Sudan’s VP Taha blames Turabi for Darfur violence
February 10, 2010 (KHARTOUM) –The Sudanese 2nd Vice president Ali Osman Taha lashed out at the leader of the Popular Congress Party (PCP) Hassan Al-Turabi accusing him of fueling the conflict in Sudan’s western region of Darfur.
Al-Turabi was a former ally of Sudanese president Omer Hassan Al-Bashir and at the time considered the government’s ideological mastermind in the 1990s and the De-facto ruler.
However in 1999 Al-Turabi who was then parliament speaker fell out with Bashir and was jailed on accusations of conspiracy. He was released in October 2003.
Taha was considered one of the closest “disciples” of Turabi but later helped rally the Islamist movement to strip him from his powers and hegemony over the government. Turabi has reportedly said privately that he would pardon Bashir and not Taha should he ever regain back his power.
“Turabi carries the blood [burden] of everyone killed there [in Darfur]” Taha said during his three day visit to Egypt adding that the Islamist leader “does not realize what they fell into and lead Sudan and innocent people of Darfur into”.
“The blood that has been spilled in Darfur is the responsibility of Turabi through his religious and political justifications to his [party] members whom he pushed to bear arms” the Sudanese VP said.
The Sudanese government continuously asserts that the powerful Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) fighting in Darfur is the military wing of the PCP something which Turabi has firmly denied.
In May 2008, the Darfurian rebels staged a bold attack and fought fierce battles with the Sudanese army on the outskirts of the capital before they were repulsed.
Taha ruled out any attempt of reconciliations with Turabi saying it is “useless” and that this dialogue would be a “recount of distant memories and unhelpful arguments”.
Ironically Taha and Turabi are believed to be behind the assassination attempt on Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak in Addis Ababa back in mid-90’s which almost escalated into a full blown war between Cairo and Khartoum.
It was not until the last few years that Taha broke the ice with the Egyptian government and resumed contacts with them at the most senior levels. In one incident Mubarak refused to meet with Taha when he was in Egypt and instead met the next day with Bashir’s special envoy who was the then minister of information Mahdi Ibrahim.
Taha’s remarks may reflect an attempt to calm and suspicions in Cairo fears that he still maintains the hard line Islamist ideology of Turabi particularly if he was to ever to assume Sudan’s presidency.
The Sudanese president is wanted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for alleged war crimes committed in Darfur which has restricted his travels abroad and meetings with foreign dignitaries.
The ICC filing against Bashir also said that Taha played a key role in mobilizing the notorious Janjaweed militias during the Darfur conflict.
Ali Osman Taha “played an important role in implementing Al-Bashir’s plan, in particular by assisting in the mobilization of Militia/Janjaweed” the application says.
“GoS officials released from prison tribal leader Musa Hilal and Col. Shukurtallah. Vice President Taha instructed Hilal to mobilize his tribesmen into the force that became known as the ‘Quick, Light and Horrible Forces of Misteriha’”.
However, Taha was not charged by the ICC prosecutor.
(ST)