DATE=12/23/1999
TYPE=BACKGROUND REPORT
TITLE=SUDAN POWER STRUGGLE, PT. 1 OF 3
NUMBER=5-45112
BYLINE=SCOTT BOBB
DATELINE=KHARTOUM
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
/// EDS: First in a series of three backgrounders on
the Sudan emergency, which may be used with the latest
CN or regional item from Sudan. Announcers may use the
opt leadout to promo the next piece in the series ///
INTRO: In Sudan, leaders of the ruling National
Congress Party are trying to mediate a dispute between
President Omar al-Bashir and the powerful speaker of
parliament, Hassan al-Turabi. On December 12,
President Bashir dissolved parliament, suspended parts
of the constitution and imposed a three-month state of
emergency. V-O-A Correspondent Scott Bobb has talked
to various political leaders in Sudan and has this
report on the power struggle that led to the split in
the ruling party.
TEXT: /// SOUND OF STREET, CARS, PEOPLE GREETING ///
It is evening in Khartoum and people are gathering at
a popular downtown restaurant after breaking the
Ramadan fast.
/// SOUND OF HANDS WASHING, CONVERSATION ///
Inside the restaurant - with its white, tiled walls -
waiters lay out plates of spicy grilled chicken, while
patrons laugh and make small talk. Underneath it all,
however, there is uneasiness. The government is in
crisis and, although things are calm, there is
uncertainty about the future.
/// SOUND OF CALL TO PRAYER ///
At mosques around Khartoum, worshippers pray for peace
and unity after emergency measures brought to a head a
growing power struggle at the summit of Sudanese
politics. The struggle has pitted respected army
commander and president, Omar al-Bashir, against
Speaker-of-Parliament Hassan al-Turabi, an influential
ideologue who has been working to create an Islamic
state in Sudan for more than 35 years.
/// BASHIR ACT - IN ARABIC, FADE UNDER ///
On the night of December 12th, as Sudanese were
breaking their fast, President Bashir appeared on
national television and announced he was dissolving
parliament, and was imposing emergency measures for
three months until elections could be held.
The announcement came as a surprise to most, although
the confrontation had been brewing for some time. One
year ago, ten of Mr. Turabi's top lieutenants
published a letter, called the Memo of Ten, in which
they accused Mr. Turabi of losing sight of Islamist
ideals because of a personal quest for power.
One of the authors of the memo, Information Minister
Ghazi Salah Eldin, told V-O-A the memo was not viewed
as part of a plot against Professor Turabi, but he
says it started a process that culminated in the
December 12 emergency measures.
/// SALAH ELDIN ACT ///
The government had to take this step in order to
redress the imbalance in its relationship with
the parliament, in order to open the way for any
constitutional amendments that would incorporate
the opposition parties in the future, and to
start afresh after national reconciliation is
achieved.
/// END ACT ///
Following the coup ten years ago that brought
President Bashir to power and created the Islamist
state in Sudan, Mr. Turabi initially held no political
office. But as the government consolidated power
under an Islamic state, he emerged as the head of the
National Congress, the sole ruling party, and later,
speaker of parliament.
A party congress last September further increased Mr.
Turabi's powers. It placed most authority in the post
of party secretary-general, which he held, and it made
the post of chairman, held by President Bashir,
largely ceremonial. The parliament also tried to strip
the president of many of his powers. It sought to
create the post of prime minister, elected by
parliament. And it proposed that state governors be
elected directly by the people, instead of being
selected from a list of names chosen by the president.
Mr. Turabi reacted to the emergency measures by saying
they violate the constitution and that he plans to
appeal them. In an interview with V-O-A, he accused
the military of being anti-democratic and said it is
reluctant to go along with anything that would reduce
its power.
/// TURABI ACT ///
The country is being democratized now. Local
government is elected. State government is all
elected. National government is all elected. I
mean, that's new. That's new. They're not used
to it actually.
/// END ACT ///
The opposition has reacted with glee. The leader of
the internal wing of the Democratic Unionist Party,
Sid Ahmed Hussein, says Mr. Turabi's loss of power has
provided an opportunity to involve opposition parties
in Sudanese politics once again.
/// HUSSEIN ACT ///
So, we think that this is the beginning of the
end of Turabi, in particular, so we think we
should encourage Bashir to do more. Turabi now
has no power in his hands and even the
fundamentalists now are supporting Bashir.
/// END ACT ///
The opposition believes that with the ruling party
divided, President Bashir now needs their support.
/// OPT ///
Information Minister Salah Eldin says the government
wants to negotiate with the opposition in a national
reconciliation conference to amend the constitution
and hold elections in three months.
/// SALAH ELDIN ACT ///
Yes, we are ready to go for that conference
anytime in order to resolve those issues. If
that's not achieved, then we will pursue our
present course which is direct contact with the
opposition, in order to incorporate as much as
we could of their views in the constitution.
/// END ACT ///
A political commentator and dean of communications at
Khartoum University, Al-Tayeb Ateya, says although the
crisis in Sudan appears to be a power struggle between
the two leaders, in reality, it is the manifestation
of a broader trend.
/// ATEYA ACT ///
People are making the mistake of looking at this
different conflicts and different splintering,
which is taking place everywhere as isolated
incidents. I see them as a result of global
phenomena, which is resultant from this very
important transition toward democracy and
liberalization.
///END ACT.///
/// END OPT ///
Political analysts say President Bashir has three
options: to reconcile with the opposition in a power-
sharing arrangement; to make amends with the Turabi
wing of the National Congress; or to govern with the
military under emergency measures. They say at the
moment, reconciliation with the opposition is the
option that enjoys the broadest popular support. They
say if the Bashir government can satisfy these
aspirations, it stands a good chance of retaining some
popular support. If not, they say, Sudan risks
entering another period of turmoil characterized by
social upheaval and military domination. (SIGNED)
/// OPT /// Correspondent Scott Bobb will examine the
prospects for reconciliation with the Sudanese
opposition and the prospects for peace in southern
Sudan in the next (two) parts of his series of reports
on the Sudanese emergency. /// END OPT ///
NEB/SB/GE/KL
23-Dec-1999 13:20 PM EDT (23-Dec-1999 1820 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
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