KHARTOUM (AA) – Sudan's National Intelligence and Security Services (NISS) prevented UK Ambassador to Khartoum Peter Tibber from meeting members of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) in eastern Sudan's Kassala State.
DUP Deputy Chairman in Kassala Mohamed Ahmed Abuammar told Anadolu Agency Monday that the meeting was supposed to have been held in the Moringa Garden opposite Kassala Radio late Sunday.
"We got a signal from the party leadership in Khartoum that a British delegation led by the ambassador will meet us," he recalled. "We welcomed the meeting and went to the suggested meeting venue."
"We met with the ambassador and his accompanying delegation, but there were two Sudanese men we did not know," said the DUP leader. "They introduced themselves as security officers and one of them told us that the meeting was not allowed."
"He said I was asked to inform the ambassador of this," Abuammar recounted. "The ambassador told them that he used to hold meetings, even with the opposition parties, asking why he would be prevented from meeting with a government party."
Abuammar said they had informed the DUP leadership in Khartoum of what had happened.
According to the British Embassy, Ambassador Tibber began a visit to the states of Kassala and Gedaref on Sunday to follow up on a handful of UK-funded projects.
According to Abuammar, the NISS later apologized to the party, citing information that the DUP delegation had wanted to hand over a memo to the ambassador.
"We don't accept such justification. This is nonsense," fumed the DUP leader. "If we wanted this, we would mobilize our base in Kassala."
"What would happen if we were not a coalition party in the government?" Abuammar asked. "The deputy governor of Kassala State is a DUP member."
The DUP, the main coalition partner of the ruling National Congress Party (NCP), announced its intention last Wednesday to withdraw from the government to protest the recent security crackdown on peaceful anti-government demonstrations.
There was no official statement by the party's leadership, however, substantiating the decision.
The DUP joined forces with President Omar al-Bashir's ruling NCP in 2011. It currently boasts five ministers in the 28-member cabinet.
The DUP's spokesman resigned from his post last week to protest his party's stance on the anti-austerity protests convulsing the country.
"I announce my resignation from the party and am quitting politics in protest of the continuation of the DUP in the government despite the protests that hit several Sudanese cities," Ibrahim al-Mirghani declared in a Wednesday statement.
by Ayman Elias Ibrahim
englishnews@aa.com.tr
