Sudanese president pledges an end to state of emergency after peace agreement

KHARTOUM, Nov. 11, 2003 (dpa) — Sudanese President Omer Hassan Al-Bashir has told the leaders of both Moslem and Christian communities that he will lift the current state of emergency when a peace agreement is reached, the official News Agency of Sudan reported Tuesday.

Al Bashir, addressing an audience taking part in a Ramadan fasting breakfast in the capital Khartoum, said that peace is the concern of both the Moslems in the North and Christians in the South.

He assured the leaders of both communities that his government is ready to sign the peace accord soon but did not specify a date.

General Al Bashir, who ousted an elected democratic government in June 1989, implemented the state of emergency following a power struggle in 2001 between him and Islamist leader Hassan Abdalla Turabi.

In October, Al Bashir ordered a decree releasing Turabi after almost three years of house arrest.

In his speech, Al Bashir went on to say that “if there is peace in Sudan it means that there is peace in the neighbouring countries and the whole region as well”. He also urged the community and religious leaders in Sudan to strengthen religious co-existence peacefully.

He denied there are deep differences between the two religious groups in Sudan, saying Sudanese people are being neighbourly at the citizen level. “You will find both Christian and Moslems living together without any problem at all.”

“They are sharing their sorrows and joys together, they are cooperating and understanding themselves,” he added.

He concluded by asserting that there is religious tolerance in Sudan, a statement seemingly meant to counter the abuses inflicted on the church by government authorities.