region.

During a press conference, Turk explained that he prevented his supporters from attacking planes sent by the tripartite mechanism to transport the participating delegations, in order to prevent strife and chaos, holding the mediators responsible for what happened, and accused influential people in the transitional government - without naming them - of being involved in dividing the leaders of the east.

He also threatened a comprehensive escalation and the closure of eastern Sudan again, in the event that they were excluded from the next government formation, at present agreeing to grant the eastern region the right to dispose of its resources, and use them in development projects and improve the conditions of the citizens of the region.

Residents of eastern Sudan complain of political marginalization, poverty, and poor development and services, although it represents the country's only sea outlet on the Red Sea coast, and includes the largest gold production company, which contributed to the spread of political and social unrest that led to the emergence of regional organizations since the sixties, but some of them took up arms. During the rule of former President Omar al-Bashir, before signing an agreement with the regime in 2006.

And in 2020, after the signing of the Juba Peace Agreement during the reign of the government of former Prime Minister Abdallah Hamdok, the Supreme Council of Beja Optics and Independent Verticals was established, which declared opposition to the East path stipulated in the Juba Agreement and demanded its abolition, considering that those who signed it in the name of the East represent a limited group.

And last December, the military component signed with some civil forces, most notably the Alliance of Forces for Freedom and Change - the Central Council, a framework agreement to resolve the political crisis, but the agreement postponed 5 issues that included eastern Sudan, in order to discuss them through workshops and include their recommendations in the final agreement.


Alien fingers

In this context, the researcher in eastern Sudan affairs, Muhammad al-Taher Waqdai, believes that the eastern region is witnessing social divisions and polarization among its elites, which complicated the situation.

In an interview with Al-Jazeera Net, Waqaday believes that the conflict between external forces over the ports, to find a foothold on the Sudanese coast on the Red Sea, which extends over more than 700 km, contributed to the tense situation in the region.

He added that the UN-African mediation should have held a forum in eastern Sudan to unify the positions of the region's forces and its social and civil symbols, before calling for a conference that contributes to perpetuating division and is not an entry point to resolving the crisis, as the conference turned into a new chapter of fragmentation, which reduces the usefulness of its recommendations. Which the boycotters of the conference will reject, whatever it is.


Reconciliations to overcome division

The signatories to the East track in the Juba Peace Agreement say that the East Conference is witnessing a wide participation of political and civil forces and the civil and tribal administrations.

The head of the Beja opposition conference, Osama Saeed, explains that the conference has 400 members, of whom 40% represent the signatories to the framework agreement and 60% are others.

Speaking to Al-Jazeera Net, Saeed confirms that some of the attendees were among those who rejected the path of eastern Sudan alongside Al-Nazir Turk, pointing out that the conference discussed important issues related to the administrative status of the region, which calls for self-rule, similar to the regions of South Kordofan and Blue Nile, in addition to development, services and benefit from the region's resources. .

He added that the conference liberated the issue of eastern Sudan from the partisan and political agenda, and exploited it in the conflict and tensions between the military forces and the city, noting that despite the boycotters’ lack of influence on the course of the conference and the level of participation, the conference will adopt efforts aimed at convening a forum for reconciliations in the east between its social components, and overcoming divisions. manufactured, he said.