Former Sudanese official accuse ruling NCP of ‘genocide’ in Darfur

August 11, 2008 (KHARTOUM) – A former Sudanese official and a senior figure in an opposition party accused the ruling National Congress Party (NCP) of committing atrocities in Darfur.

Ali al-Haj, deputy secretary general of the Popular Congress Party (PCP) led by Hassan al-Turabi, told the daily Al-Sharq Al-Awsat that the seventh conference of the Sudanese Islamic movement held in Khartoum last week “does not represent the organization that took over power in a coup staged by Sudanese President Omar Hassan Al-Bashir”.

“The irony is that the Islamic movement has become a government organization and is now colluding with it” Al-Haj said.

Ali Al-Haj, who is from Darfur, was a powerful figure in the Sudanese government prior to the split between Al-Bashir and his ideological backer Al-Turabi in 1999.

The PCP official held the post of the Minister of Federal Affairs when he was part of the government. He is better known for handling negotiations with the Southern rebels in the early 90’s.

The Sudanese Islamic Movement, an ideological society affiliated to the ruling National Congress Party (NCP), wrapped up its seventh convention this weekend and re-elected Ali Osman Mohamed Taha for the post of Secretary General.

Taha, who is known for his animosity to the Popular Congress Party (PCP) and his leadership, accused Turabi’s party of stocking war in Darfur and sending their cadres to manage the war in the troubled region.

But the PCP official said that said that the Sudanese government committed “genocide, killing, dispersal, and burning of villages” in Darfur.

Al-Haj also said that crimes in Darfur “are not figments of the imagination but are quite real and documented”. He claimed that Taha “admitted to arming some tribes in Darfur to kill other tribes”.

The International Criminal Court’s prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo asked pre-trial judges in mid-July to issue arrest warrants for Sudanese president Omar Hassan Al-Bashir.

Ocampo filed 10 charges: three counts of genocide, five of crimes against humanity and two of murder. Judges are expected to take months to study the evidence before deciding whether to order Al-Bashir’s arrest.

Al-Haj blamed the Islamic movements “for not saying anything on Darfur until Al-Bashir was charged”.

“Al-Bashir himself has said that about 10,000 citizens have been killed in Darfur. But killing one soul is like killing all of mankind” he added.

UN experts estimate some 300,000 people have died and 2.5 million driven from their homes. Sudan blames the Western media for exaggerating the conflict and puts the death toll at 10,000.

(ST)