Former Sudanese premier predicts popular revolution DPA Doha, 2/05/12 - Former Sudanese prime minister al-Sadiq al-Mahdi, who was ousted in a 1989 military coup led by current leader Omar al-Bashir, says the country is heading toward disaster and predicts the people will rise up in a popular revolt. In an interview with dpa in Doha, al-Mahdi said the leadership of Sudan is failing to address the worsening economic crisis in the country. He also warned that the dismal relations with South Sudan, which became independent last year, were hurting Khartoum. Sudan is treating the south in a "hostile way," al-Mahdi said. "We are against this and we are now preparing a shadow conference for peace in Khartoum that brings together the different political groups from outside the government. "I believe a hostile attitude (to South Sudan) will lead to a war that will destroy both countries, which is just a suicidal plan. The alternative is to build relations based on co-existence, peace and integration. "A war between the two countries will cover the whole region," he added, referring to East Africa. The former premier, aged 76 and the head of the Umma centrist Islamist party, says the shadow conference will focus on the relationship between the two countries. It will also address questions of oil revenue sharing, water and the dispute over three border areas - South Kordofan, Blue Nile and Abyei. The failure to clearly demarcate the border before the south became independent led to violence in April. The United Nations and African Union are calling on Sudan and South Sudan to resolve their differences in the coming months or face sanctions. There are fears the sides could return to war. Al-Mahdi, an Oxford graduate and prolific author, said he supports peace plans and is urging the south and north to engage the peace process. Al-Mahdi returned to Sudan in 2000 after years in exile since his 1989 overthrow. He has since acted as a vocal opposition within the country, where dissent is largely stifled. Speaking about Sudan's economy, al-Mahdi did not mince his words. "The economic situation in Sudan is very bad, and I warn of doom and destruction." He said the government failed to come up with alternative sources of revenue after losing 75 per cent of its oil reserves when the south split. Khartoum has also placed a commercial embargo on the south, which analysts say is hurting both countries. "The government's administrative and leadership failures, as well as the winds of the Arab Spring, and Sudan's special tradition of revolutions will inspire the Sudanese people to rise up and topple al-Bashir's regime," said al-Mahdi. But the former premier - who was in the Qatari capital attending the annual Doha Forum on political affairs - warned that the government in Khartoum was ready to violently crush any protest movement. While al-Bashir and al-Mahdi are rivals, the former premier has backed the country's ruler after he was indicted for war crimes by the International Criminal Court. Al-Bashir and several other Sudanese leaders are accused of ordering crimes against humanity in the Darfur conflict.
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