Hamas leader woos Sudan

Feb 13, 2006 (CAIRO) — Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal held talks with Sudanese officials Monday as part of a tour of Muslim countries aimed at mustering support for his Palestinian movement following its electoral victory.

He said “Our relations with Sudan, whether it be its leadership, government or people, have always been strong… and will further grow now that we have obtained political legitimacy through the polls.”

He described as “fruitful” his meetings with first vice-president Salva Kiir and vice-president Ali Osman Taha and said his delegation had asked for Khartoum’s support.

He said “We are also here to benefit from the ruling experience of the National Congress.”

He was referring to the Islamist party of President Omar al-Beshir, who seized power in a 1989 military coup.

Meshaal also said Hamas and Sudanese officials had discussed the March 28-29 Arab summit, which was to be held in Khartoum and he hoped would confirm wide Arab support for his Islamist movement.

Meshaal and his delegation had embarked on a tour of several Arab and Muslim countries – including Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Iran – in a bid to muster support as Western powers stepped up the pressure on the radical group and threatened to slash aid to the Palestinians.

The United States and the European Union had listed Hamas as a terrorist organisation and argued that it should renounce violence and recognise Israel if it wanted to form the next government.

Sudan also had been considered by Washington as a state sponsor of terrorism since it hosted al-Qaeda supremo Osama bin Laden in the nineties.

Meshaal confirmed on Sunday on arrival in Khartoum that he had accepted a controversial invitation to hold talks in Moscow, but didn’t provide a date.

(ST)