El-Torabi: World media made Bin Laden symbol of Islamic struggle

The head of the Sudanese Parliament, Hussan El-Torabi stated yesterday that the US missile attack on Osama Bin Laden's bases in Afghanistan made Bin Laden a hero in the eyes of youths, adding that the international and Western mass media contributed to making Bin Laden a symbol for Islamic struggle.

El-Torabi said Bin Laden's stay in Sudan previously was for working purposes only stating that Bin Laden built a road in northern Sudan and Khartoum Airport and participated in agricultural projects.

Bin Laden headed to Sudan after having fought against the Soviets in Afghanistan, and helped end the Soviet presence in Afghanistan. He reportedly went to Sudan with a group of the so-called Afgan-Arabs fighters.

El-Torabi said Bin Laden was not expelled from Sudan or obliged to leave, but left (back to Afghanistan) because he did not want to embarrass Sudan in its relations with Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia had revoked Bin Laden's citizenship for reportedly having refused to denounce terrorist acts directed against certain Arab states.

Bin Laden's commercial connections to Sudan were denied by the Sudanese government. Bin Laden was accused by the U.S. of having links to the recently bombed Sudanese medicine factory. Recently, Sudanese President Omar El-Bashir formed a committee to investigate the ownership of El-Shefa medicine factory, recently destroyed by a US military strike. Sudan said that Bin Laden had no such links.