Weekly Press Columns Digest
23 February, 2020
KHARTOUM (Sudanow)—Writing in Alsaiha daily columnist Altahir Satti was highly critical of the delay in evacuating dozens of Sudanese students stranded in China because of the lethal Corona virus. In particular, Mr, Satti laments the fact that Sudan Airways, once a leading carrier in Africa and the region, could not find a plane fit to fly to and from China to bring the students back home.
“What is really saddening is that our Government is unable to evacuate these students, a long month after they sent the SOS signal,” wrote Mr. Satti.
“In these dark days our Sudanese students really miss their national carrier, Sudan Airways” he said.
“What is happening to our students should indeed prompt us to reconsider the situation of the national carrier. While we support any move to shrink the government role in the economy and expand that of the private sector, we should always remember that there are government utilities which are “strategic” and “extremely” important,” he said.
“It is good for our people and our government to ‘hold tight’ onto strategic utilities, by reinstating them instead of succumbing to the ousted regime’s approaches of negligence and mismanagement during which it failed two national carriers: Sudan Airways and the shipping corporation ‘Sudan line ,” wrote Mr. Satti.
“Sudan Airways used to invigorate the country’s airports, rescue Sudanese from the catastrophes of war and epidemics, used to silently evacuate the sick, the students and the youths when needed; away from asking such favors from this or that country.”
The position of such facilities as Sudan Airways, Sudan Line and Sudan Railways is no less than the position of the national army. But the miserable creatures in the ousted regime seem to have vowed not to leave a strategic utility for the people to benefit from. They destroyed all the country’s strategic facilities and reduced the country to the situation of failure whereby it fails even to evacuate its students from places of danger as happens now.”
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The situation is in utter mess," is a statement attributed by columnist Zahir Bakheit al-Fakki to Prime Minister Dr. Abdulla Hamdouk in meetings with German officials during his current visit to Germany.
The columnist, writing on Aljareedah daily newspaper of Sunday, described the statement as the right one reflecting the situation in Sudan, saying that Hamdouk would be criticized if he said otherwise as lying would have undesirable consequences.
It is correct to tell the truth that the situation, particularly the economic one, is confused and it will be left to other nations to decide on establishing a relationship preferably based on common interest.
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Columnist Shamail al-Nor has called upon the transitional government to abide by the transparency and openness to the public with regard to its economic policies and decisions.
Writing on Altayyar daily newspaper of Tuesday, Shamail said it was obvious that the government has decided to resort to the option of lifting the subsidies and this was expected in view of the recent escalation of the fuel and bread crises that paved the way for adopting the "commercial" system of pricing that was eventually applied on the benzene, fixing a high price for financially capable motor-car owners and retaining the subsidized for others.
The government that was born out of a great revolution has to confront the public in transparency and explain to the public options with regard to the economic crises, something which will certainly be appreciated by the people who certainly do not expect that those crises would be resolved overnight, said the columnist, adding that the people still await the 2020 budget figures to be released by the Minister of Finance.
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Journalist Mohamed Latif has extolled the relationship between the Sudan and the United Nations, noting that the latter is no stranger to the Sudan and is so intimate that it has never been absent from the east African country.
Beginning his column that was published by Al-Sudani daily newspaper of Wednesday, Latif commented on a recent weeklong visit by the UN Secretary-General's Consultant who, according to the columnist, had meetings with the President of the Sovereignty Council, the Prime Minister and other senior officials and dignitaries to whom he underlined the UN continued support and readiness to offer the Sudan all possible assistance in the capacity of the international organization.
Those who are opposed to a new role for the UN in Sudan forget or pretend to forget that the UN has always been in this county with UN peace-keeping forces and more than 20 UN missions, agencies, funds, programmes and offices all operating diligently in various spheres, said Latif.
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In contrast to the ups-and-downs during the past three decades, the relations between the Sudan and Ethiopia are at present witnessing a positive development with the transitional government of the Sudanese December Revolution has begun reconsidering the Sudanese external ties based on mutual respect, good-neighbor relations and common interests.
This remark was made by Al-Fatih Dawood in a column published by Al-Sudan Aldauliyyah daily newspaper of Thursday, adding that this new approach comes in conformity with the policy of Ethiopian Prime Minister Abi Ahmed who seeks to improve his country's ties with neighboring countries and to resolve African questions as Addis Ababa is seat of African institutions.
The columnist noted that the Sudanese border Fashagah territory that is occupied by Ethiopia remains a stumbling block that must be resolved through demarcation of the common Sudanese-Ethiopian borderline with the skirmishes and attacks by Ethiopian Shiftah (gangsters) on Sudanese territories and people is coming to an end with the help of the Ethiopian government of Abi.
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In a column that appeared on Asharq Al-Awsat daily newspaper of Saturday, Mohamed al-Rumaihy has stated that the likely handover of former Sudanese president Omar al-Beshir to the International Criminal Court (ICC) would be an Arab precedent of condemning what the columnist called an act of imposing "the ideology of intimidation" for continuing in power.
The handover of Beshir to the ICC will be a deterrent to other leaders, like Syrian Bashar Assad, who perpetrate massacres against their own peoples, said Rumaihy, adding that such crimes have become of an international concern, violating human rights and corruption laws.
The ICC Prosecutor, following a mandate by the United Nations Security Council in 2005, found out that Beshir and his aides have committed crimes of genocide, murder and rape in Darfur, West Sudan, and issued warrants of arrest against them for trial by the Hague criminal court, said the columnist, bringing back to mind Beshir's arrogant reaction that the ICC "is under my shoes."
The handover will be a positive act and good news to the Sudanese, Arab and African peoples as a small clique will no longer be able to commit genocide and crimes against humanity in the 21st century while the international community remains passive, said Rumaihy.
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