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Al-Ahram Weekly 16 - 22 March 2000 Issue No. 473 
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Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Al-Ahram Weekly 16 - 22 March 2000 Issue No. 473
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Egypt Region International Economy Opinion Culture Special Focus Travel Living Sports Profile People Time Out Chronicles Al-Bashir's enemies in disarray
By Gamal NkrumahThe deepening of the political rift between Sudanese President Omar Hassan Al-Bashir and Dr. Hassan Al-Turabi, the secretary-general of the country's ruling party, the National Islamic Front, has had ripple effects within Sudanese opposition circles. At a meeting of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) -- the opposition umbrella organisation -- in the Eritrean capital Asmara last weekend, the Al-Turabi-Al-Bashir rift was hotly debated and delegates argued over how to respond to recent overtures by the Sudanese government. John Garang, the leader of the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA), the chief armed opposition group fighting the government in southern and western Sudan, told Al-Ahram Weekly: "The NDA is at a crossroads." And in what was a clear warning to the Umma Party, which is a member of the NDA, and its leader Al-Sadiq Al-Mahdi, Garang said, "The current NDA meeting will determine the future of the organisation. If some of us cave in to pressure from Khartoum to be co-opted into the regime, then they must be dismissed from the NDA."
Al-Mahdi once again reiterated his view that the time was right for national reconciliation talks between the government and opposition forces. The Umma Party leader wants the NDA to embrace the Libyan-Egyptian peace initiative for Sudan to which both the SPLA and other members of NDA are vehemently opposed. Instead, the SPLA wants to continue to negotiate with the government only within the framework of the of the Intergovernmental Authority for Development (IGAD), a regional grouping that includes many of the war-torn Horn of Africa and East African countries.
The United States, which supports the IGAD initiative, is putting pressure on Khartoum to take it more seriously. Last week, Washington dispatched its special envoy to Sudan, Harry Johnston, on a fact-finding mission to Khartoum. Johnston, a leading critic of successive northern-based Sudanese governments and long-time supporter of the southern Sudanese cause, urged his hosts to stop bombing civilian targets in southern Sudan. He also expressed grave concern about the continuing bans on relief flights, and pressed the Sudanese government to fulfill its previous commitments to permit free and unhindered access for delivery of humanitarian aid. Johnston's trip was the first by a high-level US official since American fighter-jets bombed Al-Shifa factory in Khartoum allegedly in retaliation for the bombing of US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania in October 1998.
The American envoy's visit came at a time when leading Sudanese political figures were washing their dirty linen in public. In an unprecedented spate of press releases, Al-Turabi supporters and former comrades in the Al-Turabi-led National Islamic Front (NIF) are lashing out against one another. This war of words first erupted in the Sudanese press and has now spilled over into the international Arab press. Al-Turabi's detractors have disclosed the inner workings of the NIF and suggest that serious miscalculations had been made.
"We have failed to realise our goals and objectives," confessed Hassan Mekki, a former associate of Al-Turabi and now one of his must scathing critics. "We didn't have a concrete programme to begin with. Our Islamic civilisational project has been abandoned and our energies are wasted on internal factional fighting and back-stabbing," Mekki explained. "We need not have concentrated our energies on solidarity with other militant Islamist regimes and political groups around the world. We should have tried more seriously to resolve our differences with our own compatriots who do not share our religion and culture," Mekki said in a clear reference to the southern Sudanese people and leadership.
Al-Bashir clipped Al-Turabi's powers even as the latter plotted to strengthen his political position in the country and extend his powers in relation to the president. Al-Bashir dissolved parliament on 12 December and declared a state of emergency for three months. On Sunday, the Sudanese president ordered the extension of the state of emergency until the end of the year and announced a new law allowing the formation of political parties. However, this law was rejected by most opposition groups as it requires prior approval of new parties by the government.
According to observers, Al-Bashir's actions are aimed at chastising, but not silencing Al-Turabi. Recently, Al-Turabi addressed some 10,000 of his supporters at a highly publicised lecture at the University of Khartoum. He told his followers, mostly students and youth, that the Islamist movement was deeply rooted in the Sudanese national psyche and cultural base and that it was barely touched by Al-Bashir's recent interventions. Moreover, in three successive public speeches Al-Turabi charged the government with unbridled corruption. "Al-Bashir's government is rotten to the core," he said.
Al-Turabi, who since 1965 has held high-profile posts under five successive regimes including a stint as attorney general, said in recent statements that what hurt him most in the confrontation with Al-Bashir was the fact that some of his closest allies in the NIF turned against him.
Al-Bashir appears unmoved by Al-Turabi's remarks, especially in light of the Arab and international support he has been getting since his move against Al-Turabi. The Sudanese president toured nearly all Gulf countries over the past three months, and he also made an unprecedented visit to Algeria in late February. Algeria was one of the strongest critics of the Islamic regime in Khartoum, accusing it, like most of Sudan's neighbours, of providing support for militant groups fighting to overthrow the government.
