Bashir says he has a special dream for Unity state

March 31, 2010 (JUBA) – Addressing his party’s supporters in the Sudan’s oil rich Unity state at Bentiu Stadium, during his Tuesday campaign hunt for voters in the state, the incumbent President of the Republic, Omer Hassan Al-Bashir, promised to develop the area if re-elected.

He vowed that the state capital, Bentiu, would be raised to the level of Khartoum through infrastructural development if the state voted for his re-election.

Bashir also promised that his re-elected government would establish Bentiu University; a pledge he made in his past visit to the state but could not begin to realize.

Among many other promises, Bashir also vowed to construct a tarmac road to link Unity state with the neighboring Southern Kordufan’s capital, Kadugli.

“I have a special dream for this state and it is my hope that all of you will vote for the NCP,” he told the crowd.

“This state is the center of the economy of Sudan and I spent most of my military time here,” he told his supporters in reference to the state’s vast oil resource and his memory of military activities in the area during the war.

In a fierce battle with SPLA forces over the control of Mayom town in Unity state in late 1980s, Bashir sustained a bullet wound in his leg while directly commanding the government forces which clashed with the SPLA forces that were under the direct command of the current Vice President of the Government of Southern Sudan, Dr. Riek Machar, who was then the SPLA’s zonal commander in the area from mid 1980s.

The Sudanese President was the Unity state’s area commander during the earlier part of the 21 years old North-South war before he took over Khartoum’s Palace through a military coup in 1989.

At a certain occasion while on his visit to Juba last year, Bashir challenged the SPLM’s principle of peaceful and democratic settlements to political issues when he jokingly told the GoSS Vice President and SPLM deputy chairman that his [Bashir’s] wound on his leg would testify that the SPLM had always wanted to settle political issues using violence, in his reference to a political crisis that occurred between NCP and SPLM over the implementation of the CPA.

The incumbent President was accompanied by his party’s candidate for Unity state governorship, Paul Liyliy Mathot, who pledged to work hand in hand with both Bashir and Southern Sudan President Salva Kiir if elected governor.

“ I will work with the two leaders towards ensuring residents have access to clean drinking water, better heath facilities and good schools”, he said.

Unity state is one of the rare states in the South where all the main four presidential candidates for both Khartoum and Juba [Bashir of NCP vs Arman of SPLM and Kiir of SPLM vs Akol of SPLM-DC] have had visited in carrying out their election campaigns this month.

While the three other presidential candidates successfully carried out their respective rallies, Salva Kiir however could not complete his campaign in the state after an argument arose over the presence of supporters of independent candidates at Bentiu Stadium; the venue for the rally.

The incident forced him to cancel his appearance at the Stadium and flew back to Juba. He has not also completed his campaign in Lakes state; bringing to two the number of states in which his direct campaigns were incomplete.

Sudan’s polling day for presidential and parliamentary elections is scheduled to begin on 11th through 13th April and the winners are expected to be declared by 18th April. Six months later on the event shall also be followed by a referendum vote on independence of Southern Sudan in January 2011.

(ST)