Word: nimeiri
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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When the military overthrew the 16-year regime of President Gaafar Nimeiri in a bloodless coup last year, Lieut. General Abdul Rahman Suwar al Dahab, the Defense Minister who spearheaded the rebellion, moved into the colonial-style Presidential Palace on the banks of the Blue Nile in Khartoum. Grateful citizens slaughtered a cow in a traditional housewarming gesture to welcome the new leader, but Suwar al Dahab told them his stay would be short. Within a year, he promised, he would hold free elections and turn power over to a civilian government. Last week, Suwar al Dahab showed that...
...spring sandstorms blew across the country, millions of Sudanese went to the polls to elect representatives for a new 301-member National People's Assembly, which will write a constitution and choose a permanent government. After years of Nimeiri's harshly autocratic, one-party rule, Sudan seemed to revel in its new chance at democracy. Candidates representing some 30 different parties, ranging from Muslim fundamentalists to Communists, competed for assembly seats. Major cities like Khartoum and Omdurman were swathed in campaign posters and political banners. "The Sudanese nation," said Suwar al Dahab, "has decided to go ahead with democracy...
...sparsely populated country has no modern nationwide telephone system and only a rudimentary road network. Mobile voting booths were trucked to some particularly remote regions. Nonetheless, enthusiasm for the balloting was apparent. Said Mohammed Abbas, 32, a graduate student at the University of Khartoum, who had been imprisoned under Nimeiri: "Sudan is a better country today. There is a real attempt here at freedom and democracy...
...just across the Red Sea from Saudi Arabia. The U.S. has considered the country an ideal staging area for its forces in the event of a military threat to the gulf region. Even when Arab nations shunned the late Egyptian President Anwar Sadat for entering peace negotiations with Israel, Nimeiri was staunchly pro- Western and firmly allied with Egypt. The U.S. has attempted to ensure Khartoum's loyalty by granting about $200 million in economic aid and $19 million in military assistance to Sudan, more than to any other African nation except Egypt. While Suwar al Dahab has been friendly...
...word in Khartoum last week was reconciliation: with the Sudanese people, with former enemy Libya and with antigovernment rebels in the south. The ruling military council, which took over after the ouster of President Gaafar Nimeiri last month, appointed a 15-man Cabinet, all but two of them civilians. The military will continue to wield power until elections, which the council has pledged will be held in a year's time...