Western countries reconsidering their support to Sudanese rebels, Nafie

June 27, 2013 (KHARTOUM) – Presidential assistant and deputy leader of the ruling party in Sudan said that Western countries are reconsidering their support to the rebel groups and reaffirmed that Islamist group of Sa’ihoon are backing Bashir’s regime.

After the independence of South Sudan, the regime of president Omer Al-Bashir faced a series of protests by youth groups and even the former mujahedin al-Sa’ihoon, or ‘God-seeking wanderers’ who fought the SPLM rebels in South Sudan, demanded to reform the regime.

The SPLM- North and Darfur rebel groups also formed an alliance, Sudanese Revolutionary Front (SRF), aiming to topple the regime. The insurgents attempted to expand the field of their military action in Kordofan region but they were forced to pull back their fighters after causing displacement of over 60,000 civilians.

Nafie Ali Nafie who arrived to Beijing after visiting Changzhou in southern China since Monday, met on Thursday with the Senior Communist Party of China (CPC) leader Liu Yunshan, and also addressed a gathering of the Sudanese in the Chinese capital organised by the embassy.

In his speech before the Sudanese community, Nafie forced himself to dissipate reports about the weakness of the regime after 24 year of rule, frictions inside the Islamist movement and the party, continuation of the rebellion in Darfur, and since 2011 a new insurgency in South Kordofan and Blue Nile.

Nafie told the crowd, that the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) and Mujahidin are ready to wage a decisive and ultimate battle to get rid of rebels and “amputate this corrupt member from the body of the Sudan”. He was referring to a statement SRF rebels issued after the capture of Abu Kershola by the army last May saying they are preparing another biggest attack.

He further went to say that the Western countries that support the rebels despair of the rebels’ political ability and started to say “they could not bring down the regime by carrying attacks on villages and remote areas”.

“If you have a trick just go to Khartoum and do it”, the rebels had been told by Western diplomats, according to Nafie.

Speaking about countries supporting the rebels, he added, “they now realize that by supporting the rebel they only increase human suffering, and increase their isolation”.

During his meeting with Nafie, Liu Yunshan, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, reassured the visiting Sudanese official and reiterated China willingness to develop and promote bilateral relations.

He also said that Chinese Communist Party wants to enhance its relations with the National Congress Party and expanding areas of cooperation.

Speaking about his meetings with the Chinese officials, Nafie said the talks achieved positive results, adding they agreed to develop relations in line with a strategic vision aiming to free Sudan from Western domination.

Nafie also praised the Sa’ihoon group and their calls for reform, stressing that they rejected attempts to manipulate them and bring them to confront the regime.

The deputy NCP leader was referring to a memorandum circulated last year by the group calling to combat corruption and to reunite the Islamist movement and reach a compromise with Turabi’s Popular Congress Party (PCP).

Also last November 2012, the security service had arrested a number of Islamist military accused of plotting to overthrow the regime jointly with the former head of Sudanese intelligence and security services, Salah Gosh.

Nafie told the members of the Sudanese community in China that some political forces, alluding to the PCP, had a wrong idea about Sa’ihoon’s initiative for reform and the implementation of Islamic law after the secession of South Sudan.

He added that when they felt they cannot stop their members from joining the demarche, they pushed them to deviate the initiative saying “the NCP cannot be reformed from within and there must be a third option”, a new political body as they are also failed to convince them to join the PCP ranks.

He further said that some NCP members “who believed that they have a vision for reform not available to others” attempted to kidnap the initiative to achieve their own political agenda.

Nafie was alluding to the former presidential adviser and former head of the NCP parliamentary block at the National Assembly, Ghazi Salah Eddin who holds discussions circles with the Sai’hoon and was accused of being close to Gosh and the officers suspected of November 2012″sabotage attempt”.

Ghazi has been gradually removed from his position at the presidency and the parliament. When Bashir issued a presidential amnesty for the military who had been accused of taking part in the foiled coup, he was among the first to congratulate the freed officers.

(ST)