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Sudanese opposition alliance
criticizes foreign minister, defends Eritrea We hereby present the following statement from the information
secretariat of the [opposition] National Democratic Alliance. In the name of God, the most beneficent, the merciful. National Democratic Alliance [NDA], Information Secretariat. The NDA would like to denounce accusations by Khartoum regime's
foreign minister and ask him to end his threat language. The NDA criticized talk by Khartoum regime's foreign minister in which
he accused the Eritrean government of involvement in the Darfur [western Sudan]
incidents. He blamed the NDA for the calamities facing the country and
creating opportunity for foreign interference. The NDA launched a serious attack and criticism on what Khartoum
regime's foreign minister said. It considered what he said as a new
indication of his pursuance of previous stances which are aimed at placing
hindrances and obstacles before solution for the [Sudanese]crisis for
specific reasons. Despite his stances, he hope and expects Machakos
[protocol] to realize his personal aspirations at the expense of his
colleagues in the regime. NDA stressed that changing and fabricating the truth has become a part
and parcel of Khartoum regime's foreign minister. The NDA rejected the
offensive accusations which the foreign minister has continued to direct
towards it. The NDA said the objective of the foreign minister's allegations
was to hide the truth which had pushed the country to the current disastrous
situation, an issue known by all. Instead of admitting his mistakes and bear
the responsibility for foreign interference in the Sudanese problem, which
has come as a result of his continuous objection to convening of any direct
meeting or dialogue between the NDA and the government, at whatever levels,
since August 2002 until now, he has continued to fabricate the truth in a
monotonous manner, claiming that the NDA was responsible for foreign
interference. The NDA also denounced accusation by the regime's foreign minister
concerning Eritrean involvement in the Al-Fashir incidents [rebel attack].
The NDA said the minister had developed a habit of fabricating similar false
claims every time there were intensive efforts for realization of a
comprehensive political settlement through direct dialogue. It cautioned the
regime's foreign minister on the dangers of continuing with this aggressive
trend against the fraternal state of Eritrea. The NDA wondered for whose interests was the minister serving in
behaving this way. It pointed out that he had continued to be at the top of
those who were attacking Eritrea without any sufficient evidence, thereby
aborting every sincere effort being exerted by the Eritrean state on
realization of peace and stability in Sudan, especially President Isayas
Afewerki's call for the convention of a meeting between [Sudanese President
Umar] Al-Bashir and the chairman of the NDA, Mr Muhammad Uthman al-Mirghani,
and the chairman of Sudan People's Liberation Movement, Dr John Garang. He
has continued to spoil all good-will efforts aimed at ending the war and
fighting. The NDA would like to reiterate that the Eritrean state, government
and people, were in solidarity with the Sudanese people in their aspirations
to realize peace and stability. It would therefore like to ask the foreign
minister and his likes in the regime to stop directing such offensive
accusations which harm the two countries' interests. It also calls for
confronting developments in the Sudanese domain, genuinely and distinctly,
and moving seriously towards realization of a comprehensive political
settlement, with the involvement of all the Sudanese political forces. Publication date: 2003-05-03 |