Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir said, in a speech on the occasion of the country's 62nd anniversary of Independence, that Khartoum had been subjected to a grievous injustice for 20 years because of the American boycott. He expressed gratitude to Arab countries who supported Sudan's position, especially Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Kuwait.
Bashir affirmed that his country is dedicated to the international partnership which reinforces the pillars of international and regional peace and security as well as combating terrorism, money-laundering and human trafficking.
In a related matter, the Sudanese parliament is expected to discuss two republican decrees that declare the “state of emergency” in Kassala and North Kurdufan, making the total score of states under the state of emergency nine out of 18. The state presidential minister Al-Rashid Haroun handed over the presidential decrees (48) and (50) to the speaker of the parliament Ibrahim Ahmed Omer in preparation to deliberate on it Sunday.
The Sudanese presidency reported that the declaration of the state of emergency in the two states was meant to support the disarmament campaign and to combat human and drug trafficking, besides other security concerns. Notably, Sudan’s transitional constitution grants the president the power to declare the state of emergency in the country, or a part of it, under the condition of deliberating the decree in the parliament within 15 days. After 30 days, the state of emergency is automatically abolished if not approved by the parliament
Since August, the Sudanese authorities launched a campaign to collect illegal weapons. The campaign began by disarming tribes and civilians in Kordofan and Darfur.
Sudanese Vice President Hassabu Mohamed Abdalrahman stated that the campaign aims at extending the state’s authority, the rule of law and achieving social peace among people. But the campaign is facing criticism that links it to accomplishing an overall peace in Darfur.
Military expert Mohammad Abbas told Asharq Al-Awsat that the disarmament faces several obstacles but doesn’t require declaring a state of emergency. Also, political analyst Dr. Khaled al-Tijani described the decision to declare the state of emergency in the two states as “ambiguous”.
