Sudan's PCP dismisses Bashir-Turabi meeting

A senior official at the Sudanese opposition Popular Congress Party (PCP) led by Hassan al-Turabi has dismissed the possibility of talks between al-Turabi and Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir. The PCP's Ibrahim al-Sanousi told Arabstoday that such a meeting was "unlikely at the moment" and therefore "pointless" to discuss. "This announcement was intended to mislead the public," said al-Sanousi. "The controversy which erupted when al-Bashir confirmed he wouldn't be running for another term proves the depth of the crisis within the ruling National Congress Party (NCP).” "The President should have stepped down much earlier, before South Sudan succeeded from the north, before the security situation in Darfur deteriorated and before the current severe crisis in the states surrounding the Blue Nile and in South Kordofan began," he added. The PCP official demanded the departure of "all regime figureheads", adding “talking about one member of the regime stepping aside will not help solve the country's problems or pave the road for an understanding with other currents." The political secretary-general of the Popular Congress Party (PCP), Kamal Omer, also said a meeting between al-Turabi and the Sudan’s Vice President, Ali Osman Taha was "impossible in the current political climate." Omer said his party has outlined "conditions" for such a meeting, including the instatement of a provisional government to hand over power to transitional rule. "Al-Turabi is committed to the decision by his party's board which rejects dialogue with the ruling party, so there will not be a meeting between al-Bashir's Vice President and Dr al-Turabi," said Omer. Efforts to bring the NCP and PCP leaders together have repeatedly failed as the two men have continued their feud. Calls for a meeting popped up again recently following a meeting in Germany between Taha and al-Turabi's deputy, Ali al-Hajj Mohammed, where Taha praised al-Hajj's interest in events in Sudan. Al-Turabi founded the PCP in 1999 as a splinter group after he broke off from al-Bashir's NCP. Meanwhile, Sudanese researcher Suleiman Siddik spoke to Arabstoday about the ongoing hostility between the two leaders. "This sort of talk is spread by people who believe that there is a rivalry between President al-Bashir and his Vice President Ali Osman Taha. These people think the rivalry is similar to that which existed between al-Bashir and al-Turabi on the eve of the 1999 schism, and that the two are competing to negotiate with and gain the support of other political forces. Some believe that the Islamic Movement is under threat, so they're realigning their ranks," said Siddik. "One notes that some local and foreign political forces are trying to undo the links between the ruling party in Sudan and the Islamic Movement, exploiting the climate following the movement's latest convention and the attempted coup. “ “This is part of some opposition forces' instant rejection of the vice president's dialogue initiative without study or scrutiny," he added. "Al-Bashir and al-Turabi could meet, but some believe Dr Ali al-Hajj would not have met with Ali Osman Taha in Germany without consulting al-Turabi first," concluded Siddik.