Date: Tue Nov 25 14:28:22 2014
Turabi says opposition failed to overthrow Sudanese regime
* Tuesday 25 November 2014
_____
November 25, 2014 (KHARTOUM) - The leader of the Popular Congress Party
(PCP) Hassan al-Turabi has defended his party's decision to engage in the
government-led national dialogue process saying the opposition failed to
overthrow the regime.
Turabi, who spoke at a symposium on the proposed constitutional amendments
organized by the Sudanese Bar Association on Sunday, said since Sudan's
independence the successive governments being military or civilian since
have not sought to accommodate peoples' views in the various constitutions.
He stressed that dialogue is the only available option to resolve the
country's crises and avoid wars and divisions, saying his party was forced
to engage in the dialogue and so did the government after it suffered from
heavy pressures and crises.
The Islamist leader said the opposition was weakened and divided because
they disagreed over drafting a temporary constitution, adding there is
nothing left to unite the opposition parties except their hatred to the
regime.
"The opposition does not have a target and even some [of the opposition
parties] are calling for cleansing and physical liquidation [of government
officials]," he said.
"We completely failed to overthrow the regime," he added .
He pointed that the government was also weakened after the secession of
South Sudan and aggravation of the crisis in Darfur. He said all budget
money is being currently spent on the army and security apparatus.
"We did not want the country to be torn apart and faces the fate of Somalia
and the regime also shared the same fears," he explained.
Turabi further said he sensed a true desire from the ruling National
Congress Party (NCP) to engage in the dialogue, accusing western nations of
hindering the national dialogue because they fear it would reunite the
Islamists forces.
Since president Omer Hassan al-Bashir initiated the national dialogue
earlier this year, Turabi has been a staunch supporter to the extent that he
literally dropped his membership with opposition alliance National Consensus
Forces (NCF).
In return, many of his former colleagues in opposition suspect that there is
a deal under the table between the two given the regional wave targeting
Islamists.
"The real objective of the national dialogue aims to unite the two Islamist
parties," said an opponent from the NCF which rejects to take part in the
internal process.
Turabi said he couldn't doubt intentions of the government behind the
proposed amendments of the constitution in a manner to allow him to appoint
state governors, pointing that president Omer Hassan al-Bashir said they
were driven by the proliferation of tribalism and regionalism.
But he said the government could have resolved the issue without resorting
to constitutional amendments.
Earlier this month, the Sudanese presidency deposited new amendments to the
2005 transitional constitution into the national legislative body, which
allows the president to appoint and dismiss state governors.
Sudan Tribune recalls that this very issue was one of key points that led to
the split between both Islamist parties in 1999 when Turabi insisted on
electing state governors instead of appointing them by Bashir.
Turabi expected that the parliamentary subcommittee on constitutional
amendments will approve the proposed presidential but would restrict the
governors appointment to a maximum period of one year and stipulates that
they do not necessarily belong to the NCP.
He said the president must underscore that the decision to appoint state
governors is a temporary one and contingent upon the outcome of the national
dialogue, stressing the success of the dialogue will lead to restoring unity
with South Sudan once again.
The head of parliamentary subcommittee on constitutional amendments, Badria
Suleiman who participated in the symposium, for her part, said the proposed
amendments will include article 61 relating to impunity of the president's
decisions besides amending the police law to allow establishment of special
police courts.
She acknowledged proliferation of tribalism and regionalism following the
implantation of the decentralised governance, warning against danger of the
practices which has been witnessed during the election of governors on the
social fabric.
The leading figure at the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), Ali Ahmed
al-Sayed, scoffed at the reasons given by the government to justify the
constitutional amendments, accusing the NCP of deepening corruption of the
central government by extending powers of the president to appoint and
dismiss state governors.
He considered that policies and practices of the NCP and its absolute
control over power are the main reasons behind the proliferation of
tribalism in the country.
JPEG - 36.6 kb
Islamist leader Hassan al-Turabi of the Popular Congress Party (Photo:
Reuters/Mohamed Nureldin Abdallah)
(image/jpeg attachment: image001.jpg)