Sudan denies intention to detain Turabi

Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir on Saturday released a decision to freeze the general secretariat of the ruling National Congress Party's federal and state sectors.

The freeze, criticized by Turabi's supporters, covered the secretary general of the party, his deputies and the secretaries of the National Congress in the Sudanese provinces.

In an televised address to the nation Bashir declared "the freezing of the National Congress Secretariat as well as all of its regional secretariats."

Bashir, who is also the party's chairman, said he had taken the measure after exhausting all chances of understanding with the secretary general, Turabi, and his aides.

"I am doing so to end an odd situation where the secretary general and his staff no longer respect the decisions of the government and those of the party chairman," he noted.

"Our differences have changed into frank feuding. Turabi has got into the habit of exploiting any available opportunity to belittle our work, to sabotage and to spread political intrigue," Bashir has complained.

"Whenever we reached an agreement to settle our differences, he will be the first to violate it," Bashir charged Turabi, saying "we no longer speak the same language."

Sudanese Information Minister Ghazi Saleh El-Din denied that the government intended to arrest Hassan Turabi, the secretary general of the National Congress Party, when the Sudanese president froze his political activities.

The information minister also said that Turabi could establish a new party or practice the work outside the National Congress, adding that the one who said the government intends to arrest Turabi was his deputy. He said the allegation is not true and that it is meant to agitate the feelings.