| UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA - AFRICAN STUDIES CENTER |
=================================================================In this issue:S U D A N : N E W S & V I E W S
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Issue No 13 30 September 1995
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+ 'Sudan News & Views' is an independent electronic Newsletter +
+ working to advocate peace, human rights and humanitarian aid +
+ for the Sudan. +
+ +
+ * Editor: Dr. Yasin Miheisi * +
+ +
+ * Distribution is free of charge. +
+ * Reposting and reproduction are allowed (with acknowledgement).
+ * Comments and Subscription Requests To: yasin@dircon.co.uk +
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* UNREST AFTERMATH
* EGYPT CLAIMS EVIDENCE INCRIMINATING SUDAN
* ARAKIS UPDATE
* CLOSER TIES WITH CHINA
* MORE INTER-FIGHTING IN SOUTHERN SUDAN
* NEWSPAPER CLOSED
* 'PEACE CULTURE' CONFERENCE IN SPAIN
* ECONOMIC POINTERS
* SHORT NEWS ITEMS
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* UNREST AFTERMATH
Following several days of violent rioting, calm, impregnated with tension, had returned to the Sudanese capital, Khartoum. A vigorous campaign of raids and arrests by the security forces ensued, and still continue. Heavily armed plainclothes men, NIF militia, were deployed in great numbers. Security have been stepped up around university buildings and check points were set up at main cross roads and bridges. Students, lawyers, journalists, doctors, trade unionists and politicians from the Umma, DUP and communist parties are among those detained, whose exact number is not yet known, but estimated by opposition sources to be between 400 and 500. Around 40 Ethiopian and Eriterian refugees were also arrested, and were reported to have been harshly and inhumanely treated.
Several incidents of clashes between student supporters and opponents of the regime, had been reported at several campuses of the University of Khartoum, Sudan University for Technology and Science and Omdurman Islamic University. In one instant, Islamist elements from the so-called 'Al- Rahman Battalion', accompanied by security officers, stormed a lecture hall in the Faculty of Engineering, University of Khartoum, and arrested a student. This provoked other students to demonstrate, but were confined to the campus by security forces and anti-riot police. While the Chancellor of the University of Khartoum said all students arrested for participating in the demonstrations had been released, the Chancellor of the Sudan University for Technology and Science said 22 students from his university had been arrested.
The Sudanese state television showed a group of detainees, some with swollen faces, including Ethiopians and Eriterians, saying they will face trial for 'conspiracy and sabotage'. In addition, separate charges were filed against Nadir Bashir for being in possession of a pistol and others for being in possession of other weapons. One student, Sahib Ali Yousif, from Omdurman Ahlia University, will be tried for 'insulting Islam'. It was claimed he tore a copy of the 'Quran' during the demonstrations. Such a charge carries the death penalty.
Opposition sources had also reported the renewal of demonstrations in many towns including Atbara, Barbar, El-Damar in northern Sudan and Niyala in western Sudan, where a number of causalities and many arrests were reported.
An official newspaper reported that a policeman was killed in Al-Kalakla in Khartoum, when he was ambushed by unidentified armed assailants. The Interior Ministry's official report on the incidents, said 3 people were killed and 58 injured, including 27 policemen.
On the other hand, an NIF organisation, 'the People's Committee for the Defence of the Faith and the Homeland', organised a rally on 20 September in support of the government. President Bashir , addressing the rally, attacked the opposition and said 'if they want to rule, they should not hide behind students, but should come and face us with their weapons, because we will not relinquish power unless through the barrel of the gun'.
Opposition leaders described his statement as an 'invitation for civil war', which exposes the true bloody and oppressive nature of the regime and its enmity to the Sudanese people and its disregard to democracy.
* EGYPT CLAIMS EVIDENCE INCRIMINATING SUDAN
The Egyptian 'Al-Ahram' newspaper had published, what it described as evidence of Sudan's involvement in the assassination plot against the Egyptian president in Addis Ababa in June '95. The paper said 'Egypt had obtained important details about the involvement of the Sudanese regime in the sinful attempt to assassinate President Mubarak in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa. Evidence confirms that officials in the Sudanese security organisation facilitated the entrance and exit of the members of the terrorist group, whether the planners or those who executed the crime, through Khartoum international airport, giving them official letters designated by the security organisations to help them through the airport and the airline.
Egypt also obtained official documents showing the names of the members of the terrorist group that committed the crime, on top of them, Hussain Ahmed Shameet, recommending them and facilitating their entry to Khartoum airport on their arrival from Pakistan, and their exit to Ethiopia on Sudan Airways plane, a short while before the assassination attempt. These included their boarding the plane without going through the procedures applicable to traveling passengers. The letter is addressed to the head of passport control in Khartoum airport and carries the marking 'Top Secret'.
'Al-Ahram' had learned that the terrorist Hussain Shameet was traveling with two passports; one Sudanese, showing that he acquired Sudanese nationality and lives in the capital Khartoum, showing a detailed description of him. In addition, he also carries a forged Ethiopian passport.
Important information in this matter reveal that a letter was issued to Sudan Airways to book two seats in its flight from Addis Ababa to Khartoum on the afternoon of June 26 - a few hours after executing the crime. The two seats specified the names of the accused, who were supposed to return by air, and those were: Hussain Ahmed Shameet "nicknamed Siraj-Fathi" and Shareef Abdel Rahman "nicknamed Omar". The letter, from the Sudanese authorities to the airline, requested that the two names be entered in the computer in adjacent seats. The concerned Ethiopian authorities were able to obtain the list of passengers on the plane to Khartoum, which left Addis Ababa airport before the closing of the Ethiopian borders and the strict verification of passengers' identities. It was confirmed that the terrorist Shameet had boarded the plane and was present in the airport at the time when President Mubarak was waiting to return home. The terrorist Shareef Abdel Rahman - Omar - was unable to travel to Khartoum, because of his injury during the attack. He was killed later, together with two of his accomplices inside one of their hideouts on the eastern side of the Ethiopian capital. It was planned that the rest of the group would return to Sudan using different means.'
On the other hand, Egypt had intensified its contacts with a number of foreign countries to hand over the terrorists who live in their lands. Cairo had also sent a security team to Afghanistan, in an attempt to gather information about Islamic extremists who moved from Kabul to Khartoum. Egypt is planning to identify all suspected terrorist elements who took refuge in Sudan and their sources of finance.
* ARAKIS UPDATE
Arakis Energy was back on the stock market, after a month-long halt was lifted by Nasdaq. At the start of trading, on 22 September, Arakis shares fell sharply to an all time low of $4.5 per share. The shares reached a high of $26.62 in July.
Questions about the Arab Group deal caused both Nasdaq and the Vancouver Stock Exchange to halt trading of Arakis shares on 22 August. Arakis stock was halted at $11.75 a share. Arakis officially announced on 20 September that the financing deal with Arab Group International had collapsed after a $50 million payment due on 15 September was not honored. Arakis said that they had not checked on the group's ability to come up with the money, because they 'all gave the appearance of being wealthy and successful businessmen'. The failed agreement have lost Arakis all credibility and investors might face hundreds of millions of dollars in losses.
Arakis said in a news release on 29 September, that it had received 'indications of interest' from prospective financing sources for its Sudan project. It turned out that the potential investor is a US citizen and businessman, Walid Al-Omar, who agreed to assist Arakis in arranging the financing.
The British Columbia Securities Commission is said to be examining a network of secret offshore companies on suspicion that they may have been the vehicle of insider trading by Arakis officials. A number of disappointed shareholders have also filed some 16 lawsuits against Arakis and its directors.
* CLOSER TIES WITH CHINA
President Omar Al-Bashir was on a tour visit to China and Vietnam. By visiting these countries, Bashir said his government wants to liberate the Sudanese economy from its ties with the West and heads for closer cooperation with Asia. He admitted that Sudan now faces lack of economic assistance, which led to the adoption of the policy of 'self-sufficiency'. He attacked the IMF and said it had been turned into a political institution by Western countries, and is not cooperating with Sudan because it was influenced by the USA. Bashir said Sudan would follow the example of China, which he said had become a superpower through self-sufficient development programs.
In a news conference held in Beijing, Al-Bashir said that Sudan rejects any attempt to admit Taiwan to the United Nations since, Sudan believes, it is an integral part of Chinese territory. A number of agreements had been signed between the two countries which included a preferential low-interest loan of $20m and a grant of $130,000 for projects for poor families. The Sino-Sudanese trade volume in 1993 was $30m, but increased to $93m in 1994. The main items are machinery, medicine and cotton. Bashir left China to visit Vietnam for three days.
* MORE INTER-FIGHTING IN SOUTHERN SUDAN
A spokesman for Southern Sudan Independence Movement (SSIM), said his movement succeeded in repelling an attack against their positions by forces loyal to SPLA leader, John Garang, in the Ayod- Watt-Yai area in Southern Sudan, known as the 'death triangle'. The leader of the attacking forces, Cdr. Wilson Weng, was reported killed, together with more than a hundred of his soldiers. Soldiers from the Nuba Mountains are reported to have been involved in the attack. Many were arrested, according to SSIM, including the Nuba commander, Juma'a Kafe. It was also reported that government forces had started bombing areas held by the SPLA since 16 September and were continuing almost daily. At least 20 people were reported killed and more than 60 injured.
* NEWSPAPER CLOSED
The French organisation 'Journalists Without Frontier', had sent a letter to the Sudanese President protesting the closure of the Sudanese newspaper 'Al-Rai Al-Akhar' (The Other Viewpoint), demanding the respect of the freedom of the press.
The Sudanese 'Press and Publications Council' had banned the newspaper, because, according to the council, it had failed to name a new chief editor, in place of Mohi El-din Titawi, who left the country. However, the true reason behind the closure is the publication, by the newspaper, of an article which called for a referendum on the Southern Sudan self determination issue.
It is worth noting that 'Al-Rai Al-Akhar' is the fifth to be suspended this year. Only a handful of publications are now allowed, and most follow closely the government's line.
* 'PEACE CULTURE' CONFERENCE IN SPAIN
A conference on 'Peace Culture' was organised by UNESCO in Barcelona, Spain, on 23 September to discuss the roots of the Sudanese problem and prospects of peace in Sudan. The organisers invited all rival parties in Sudan, in addition to other Sudanese intellectuals, to discuss their differences. The meeting was attended by representatives of the Sudanese government, SPLA, SSIM and SPLA-united, in addition to Bona Malwal, Dr. Mansour Khalid, Abdel Wahab El-Afendi, El-Tayeb Salih and Dr. Francis Deng. After four days of deliberations, the participants issued a statement which called for peace in Sudan, based on justice, democracy and development, and which recognises the ethnic, cultural and religious diversity of the country. The statement called for the continuation of dialogue to achieve peace in Southern Sudan.
However, none of the northern opposition parties attended the conference. It is not known whether they had decided not to participate, or have not been invited in the first place. A statement issued by the DUP (Democratic Unionist Party) described the meeting as a waste of time and an attempt to prolong the life of the tottering Bashir-Turabi regime.
* ECONOMIC POINTERS
[] In the face of acute bread shortage in Khartoum, the authorities announced a price increase for bread from 30 SP (Sudanese Pound) to 50 SP per loaf. Vice President, Maj-Gen El-Zubair Mohamed Salih, said his government does not intend to introduce price subsidy, and added that 'each citizen should subsidize his own bread by his work. Sudan has huge arable land and heavy rains. People should go to the rural agricultural areas and not stay in the cities'. He also said that the lifting of wheat subsidy is 'part of the government policy of self-sufficiency'.
An IMF report says Sudan's wheat production has declined steeply, falling from 895,000 tons in 1991-92 to 453,000 tons in 1992-93.
[] The Governor of the Sudanese central bank, Bank of Sudan, Dr. Sabir El-Hassan, announced the easing of regulations governing foreign currency dealings. The recently-opened private foreign exchange bureaux are now allowed to buy foreign currency without a custom declaration, a requirement for bringing foreign currency into the country. It was reasoned that the Sudanese Pound had lost 16% of its value, jumped from 640 SP/$ to 740 SP/$, because people prefer to deal in the black market due to this requirement.
Conflicting policies had been tried by Sudan with regard to foreign currency. While dealing in foreign currency had been limited to commercial banks only at times, licensing private exchange bureaux had been experimented with, many times before.
Following this announcement, however, the Sudanese Pound started a downhill runaway slide. At the end of September, the exchange rate for 1$ is 860 SP.
* SHORT NEWS ITEMS
- Dr. Hassan Al-Turabi, leader of the 'National Islamic Front' (NIF), who is believed to be the real power behind Al-Bashir regime, told state governors, in a conference held on 20 September in Kassala in eastern Sudan, that 'the ruling Islamic revolution in Sudan will not stop at the country's borders, but will be at the forefront for the liberation of the world surrounding us'. He added that 'we will continue till we liberate the world and Sudan will be the leader of the new renaissance. Sudan will be the leader despite the obstacles and siege forced upon us. Our country liberated itself of all domination and our revolution will lead to political, economic and social emancipation'.
- The Beja Congress, an organisation representing the Beja tribe of eastern Sudan and a member of the Sudanese opposition 'National Democratic Alliance', issued a statement on 17 September in which it said a Beja man, Mohamoud Osman, was tortured to death, after his arrest by security forces in eastern Sudan. His body was buried without informing his family. When a member of the regional parliament tried to find out about the fate of this man, he was also detained for 3 days, despite his parliamentary immunity. Another Beja man, Mohamed Saeed Ali, from Tokar, had also been detained and tortured and left for dead.
- The Kuwaiti Parliament had rejected a request by the Sudanese 'Transitional National Assembly' (TNA) to allow some of its members to visit Kuwait to meet with Kuwaiti parliamentarians, in a bid to improve relations between their two countries. The leader of the Kuwaiti parliament, Ahmed Al- Saadoun, said the Sudanese request was unanimously rejected because of the persistent attitude of Sudanese parliamentarians, in international conferences and meetings, against Kuwait and their continuous support for Iraq.
- In its graduation ceremony this month, Omdurman Islamic University, awarded honorary degrees to 23 of its students, who had been killed fighting the war in Southern Sudan. The move was unprecedented in the history of Sudanese universities.
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Previous issues of 'Sudan News & Views' could
be obtained from the University of Pennsylvania,
African Studies Department, Web site at:
http://www.sas.upenn.edu/Afr
ican_Studies/Newsletters/SNV_Main.html
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Message-Id: 199510151054.GAA08250@orion.sas.upenn.edu
Date: Sun, 15 Oct 1995 11:43:54 +0100
From: Yasin Miheisi yasin@DIRCON.CO.UK
Subject: Sudan News & Views - 13
Editor: Ali B. Ali-Dinar
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