Leader of Sudan

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Leader of Sudan

Ahmed Hassan Omar Al Bashir (1944- )

Position: President, Republic of Sudan

Party: National Congress Party (NCP)

Origins: Arab, Ja'alin tribe

Becoming a president

Omar Al Bashir became the head of Sudan in 1989 after staging a bloodless, Islamic-backed military coup against the then democratic government. He went on to assume the president's office in 1993. Since then, Bashir has been governing Sudan despite facing widespread condemnation from the international community for human rights abuse in Darfur and other regions of the country.

Al Bashir joined the Sudanese military in 1960 and attended military school in Cairo and Khartoum. He climbed up the military ranks at an alarming pace. With his notable leadership skills he was able to organize a mutiny against the governing prime minister Sadiq al-Mahdi in 1989. Soon after, Bashir declared emergency in the country and has since imposed Sharia law.

Under the emergency laws, Bashir banned all opposition parties and severely punished any dissenting voice. Journalists and activists were systematically targeted for speaking out and the situation continues to remain the same.

Bashir was elected as president again in 1996 after national elections in which he was the only candidate allowed to run for the office as per the election laws. After victory in the elections, he allowed some opposition political parties to be formed legitimately.

Internal conflict

Bashir's rivalry with Hassan al-Turabi, a radical Islamist, is well known. After Bashir's re-election as president in 1999, al-Turabi, then the chairperson of the NCP, passed a bill in parliament that demanded a reduction in presidential powers. Citing this as a potential threat, Bashir dismissed al-Turabi as the chairperson of the NCP.

In response al-Turabi began his own splinted faction called the Popular National Congress Party (PCP), which had links with the rebel Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM). This led to his arrest in 2003. After being released for a brief period al-Turabi was re-arrested and released yet again in 2005 at the height of the Doha peace talks.

War crimes and crimes against humanity

The International Criminal Court (ICC) in the Hague issued an arrest warrant against Bashir in 2009 for committing war crimes and crimes against humanity in Darfur. He is wanted alongside Ahmed Harun the governor of South Kordofan and Ali Kushayb, an alleged Janjaweed leader.

Bashir has been indicted for masterminding and implementing a plan to destroy three main Darfuri Arab groups – the Fur, Masalit and Zaghawa. His arrest is still impending since the Sudan has declared that it will not carry it forward.

Position on human rights

Despite these allegations by the ICC as well as widespread condemnation by the international community, Bashir remains defiant. In an interview with David Frost, the Sudanese president was quoted saying, “Talk of Arabs killing Blacks is a lie, the government of Sudan is a government of Blacks, with all different ethnic backgrounds. We're all Africans. We're all Black.”
Such remarks could be seen as outlining Bashir's attitude towards the ongoing civil war in the country between the government and the southern-based Sudan People's Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM/A).
Bashir has banned numerous international humanitarian organizations from working inside Sudan claiming that they are western spies. Only national humanitarian organizations are allowed to function in affected areas, but also with limitations on their movements.
While the situation worsens in areas like Darfur, South Kordofan and Blue Nile, Bashir has been blamed by various international observers to have been turning a blind eye towards the plight of the civilians and continuing a military campaign against targeted populations.