Sudan’s al-Bashir mocks former allies for calls to resign
January 3, 2018 (KHARTOUM) – President Omer al-Bashir mocked his former allies who called him to step down saying: “They used to jump off the boat every time, they think it was about to sink.
Al-Bashir was alluding to Gahzi Salah al-Din of the Reform Now Movement (RNM) and Mubarak al-Fadel al-Mahdi of the Umma Party who sent him a memorandum with other members of the National Front for Change (NFC) exhorting him to transfer power to a collegial presidency council.
Speaking to a meeting with the pro-government trade unions on Thursday, al-Bashir ridiculed those who thought the government had “fallen” and that the boat would sink and rushed to jump.
“It’s not the first time they’ve jumped, we do not want people like those, we want those who stand firm in times of troubles to be with us when things calm down,” he added.
It worth mentioning that Gahzi a former figure of the ruling National Congress Party split from the part after the protests of September 2013. Also, he took part in the national dialogue initiative and left it before to rejoin it weeks before the conclusions of its meeting in 2016.
The Sudanese president acknowledged that the country faces economic crises as a result of a prolonged embargo for more than 20 years, and yet Sudan remained steadfast and did not respond to the dictates, he said.
“We could have taken the easy road to sell our independence, our decision and our dignity with a handful of dollars … but the country is more precious than being sold in dollars for fuel or wheat,” he said.
The Sudanese president further renewed his criticism of the acts of vandalism during the protest in the several across the country. He accused the vandals of following instructions from the intelligence and embassies. Without giving details.
NFC COMMITTED TO DIALOGUE PROCESS
The National Front For Change issued a statement on Thursday evening saying they are still committed to the dialogue process and its National Document.
“The Front has not announced its withdrawal from the National Document, but considers it one of the most important references of the transitional government because the its recommendations dealt with many problems and addressed their root causes,” said a statement signed by Mohamed Ali Gizouli a member of the NFC Executive Committee.
He further said they left the withdrawal from the legislative or executive powers for the discretion of every political force so that they can take the decision according to their situation.
On Wednesday, the NFC held a meeting with the Sudan Call to discuss ways to coordinate actions in support of the Sudanese revolution.
In a joint released after the meeting, the two sides agreed on the need of a code of conduct for political action, to be formulated and observed by all the parties.
Also, they agreed to continue the discussion through a joint committee to reach a formula to coordinate national efforts and joint action to achieve the future Sudan.
Supporters of the Sudan Call and other opposition groups said chocked by the NFC statement to the national dialogue and its National Document.
(ST)