Sudan president faces condemnation over ‘expensive’ gift to Egypt squad
August 23, 2008 (KHARTOUM) – The Sudanese president Omer Hassan Al-Bashir came under fire following gifts he awarded to members of the Egyptian soccer team in honor of their achievement in winning the 2008 African Cup of Nations held in Ghana earlier this year.
There has also been conflicting reports on the amount of the monetary gift disbursed to the Egyptians in sealed envelopes during the ceremony. A sports editor in a Sudanese newspaper told Sudan Tribune that the cash prize was $25,000 for each player while others put the figure at $15,000.
The news has been widely circulated throughout the Sudanese cyber world and was subject to unprecedented condemnation mixed with bitterness from people who considered the gift inconsistent with the conditions the country is going through.
One Sudanese reader from Saudi Arabia commenting on the news article at Al-Rayaam said that the reward “will make Al-Bashir lose much of the sympathy he received following Ocampo’s allegations”.
Many Sudanese people think the ceremony was held as part of a ‘public relations’ campaign for Al-Bashir after the International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo requested an arrest warrant for him.
“If the match was held before Ocampo the players [Egyptian] would not have received any cars” one Sudanese commented.
“The country’s budget and its management [utilized] all for the purpose of countering Ocampo’s move…You [Al-Bashir] will be asked about this money you squandered on soccer when people are suffering from malaria, Schistosomiasis and pregnant women die from lack of food and medicine. People are living without shelter or drinking water and substantial number of people have cancer” Samir Badr from Saudi Arabia wrote.
Samir Zaher, president of the Egyptian Football Association (EFA), voiced his support to Al-Bashir on his row with the ICC during the ceremony.
Ibrahim Abdalla Bagal Srage a Darfuri student activist said that the money could have been used to address many pressing issues in the country.
“The children of Darfur are stranded at camps in the desert. People in East Sudan are dying from tuberculosis and Southerners perishing from starvation.” he said.
“How can a president of a country donate million of dollars to an Egyptian team while his people are sick and hungry?” he added.
Fathi Al-Sideeg an accountant in Sdaudi Arabia, told Sudan Tribune that the reward demonstrates “mismanagement and incompetence in running the country”.
“It is an attempt to beautify the face of the regime and building fences with Egypt, our gate to the world” he added.
The move by Al-Bashir even shocked some of his supporters and sympathizers.
Mohamed Hamid Goma’a an editor at the pro-government Sudanese Media Center (SMC) wrote a polite criticism echoing the need for Al-Bashir to be prudent with money.
“Some students have been expelled because the school administration asked them for electricity fees and their parents have been bitter because they have nowhere to sit [in classes]” he said.
“President Omer Hassan Al-Bashir is stronger when he is close to people and possesses a charismatic appeal but not through these schemes” he added.
Goma’a blamed unidentified assistants of Al-Bashir for “misleading” him.
Anwar Dafa-Alla an Electrical & Computer Engineering PhD candidate in South Korea uploaded a series of videos to YouTube analyzing different aspects of the reward.
Dafa-Alla has personally met with Al-Bashir during his visit to Seoul last May and even presented him with a symbolic gift on behalf of Sudanese expatriates in South Korea.
“I expected Islamic scholars to come out and say that the money wasted is ill-gotten. $350,000 in gifts to the Egyptian team at a time when Sudan is in desperate need….I was genuinely waiting to see someone telling him [Al-Bashir] fear Allah Omer. You belong to the Islamic movement. How can you do something like this” he said.
“If they didn’t say it to your face Mr. President I will. Fear Allah Omer. Fear Allah. You belong to the Islamic movement and held you conference recently. You spoke about Islam and related stuff. What you are doing has nothing to do with Islam. Hear it from me today before you do so in your grave” Dafa-Alla added.
The computer science major also spoke sarcastically and questioned why people should take part in the “million signature” campaign planned by the ruling National Congress Party (NCP) to condemn the ICC accusations against Al-Bashir.
“There are many questions that need answers particularly if it was the president and his corrupt entourage who led the country into a dark hole…To have corruption start from the president of the republic is unacceptable” Dafa-Alla said.
In one of his videos he made mathematical calculations on the cost associated with the rewards and how it could have been spent elsewhere on specific items.
Some Sudanese people even went as far as saying that the Egyptian team lost intentionally to please the Sudanese government and its generous president.
The African champions on Wednesday lost 4-0 to their Sudanese counterparts in the warm-up match held in Khartoum today. This is Egypt’s first defeat by their southern neighbor in 33 years.
The Egyptian player Mahmoud Fathallah scored own goal in the first half to give Sudan an early lead.
The Sudanese government has so far maintained silence and did not respond to the criticism.
However during the ceremony there was no mention of the vehicles awarded or the amount of money. Some have said this was done to pacify the public opinion.
For now the ceremony and the gifts have undoubtedly shaken Al-Bashir’s image in the eyes of his people making him appear as “insensitive” to the plight of the population particularly the Darfur refugees who were the focus of all criticism directed at the Sudanese head of state.
(ST)