Sudanese president vows to make 2013 end of rebellion
October 25, 2013 (KHARTOUM) – The Sudanese president Omer Hassan Al-Bashir, has pledged to beat off those whom he described as saboteurs, arms bearers, bandits and infiltrators before the end of this year and accused them of leaking information to the International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutors.
He warned the people against succumbing to the claims of marginalization raised by rebels and urged them not to accept the foreign humanitarian relief.
“If a white man bring you relief, don’t take it and whip him on his back”, he said.
He also directed harsh criticism at the US administration for not granting him an entry visa to attend the United Nations General Assembly meetings last month saying that his trip to the US would have demonstrated the ICC inability to arrest him.
Bashir faces two arrest warrants issued by the ICC which charged him in 2009 and 2010 on ten counts of war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide in connection with the decade-long conflict in Sudan’s western region of Darfur.
He praised the governor of North Kordofan state, Ahmed Haroun, and described him as competent public official and likened him to the cloud that brings good wherever it falls, saying that he was appointed as governor at the request of the people of the state.
“Ahmed and I are in the same batch of the ICC”, he said laughingly.
Haroun is also one of the Sudanese officials wanted by the ICC for war crimes he allegedly masterminded in Darfur during his time as state minister for interior.
The Sudanese leader also praised the Minister of Dams and Electricity, Osama Abdalla, and said that he is the one to pick for tough challenges.
“When there is a tough mission I look at the men around me and I don’t find one better than Osama Abdalla” he said.
Bashir , who concluded his two-day visit to North Kordofan state today, attended in the locality of Sudari the opening of Abu Zaima bridge which connects North Kordofan and North Darfur states to Sudan’s twin capital city of Omdurman.
He also received the North Kordofan’s document for development Nafeer (a call to mobilize) amid a large crowd in El-Obaid stadium.
Bashir underscored his government’s keenness to deliver services to the rural areas and achieve balanced development, saying that it is the duty of the government to provide health services, water, and education to the citizens.
He called for solidarity among the Sudanese people and particularly the people in North Kordofan state to defeat the saboteurs who “have sold themselves” and trying to impede development efforts.
Bashir also opened Um Bader’s dam in the locality of Sudari and addressed a public rally and emphasized his government’s keenness to achieve peace and security in all parts of Sudan, saying that they wouldn’t allow saboteurs to destabilize the country and hinder development.
He renewed his government pledge to implement development projects and provide health services, water, and education in the rural areas to prevent migration to urban areas and maintain values and heritage of the rural areas, pointing that all leaders of his regime have descended from rural areas.
The governor of Kordofan state, Ahmed Haroun, for his part, said that the opening of these projects is the first step in the road for development.
The minister of electricity and dams, Osama Abdalla, asserted that his ministry would continue building infrastructure projects including bridges and water projects.
Bashir , who addressed people in El-Obeid grand mosque on Friday, said that the government won’t tolerate those who refused peace and sold themselves “for a few dollars and dirhams”, stressing that what happened in Um Rawaba and Abu-Kershola earlier this year will not be repeated.
Last April, the Sudan Revolutionary Front (SRF) rebels swept through Um Rawaba in North Kordofan state in an attack that took the Sudanese government and observers by surprise. The rebels stormed the major town which lies around 500 kilometers south of the capital Khartoum utilizing 150 vehicles.
North Kordofan, which includes Um Rawaba and forms part of Sudan’s commercial heartland, is a hub for the country’s agriculture, livestock and gum Arabic industries.
The president downplayed the differences among political forces and demanded the Sudanese people work together to develop the country, calling upon states’ governors to provide services and create a work environment conducive for development.
Bashir further pledged to implement all development projects in North Kordofan state including El-Obeid water project, stressing that work has begun in the road which connects El-Obeid and Bara with Omdurman as well as the project of the medical city.
He also said that his government is interested in building the continental road network which revives the old pilgrimage route and connects North Kordofan state with South Sudan and West Africa.
(ST)