General Bashir: Sudan's Islamic program will proceed

Sudanese President General Omar al-Bashir said that his government is well aware of foreign conspiracies targeting what he called the legitimate aspirations of the Sudanese people.

Bashir stated that the Sudanese leadership is determined to go ahead with moving toward the full implementation of its Islamic program despite all the challenges posed by those who betrayed their own people, referring to the opposition National Democratic Alliance, and forces of hegemony, a term which usually refers to the United States.

General Bashir who was addressing Sudanese civil service leaders yesterday in Khartoum commented, in his speech, on the student conscription plan which has recently stirred a wide controversy following the tragic incident early this month in Alailafoun conscription camp 16 miles south of Khartoum, where 55 high school students were killed according to official statistics while attempting to flee the camp, and hundreds are still reported missing.

Bashir indirectly criticized the behavior of those conscripts who took part in the mass escape as he described what happened as a test of faith, saying that those who lost their lives did not die in the fields of martyrdom. He said his government will continue pursuing its compulsory recruitment policy until all those who threaten the sovereignty of Sudan are crushed.

General Bashir added that a new civil registry, currently underway, will help reorganize recruitment efforts in a highly civilized way instead of collecting youngsters randomly from streets and bus stops. No student above 18 who is capable of carrying arms should be exempted from conscription, Bashir said, but those students who score high marks in their final exams and are admitted to universities would, from now on, be allowed to complete their study programs after a brief military training period.

General Bashir's statements regarding the continuation of the youth conscription policy and his government's intentions to stand up firmly to the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) and the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) who are posing serious threats to his National Islamic Front regime, come just a few days before the start of a new round of negotiations between the Sudanese government and the SPLA, scheduled to take place in Nairobi on April 30.