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Sudan’s Turabi laid to rest, Sanousi selected as PCP general secretary

Mourners carry the body of Veteran Sudan Islamist opposition leader Hassan al-Turabi during his funeral on March 6, 2016 in the capital Khartoum. (Photo AFP/ASHRAF SHAZLI)
Mourners carry the body of Veteran Sudan Islamist opposition leader Hassan al-Turabi during his funeral on March 6, 2016 in the capital Khartoum. (Photo AFP/ASHRAF SHAZLI)

March 6, 2016 (KHARTOUM) – The Secretary General of the Popular Congress Party (PCP) Hassan al-Turabi was buried Sunday in the Burri cemetery east of the capital, Khartoum, following a funeral attended by thousands of mourners.

Turabi, a chief Islamic ideologue, died of a heart attack on Saturday in Khartoum, at the age of 84.

Sudanese Islamists, PCP supporters and ordinary citizens paraded banners bearing his photograph and paying tribute to his life.

An official Qatari delegation led by the minister Awqaf (endowments) and Islamic Affairs Ghayth bin Mubarak al-Kawari has offered condolences on behalf of the Qatari Emir Tamim Bin Hamad Al-Thani and the Qatari people.

Meanwhile, several rebel groups and political parties have mourned the late Islamist leader pointing to his recent calls to renounce violence and achieve peace through dialogue.

Leader of a Sudan Liberation Movement faction (SLM-AW) Abdel-Wahid al-Nur described Turabi as one of the most prominent thinkers in the Muslim world, saying he played a significant role in the Sudanese political scene for more than half a century.

“We radically disagree with his views and Islamic project because we call for a federal, liberal, democratic and secular state within the framework of a united Sudan,” he said.

“We know that the Islamic project was responsible for the wars, genocide and ethnic cleansing in our country, however, our values and morals make us mourn him and pray for mercy on him irrespective of our political, intellectual and ideological differences,” added al-Nur.

For its part, the Sudanese Peoples Liberation Movement/North (SPLM-N) has offered condolences to Turabi’s family, friends and the Islamists across the Sudan.

In a statement Sunday, SPLM-N said the late Turabi played important roles in the Sudanese politics since the 1960s and particularly during the last 30 years, pointing that in recent years he expressed sincere desire to save the country’s unity.

“It is a noble desire and we ask the Sudanese Islamists from the various schools and in particular those who hold power to make of his [Turabi’s] death an opportunity to achieve a new national project that is based upon democracy, social justice and equal citizenship and to engage in a genuine dialogue that resolves the current crises of the Islamic Movement and Sudan,” read the statement

Gibril Adam Bilal, spokesperson of the rebel Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) led by Gibril Ibrahim for his part mourned Turabi describing him as one of the Islamic nation’s scholars and a thinker who made huge intellectual efforts to serve the contemporary life.

Also, the leader of the New Justice and Equality Movement (New JEM) Mansour Arab has offered condolences on the death of Turabi saying he spent most of his life in developing his views and opinions.

He added that Turabi enriched the Sudanese political arena with his daring views, saying his death represents a challenge for the national political forces to achieve peace, security and stability.

Ahmed Abdel-Magid, spokesperson for the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM-Dabajo) led by Abdel-Karim Dabajo said Turabi’s party is a forum for the renewed thought in the Islamic nation’s modern history.

He added that his movement participated with the late Turabi in the national dialogue, saying he continued to call for fulfilling the covenants.

It is worth to mention that the Sudanese presidency has mourned Turabi in a statement Saturday night, pointing to his contributions in the various intellectual, scientific and political fields.

Turabi was born in 1932 in Kassala, eastern Sudan. He received an Islamic education before coming to Khartoum in 1951 to study law and joined the Muslim Brotherhood as a student.

He graduated from Khartoum University School of Law and also studied in London and at the Sorbonne in Paris, where he gained a doctorate. He became a leader of the Sudanese Muslim Brotherhood in the early 1960s.

Turabi, who is fluent in English, French, is generally considered to be the mastermind of the 1989 coup by Islamist army officers that brought President Bashir to power.

He played a crucial role in designing the new government’s Islamic policies, was elected speaker of the National Assembly in 1996 and in 1998, was elected secretary-general of the ruling National Congress Party (NCP).

However, in 1999, he was ousted from these positions over differences with President Bashir and his followers. He and his supporters subsequently founded the PCP.

Turabi had been in the opposition ever since. He was also jailed by Bashir’s government on a number of occasions.

TURABI’S SUCCESSOR

Meanwhile, Turabi’s deputy and close confidante Ibrahim al-Sanousi has been appointed as the PCP general secretary.

In a short statement Sunday, the PCP General Secretariat announced that al-Sanousi has been selected as general secretary of the party according to the statute and until the next meeting of the Shura (consultative) Council is being held.

(ST)

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