Implication of a Sudanese envoy in terrorism
By Steve Paterno
November 13, 2006 — The shadowy self-professed Sudan’s watchdog, the “Sudan Today” has of late involved in series of publishing allegations on corruptions and allegations against certain individuals who are involved in illegal activities within the government of Khartoum and that of Southern Sudan. The Sudan Today allegations are so serious and compelling, but the credibility of Sudan Today is greatly undermined due to the fact that the individuals behind it are at best remain anonymous and the zeal by which they present their information also rise question behind their motives, which in turn affects the quality of their presentation. Even though the quality of the Sudan Today allegations are compromised by the anonymity and poor method of presentation, that does not mean that some of the allegations that the Sudan Today makes should be dismissed.
For example, one of the individuals who the Sudan Today leveled accusation against is, Khartoum’s Ambassador Sirajuddin Hamid. Abassador Hamid is a trained Sudanese lawyer. The Ambassador joined Khartoum government diplomatic service almost immediately after that regime took power in a coup. Among Hamid’s tour of duty under diplomatic service is a brief but yet dramatic time at the Sudan Mission for the U.N. in New York which took place from 1990s through mid 1995. He also served as Khartoum’s ambassador for the mission in Uganda until 2005 and as well as in other parts of the world. Hamid is currently Ambassador at the headquarters of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs under the Sudan unity government and he is also on the commission investigating the helicopter crash that killed Dr. John Garang, the chairman of SPLA.
The Sudan Today alleged among other things that Ambassador Sirajuddin Hamid was involved in a foiled terrorist plot in the New York in the 1990s while serving on Khartoum’s mission at the U.N. But Hamid denied the allegation saying it is false. The reality of the matter is, the Khartoum’s mission in New York involvement in that foiled terrorist plot is not a secret. The grand plot, though related to the first World Trade Center bombing, was to target the United Nations, the New York’s federal building, tunnels, bridges and certain high profile individuals.
Hamid who carried the title of consul and his deputy Ahmed Yousef were in a constant contact with the will be bombers, especially Siddig Ali and Emad Salem. Siddig Ali is a Sudanese native who has been tried in the U.S. court for the terrorist plot. He is considered as the ring leader for the plot. And Emad Salem is an Egyptian who acted as FBI informant during the plot.
In the course of the plot, Saddiq Ali would always brag to Salem about his high level contacts with officials from Khartoum mission at the U.N. and the National Islamic Front, the ruling regime in Khartoum. To prove his point, Ali even took Salem to the mission where their host was none other than the consul Sirajuddin Hamid. To fulfill its part in the plot, the Khartoum mission at the U.N. granted access of the targeted U.N. facilities for Ali to survey the sites. The officials from the mission promised to provide diplomatic license plates where the terrorist plotters will steal at least a number of four vehicles and fix them with diplomatic plates so as to gain access to the target areas at the U.N. Ali then expected to escape to the Philippines and then Sudan using fake documents provided by the Khartoum mission after inflicting the carnage.
Saddig Ali was a true representative of the state sponsored terrorism. His connection to the state organ was very strong. He was able to arrange for Mahmud Abouhalima and the family to flee from Egypt to Sudan when he was aware of Abouhalima involvement in the World Trade Center bombing and feared of his imminent arrest from Egypt. However, Abouhalima was arrested by the Egyptian authorities before he could flee to Sudan. Abouhalima was eventually extradited to the U.S. where he is sentenced 240 years in prison without the possibility of parole for his role in the bombing at the World Trade Center. The arrest of Abouhalima by the Egyptian authorities infuriated, Saddig Ali that he called for the assassination of Egyptian president Husni Mubarak as a means to fulfill the dreams of Sheik Abdel Rahman. Sheik Abdel Rahman also known as the “Blind Sheik” is a leader of an Egyptian terrorist organization, Al-Gama’a al-Islamiyya. The Sheik is currently serving life sentence in the U.S. for his involvement in the World Trade Center bombing. The Sheik also had an extensive relationship with Hassan al-Turabi of Sudan who was then believed to be the power behind the regime in Khartoum.
On Mubarak’s scheduled trip to the U.S., Ali was able to get Mubarak’s itinerary from Khartoum mission deputy consul Ahmed Yousef. The itinerary included details of Muburak’s stay in New York where it enabled Ali planned diligently for the operation to assassinate the Egyptian president. However, his planned was betrayed by one of his associates who confided the information to the Egyptian authorities which let Muburak to avoid New York in his trip. When an attempted assassination of Muburak took place in Ethiopia years later, the Khartoum regime was implicated in the plot and it reinforces the connection between the Khartoum regime and the Egyptian militants.
Saddig Ali’s connection to the Khartoum mission at the U.N. is a well established fact. At a phone conversation with the deputy consul of the mission, Ahmed Yousef, Ali prayed, “may God grant you the ability to repulse the enemies . . . the ones who are here.” He even said, that him and others are “ready to die” in the plot if necessary. Yousef then invoked the Quran during the recorded conversation by saying, “we are not going to prevail by outnumbering you, but rather God’s wrath is focused upon you.” Ali noted in agreement that “we will fight them with this religion.”
The Khartoum mission also at the time connected Saddig Ali with a Hamas operative, Mohammed Saleh who was operating gas stations in Yonkers, New York. Saleh was later to contribute about 200 gallon of diesels for the bomb making material for this plot. In a recorded conversation made on June 4th 1993, Mohammed Saleh spoke nicely of his association with Hassan al-Turabi. In the same conversation, Ali also revealed of his plan and Yousef to assassinate the then U.N. Secretary General Boutros Boutro-Ghali. He, however, said his only fear was that Boutro-Ghali successor could prove to be worse once he is taken out.
Before they could carry on with their plot, the U.S. authorities armed with significant evidence closed in on them. In early morning hours of late June 1993, the will be bombers were arrested at a makeshift bomb making garage that also served as a safe house in Queens, New York. Among those who were at the gathering and arrested was Mohammed Saleh. Saleh was caught carrying with him personal telephone numbers of Khartoum mission consul Hamid, the deputy consul Yousef, and a phone number of an official from Khartoum embassy in Washington. As a result, the will be bombers are convicted in a court of law meanwhile Sirajuddin Hamid and Ahmed Yousef were declared as persona non grata and expelled from the U.S. They are considered as security agents who posed as diplomats. Therefore, the evidence implicating the Khartoum mission in the terrorist plot is overwhelming. But the individuals in that mission are only lucky to escape prosecutions for playing their part in the plot.
*Steve Paterno is a Sudanese residing in the U.S.A., and he can be reached at [email protected]