Sudan, 1998

Allow me at the outset to congratulate Mr. Opertti on his

election to the presidency of the General Assembly at this

session. We are confident that his vast experience and

capabilities will lead this session to success. I would like

to assure him of the full cooperation of my delegation.

Allow me also to express our gratitude to his predecessor,

the former Foreign Minister of Ukraine, for his

commendable efforts and to express similar

congratulations to the Secretary-General, Mr. Kofi Annan,

and his able assistants for their efforts to ensure an

improved performance by the Organization, to bolster its

status and to achieve its lofty objectives.

There are many questions in my country, in our

Arab and African region, and in the rest of the world.

There is a war raging between our neighbours on the

eastern and southern borders. All of these questions need

to be debated.

The considerable improvement in the economic

situation in the Sudan is reflected in the latest

International Monetary Fund (IMF) reports, which

indicate an increase in the growth rate and a reduction in

the inflation rate. We expect the Sudan to become an oil-

30

exporting State in the next few months. This is an issue

which we are very happy to brief you on.

There is also the constitutional evolution and political

openness in the Sudan, culminating in the approval by the

Sudanese people in a referendum of a new constitution

earlier this year. This will enhance the institutions of civil

governance and the peaceful transfer of power based on a

system of political pluralism. These developments are

important to political stability in Africa?s largest country,

the Sudan, a land of vast untapped resources.

I also wish to talk about the humanitarian situation in

the Sudan and the improvements in that situation. Sudan

appreciates the efforts of the international community and

expresses its full commitment to cooperate in the

facilitation of these efforts. This is a matter which deserves

further elaboration.

There are also the peace efforts in southern Sudan and

the positive response of the Sudanese Government to the

calls for a ceasefire by the international community,

including the Security Council, the Intergovernmental

Authority on Development (IGAD) and the European

Union. This ceasefire was rejected by the rebel movement,

resulting in the continuation of war and more suffering for

the citizens. This also is a matter which requires further

elaboration.

All these questions require more details, but I will

leave that to other committees and forums, as I shall

concentrate today on one single issue: the American

aggression committed against my country on 20 August

1998. This American act, if not properly addressed, could

undermine all the achievements made by our people

through years of struggle and suffering.

It would be appropriate to recall the events which

began on 7 August. On that day the explosions took place

in Nairobi and Dar-es-Salaam. That same evening the

Sudan condemned those heinous terrorist acts. We

conveyed our condolences to the Presidents and the

Ministers for Foreign Affairs of the United States, Kenya

and the United Republic of Tanzania. I also made telephone

calls to my Kenyan and Tanzanian colleagues expressing

Sudan?s fullest readiness to cooperate to the maximum

possible extent in the efforts to search for, apprehend and

punish the culprits.

The American Administration requested fly-over

permission for their military aircraft in order to evacuate

the wounded and the dead from Nairobi and Dar-es-Salaam,

and their request was granted. That was followed by

another request for open fly-over permission for their

military aircraft, to which we responded promptly and in

good faith, as it was, in our view, a humanitarian request

which deserved a response. Subsequently, contacts in this

regard between the Sudanese and American security

authorities were begun. We welcomed these contacts and

gave assurances of our full cooperation.

But, all of a sudden, within minutes and without

warning, the Sudanese people were shocked on the

evening of Thursday, 20 August, by a grave act of

terrorism, as heinous and cowardly as those of Dar-es-

Salaam and Nairobi. The “Al-Shifa” pharmaceutical plant,

which only a few hours before that event was producing

life-saving medicines for children, women and the elderly

in the Sudan and which was a model of the economic

development of my country, was completely destroyed.

Some of the innocent Sudanese citizens, employees

of the factory, lost their lives under the rubble, while

others lost their sight, or some of their limbs, or were left

swimming in blood. Families of the victims and the rest

of the employees were suddenly bereft of the sources of

their livelihood.

A few minutes later, we watched the message of the

American President on television, where he stated that the

United States armed forces had launched air strikes

against the Sudan and Afghanistan. He said that they had

destroyed a plant in the Sudan linked to Osama Bin

Laden which produced chemical weapons.

This is the American perspective, which I have

conveyed to you clearly. What then is the Sudanese

perspective?

I would like to state clearly and confidently that the

factory produced medicine — and nothing but medicine.

The plant belonged to the private sector. It was owned by

a Sudanese businessman, and it had no link whatsoever

with Osama Bin Laden. The factory was financed by the

PTA Bank of the Common Market for Eastern and

Southern Africa (COMESA). It was one of the largest of

its kind in the Middle East and Africa.

In his speech at the inaugural meeting of this session

of the Assembly, President Clinton spoke about the

tolerance and greatness of Islam. We appreciate what he

said and would like to add that Islam calls for mutual

respect between civilizations, cultures and religions. Islam

calls for dialogue — indeed, all the revealed religions call

31

for dialogue — and all of these religions abhor and

renounce violence and injustice, because injustice begets

hatred.

All faiths call for justice. The principal rule of law

stipulates that the accused is innocent until proven guilty.

However, here we are faced with a situation in which the

Sudan was accused by the United States, the Sudan was

condemned by the United States and the Sudan was

punished by the United States. Thus, the United States has

acted as the adversary, the jury and the judge — the

opponent and the arbiter. The whole world rejected the

American aggression and its justification.

Allow me to mention here some of those who

supported our position in the Sudan: the Arab League, the

Organization of African Unity (OAU), the Non-Aligned

Movement (NAM), the Organization of the Islamic

Conference (OIC), the Group of 77 and China, and large

sectors of the American community, including former

President Jimmy Carter, former Attorney-General Ramsey

Clark, a number of Congressmen and the American mass

media. Our position was also supported by high-ranking

officials of Western countries, including presidents and

foreign ministers, as well as by the British, Jordanian and

American engineers who took part in the construction and

operation of the factory and who continued their technical

association with it until it was destroyed. A number of legal

experts and lawyers from Western countries, as well as

international trade unions and non-governmental

organizations also voiced their support.

In spite of this, the United States continues to oppose

the dispatch of a fact-finding mission by the Security

Council. The American officials claim that they analysed a

sample of the soil near the factory and found that it

contained chemical precursors used in the production of

VX — a nerve gas.

If they are so sure of what they found, we wonder

why they object to the dispatch of a fact-finding mission by

the Security Council so that the Council can be the judge.

The factory has been destroyed, true; but the soil is still

there and the remnants and the rubble of the factory are

there. The fact-finding mission can easily collect soil

samples and examine the machines, look into the

documents and establish the facts about the output and

ownership of the factory. This is the sole demand of the

Sudan now.

Last week the Group of Arab States presented a draft

resolution to the Security Council. The draft does not seek

to condemn the United States for its violation of the

sovereignty and territorial integrity of a Member State. It

only requests the dispatch of a fact-finding mission to

verify the allegations that were the basis of the decision

by the United States to launch a strike against a medicine

factory in the Sudan.

It is the responsibility, indeed the obligation of the

Security Council to do so. This is only a procedural

measure to ascertain the facts — a procedure which the

Council has always followed in similar situations.

Therefore the Sudan and the entire international

community call on the Security Council to send an urgent

fact-finding mission to the Sudan so that the international

community can verify the allegations upon which the

United States based its decision to strike the medicine

factory.

The Sudan recognizes that sending a fact-finding

mission is a legitimate request by a developing country

that holds dear the principles of international legitimacy

and believes strongly that the fight against terrorism,

which we condemn in all its forms, whether committed

by individuals, groups or States, must be based on the

principles and channels of international legitimacy and

cooperation and the renunciation of force as a means for

hegemony and domination.

We in the Sudan recognize that the United States is

a super-Power, and we do not seek to involve ourselves

in a confrontation or altercation with that super-Power.

On the contrary, we are keen on establishing correct

relations with the United States on the basis of mutual

respect, common interest and constructive criticism. We

are ready to engage in a dialogue with the United States

and to cooperate with it on all issues of common concern.

The people of the Sudan respect the American

people and are eager to maintain good relations with

them. It is incumbent upon the two Governments to work

on reflecting this desire and to strengthen these historic

relations.

We have paid tribute to the countries that provided

humanitarian assistance to those affected by the war in

southern Sudan, including the United States. However, we

are perplexed by the provocative statement recently made

by the spokesman of the American Administration when

he announced the donation of $25,000 to the victims of

floods in the Sudan. The statement claimed that despite

its differences with the Government of the Sudan, the

American Administration is concerned about the welfare

of the Sudanese people.

32

The American Administration launched 17 cruise

missiles to destroy the pharmaceutical factory. Each of

those missiles costs $1 million, for a total of $17 million to

destroy our factory. Now the United States announces its

contribution of $25,000 to the Sudanese victims of the

floods, while the damage caused by the floods is estimated

to exceed $40 million. Had the American Administration

genuinely been concerned with the welfare and well-being

of the Sudanese people, it would not have attacked and

destroyed one of our main economic entities, which

produced over 50 per cent of the essential and life-saving

medicines which the Sudan requires.

Therefore, on behalf of the Sudanese people, we say

to the American Administration, that we want our factory

back, the factory we built with our toil and sweat and

which cost us millions of dollars. We need the medicine of

which our people were deprived as a result of the

destruction of the factory, particularly in this time of the

flooding crisis which caused rampant diseases and

epidemics, according to United Nations reports.

Allow me now to briefly reflect on some of the

conflicts that are taking place in our area, in view of their

direct impact on peace and security in the region.

I start with our eastern borders, where the conflict

between Ethiopia and Eritrea will undoubtedly lead to a

deterioration of the situation in the region. The Sudan,

which still hosts hundreds of thousands of refugees from

the two neighbouring countries, is strongly affected by this

conflict. Hence, from this rostrum we urge the two

neighbouring countries to exercise self-restraint and to

resort to peaceful means to settle their differences. We also

hope that the efforts of the OAU will succeed in reaching

a peaceful settlement to this dispute.

On the other hand, we are following with great

concern the developments in our southern neighbour, the

Democratic Republic of the Congo, which is suffering from

external interference in its internal affairs. We hope that the

efforts of the African countries will be successful in

assisting the Government of the Democratic Republic of the

Congo in maintaining peace and stability on its territory.

As regards the peace process in the Middle East,

hopes for a final settlement have evaporated as a result of

the Israeli intransigence, which placed hurdles on the road

to peace.

The Sudan welcomes the General Assembly resolution

upgrading the Palestinian participation and supports the

steps taken by the Palestinian leadership to declare the state

of Palestine with Jerusalem as its capital. The Sudan also

denounces the Israeli attempts to Judaize Jerusalem and

change its demographic composition and legal status.

Furthermore, the Sudan supports the rights of Syria

and Lebanon to regain their occupied territories in the

Golan and in southern Lebanon, and it calls upon the

international community and the Security Council to exert

pressure on Israel to implement the relevant Security

Council resolutions and to heed the call for a just peace

in order for the region to enjoy peace and security.

The embargo imposed on Iraq has lasted for too

long, and the suffering of the Iraqi people has deepened.

Thousands of women, children and elderly people have

lost their lives because of the lack of food and medicine,

and the world is wondering when the blockade will come

to an end. The latest impasse between the United Nations

Special Commission and Iraq could result in catastrophic

consequences in the area. This should prompt the Security

Council to intervene by carrying out a comprehensive

review of Iraqi compliance with Security Council

resolutions with a view to lifting the embargo. The Sudan

commends the efforts of the Secretary-General and

expresses the hope that these efforts will lead to a

breakthrough in the current impasse.

The Sudan also wishes to stress the importance of

resolving the issue of the detainees and the missing

Kuwaitis as a humanitarian question, and it calls for

redoubling regional and international efforts to settle this

problem so that the women and children who have waited

so long can be reunited with their husbands and parents.

This would also eliminate the causes of tension and

restore solidarity and reconciliation between Arab nations

and States.

As regards the issue of Lockerbie, we are very much

concerned with the embargo imposed on the sisterly

Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, our neighbour. The damaging

consequences of this embargo have spilled over from

Libya to the neighbouring countries, including the Sudan,

which has hundreds of thousands of citizens living in the

Jamahiriya. It is a cause for sadness that scores of those

citizens have lost their lives while trying to cross the vast

desert between the two countries as a result of the air

blockade imposed on the Jamahiriya. While welcoming

the recent positive developments in this issue, we stress

the need to provide the guarantees requested by the

Jamahiriya, as referred to by the President of Burkina

Faso, the current Chairman of the OAU, in his statement

before the Security Council last week.

33

Conflicts in Africa have caused numerous difficulties,

including the problems of refugees and displaced persons.

As a result, Africa has become host to the largest number

of refugees in the world. Their number is estimated at more

than 8 million, and they live in the harshest conditions.

In its efforts to put an end to the suffering of

refugees and to find durable solutions to this problem, the

OAU decided to convene the first ministerial meeting of

the Committee on Refugees and Disappeared Persons in

Khartoum in December 1998 at the level of foreign

minister. We in the Sudan look forward to the

international community?s effective participation in and

support for this conference in order to ensure its success.

The countries of the continent are hopeful that the

conference will produce results which would assist in

dealing with this long-standing problem.

I should like to conclude with a verse from the Holy

Koran:

“God commands justice, the doing of good, and

liberality to kith and kin. He forbids all shameful

deeds, and injustice and rebellion. He instructs you

that ye may receive admonition.” (The Holy Koran,

XVI:90)