Sudan president says Arab revolts caused by “schism” between people, rulers
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May 16, 2011 (KHARTOUM) – Sudan President Omar Al-Bashir has
attributed the wave of revolts currently seen in some Arab countries
to what he termed as the “schism between people and their rulers.”
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Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir (Getty Images)
In an interview with Al-Sharq Qatari newspaper on Monday, Al-Bashir
said that Sudan was closely watching the unfolding events in the
region, adding that his country was ready to offer “political
counseling to restore stability in fraternal Arab countries.”
Al-Bashir further opined that current revolts in some Arab countries
were engendered by “the existing schism between people and their
rulers.”
Until recently, Sudan stood as the last Arab country to witness
popular uprisings, first when the October Revolution of 1964 brought
about the end of General Abboud’s military regime, and again in 1958
when former president Jaafar Nimeiri was deposed by the military after
another popular uprising.
But Sudan has largely survived the contagion of uprisings which, since
the start of this year, toppled deeply entrenched regimes in Tunisia
and Egypt and continues to shake the rule of other Arab authoritarian
regimes.
Small anti-government protests broke out in January, but they failed
to take on a mass appeal, making it very easy for the authorities to
squash them.
Al-Bashir, who gained infamy as the first sitting head of state to be
charged by the International Criminal Court (ICC) on counts of war
crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide allegedly committed in
Sudan’s western region of Darfur, has been ruling Sudan since seizing
power in an Islamist-backed military coup in 1989.
Sudan recently saw a spike in anti-government dissent, mainly due to
worsening economic condition as the country’s economy grapples with a
shortage of foreign currency and the fallout from the secession of the
oil-producing region of South Sudan. The government recently devalued
national currency to prevent it from sliding further in the black
market, and floated austerity measures which removed subsidies on
basic commodities.
But the Sudanese president has repeatedly asserted his popularity,
saying he is not afraid of dethroning and blamed Arab rulers for their
current woes.
Separately, Al-Bashir said in the same interview that Sudan is keen to
have good relations with the upcoming state of South Sudan. He said
that north Sudan would support the south in all fields and resolve
issues of contention between the two sides.
South Sudan is being groomed to become the world’s newest nation in
July after the region’s citizens voted almost unanimously for
secession from the north in a referendum held in January.
The plebiscite was promised in the 2005’s Comprehensive Peace
Agreement which ended nearly half a century of intermittent civil wars
between the north and the south.
(ST)
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