Sudan - Lieutenant General Omar Hassan Ahmad al-Bashir

Al-Bashir was reelected as president in a fraud-tainted, "supervised" election March 23, 1996. He is the leader of the 15-member National Salvation Revolutionary Council, a junta comprised entirely of military officers. Reigning in a state of emergency and with a suspending constitution, al-Bashir has brought Sudan into the swelling ranks of despot-ruled countries in Africa. There have been only three periods of civilian rule since 1955. He continues to appoint National Islamic Front (NIF) loyalists, though more for their religious zeal than political skills. The NIF leader Dr. Hassan Abdullah al-Turabi was the minister of justice and attorney general under Major General Gaafar Mohamed Nimeiri and was the architect of both the 1983 and 1991 versions of Shari'a (or Islamic law). Before the new federal structure was introduced, Shari'a only applied to administrative and civil cases and not to criminal cases. The first victim of the new Shari'a was a Christian southern Sudanese petty thief, whose punishment was the "cross-amputation" of his right hand and left foot. Nimeiri was said to have fainted while attending his first amputation. Al-Bashir is not so squeamish about carrying out the wishes of al-Turabi's NIF. He is busy battling the 55,000 or so armed Southerners with his 68,000 soldiers. Iran's largesse in providing arms to al-Bashir is considerable, and there is circumstantial evidence that Iranian mujahedin in the guise of volunteers are serving with the Sudanese army. Iraq has also sent arms and technicians. China, with large oil concessions in the south, is also providing Khartoum with guns at bargain-basement prices. Drop al-Bashir a line at:

Lt. General Omar Hassan al-Bashir

People's Palace

P.O. Box 281

Khartoum, Sudan