Cleric for opposition Umma party calls for fair trial for suspects in Sudan coup plot

By MOHAMED OSMAN, Associated Press Writer

KHARTOUM, Sudan, April 2, 2004 (AP) — A cleric speaking on behalf of a leading Sudanese opposition party urged the government on Friday to guarantee an open and fair trial for leaders of a rival party accused of plotting a coup.

Speaking to worshippers — including President Omar el-Bashir — at Omdurman’s Wad-Nubawi mosque, cleric Adam Ahmed Yusuf asked the government to give the defendants “a just, public and fair trial in which they will be guaranteed the right to defend themselves.”

At least 30 people have been arrested in connection with a plot to overthrow the government, including military and police officers and the leader of the opposition Popular Congress party, Islamic fundamentalist Hassan Turabi, a former ally of the president.

El-Bashir attended the Friday prayer with former Prime Minister Sadiq el-Mahdi, leader of the opposition Umma party and spiritual head of the Sunni Ansar sect that runs the mosque.

The sermon is usually prepared by a committee led by el-Mahdi, and often reflects Umma party positions.

The ruling National Congress party and the Umma party, which polls the most votes in Sudan’s elections, have recently been engaged in efforts to more closely align their positions.

El-Mahdi, the last democratically elected leader of Sudan, was ousted by el-Bashir in a 1989 coup. He returned to Sudan five years ago but has refrained from taking a role in the government.

“The Ansar and the Umma party will participate in any government provided that it be a broad-based national government that will work for achieving peace,” Yusuf, the prayer leader, said.

He urged the government to work to end the “bleeding wound” in the western Darfur region, where a year of fighting has killed thousands and forced an estimated 600,000 to flee their homes. The Sudanese government began indirect talks on Wednesday with the rebels, in Chad.

Peace talks to end Sudan’s 21-year civil war in the south are nearing completion in Kenya.