Hamas and Jihad are not terrorist groups but freedom fighters
KHARTOUM, Sudan, Oct. 23, 2003 (AP) — Sudan’s ruling party said Hamas and Islamic Jihad are not terror groups, but forces committed to ending Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territories, according to reports published Thursday.
The comments made by Ibrahim Ahmed Omar, the secretary general of the ruling National Congress Party, followed U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell’s call on Khartoum a day earlier to expel members of the groups.
“Sudan’s position toward Hamas and Jihad is clear: these are two Islamic forces struggling for the sake of (liberation of) their homeland,” the African country’s official news agency, SUNA, and three daily papers quoted Omar as saying during a Wednesday press conference.
“They are not involved in any terrorist activities.”
During a visit to Kenya on Wednesday to meet Sudanese government and rebel leaders, Powell said Khartoum’s Islamic government must “take other actions” against terrorism as a prerequisite for lifting U.S. sanctions, including expelling Hamas and Islamic Jihad members.
Hamas is said to have a small office in Khartoum, called “Al-Aqsa for Media,” which holds lectures and conferences during Palestinian anniversaries. Its officials issue infrequent bulletins on the Palestinians and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. No details were available on any presence of the Islamic Jihad organization in Sudan.
Omar, the National Congress Party chief, did not say if Sudan would heed Powell’s words.
America imposed sanctions on Sudan after President Omar el-Bashir seized power in a 1989 coup. The country is listed as a state sponsor of terrorism. Osama bin Laden lived in Khartoum, the capital, in the early 1990s and had numerous business interests in Sudan.
Since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, Sudan has been credited with cooperating in the war against terror and el-Bashir’s government is keen to resume full diplomatic and business relations with America, which closed its embassy in Khartoum in 1996.
During his visit to Kenya, Powell said the Sudanese government and rebels fighting a 20-year civil war have committed themselves to reaching a comprehensive peace deal by the end of December.