IN SUDAN, TIDE TURNS AGAINST THE U.S.

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP90-00965R000605690001-8
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: May 2, 2012
• Sequence Number: 1
• Publication Date: April 29, 1986
• Content Type: OPEN SOURCE

STAT
` Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/05/02 : CIA-RDP90-00965R000605690001-8
UN rA1~t:....,L~,~m. nLn i VI\i\ I LI?ILJ
29 April 1986
In Sudan, Tide Turns Against the U.S.
By SHEILA RULE
spedel to 1i New Yert -nmee
KHARTOUM, the Sudan, April 22 -
Several university students, their
clenched fists raised in defiance, added
their voices to angry chants of "Down,
Down, U.S.A.!" at a rally held recently
in this gritty, time-worn capital to pro-
test American air strikes against
Libya.
One of the students, who gave his
name as Rabei, as asked to explain
his hostility toward the United States.
"The U.S.A. was Nimeiry's broth-
el'," said the youth, all but spitting out
the name of Gaafar al-Nimeiry, the
Sudanese President whose increasing
unpopularity helped lead to his over-
throw last April.
"Now we can talk with our hearts
.and tell the world that Libya is our
brother acrd that the U.S.A. is not the
great friend. anymore," he said.
' The comment speaks to what some
Western diplomats and Sudanese Gov-
eernment officials call dramatically and
quickly heightening Libyan influence
in this huge East African country, at
the expense of links to the United $tates
and Egypt.
New llhartoum-Tripoli lies
Mr. Nimeiry had close ties to both
Icwntries and was a staunch opponent
pI Libya and Ethiopia, both of which
were aiding efforts to overthrow him.
In the 12 months since Mr. Nimeiry
Was toppled, the Sudan's transitional
military rulers have re-established dip-
omatic ties and signed a military
ement with Tripoli.
be Libyan leader, Col. Muammar
gel-Qaddafi, switched sides in the
Sudan's civil war in the south, lending
Soviet-made bombers and other mili-
tary equipment to the Government in
its battle against the Ethiopian-backed
rebels. Libya has also given 300,000
metric tons of free oil to this impover-
ished country, where scores of Suda-
nese each day crowd around the Libyan
'People's Bureau in Khartoum to apply
for foreign employment.
$451 Million In U.S. Aid
Western diplomats say Libya has
also been active here In less public
s ways. The diplomats charge that
Libyan terrorists are focusing on
Americans here. The ,Western dinlo-mats also say Libyan intelligence.
r s ves ve EMkrtedly Sudanese to monitor and harass
cergM American na
The United States, meanwhile, is .the
Sudan's largest aid donor - it gave
Khartoum $450 million last year in eco-
nomic, famine relief and military
assistance - and gives this country
more aid than it does to any other Af-
rican nation except Egypt, although
aid to the Sudan is expected to drop.
The United States has long consid-
ered the Sudan strategically impor-
tant, a buffer against Libya for Egypt
and other allies in the Middle East.
Nevertheless, the United States slowly
began to lose its grip on the country
after Mr. Nimeiry was overthrown, ac-
cording to diplomatic sources and
Sudanese Government officials.
The sources say one reason for the
loss in status is Washington's backing
for Mr. Nimeiry in his last years of
deepening unpopularity. a
A trial of former Government offi-
cials who played a role in secretly air-
lifting thousands of Ethiopian Jews
from the Sudan to Israel also fueled
anti-Americdn sentiment, they said.
The Sudanese Government used the
four-month trial to highlight what it
called the failures of Mr. Nimeiry and
to look closely at the activities of Amer-
ican officials in the Sudan, most nota-
bly Ambassador Hume A. Horan. in
the trial, which was broadcast over
X
eral char What the airlift was su r-
e Unit States Embassy
here and a Central Intelligence
Agency also played a role.
Air Strikes 'Last Straw'
After, these and other events came
the air strikes against Libya, which one
Western diplomat characterized as
"the last straw for some Sudanese."
"While all these things were going
on, Libya was shoring up its position,"
he said. "I'm almost surprised that
America's position is not worse than it
is, under the circumstances."
"But the Sudanese have to ask them-
selves what Libya can actually do for
them," he said. "I think they will dis-
cover that only the United States has
the resources to truly help them in solv-
ing their huge and numerous prob-
lems."
The Sudan, Africa's largest country,
has a history of shifting alliances. Mr.
Nimeiry came to power in 1969 in a
Soviet-backed coup that was inspired
by the Egyptian revolution of Gamal
Abdel Nasser.
He later called for a reduction in
Soviet influence, leading to a coup at-
tempt against him in 1971.
Colonel Qaddafi later lashed out at
Mr. Nimeiry for failing to join in a
union with Libya and Egypt and began
a drive to overthrow him. The Libyan
leader helped finance and organize a
coup attempt a ainst Mr. Nimeiry in
1976. A principff figure in the attempt,
staged from Libya, was Sadiq el-
Mahdi, who is expected to become
Prime Minister of the Sudan's new
civilian Government. Egyptian troops
played a major role in helping Mr. Ni-
meiry" crush the 1976 coup attempt.
The military coup last year opened
the way for a Libyan challenge, which
was aided by Cairo's decision to grant
asylum to Mr. Nimeiry.
Egypt, which has been accusing
Libya for years of efforts at terrorist
activity in Egypt, has been working to
strengthen its ties with the Sudan.
Relations between the two are consid-
ered far better than they were in the
first six months after the military Gov-
ernment seized power.
Earlier this month, Egypt reportedly
sent to Khartoum a free shipment of
arms; there was another gift arms,
shipment of $14 million last year.
While many Sudanese in the north
say their country is moving away from
the United States because of its anti-
Arab attitude and failure to assist in
the civil war, others consider the re-
cent shifts the natural result of a push
toward democracy and freedom of,
choice after nearly 16 years of authori-
tarian rule. They say the United States
,is, as Hussein Malik, a professor of en- '
gineering at the University of Khar-
toum, says, "overreacting terribly."
The U.S. Investment
But some Western officials believe
differently, pointing to America's huge
investment in the country and Libya-
directed anti-Americanism that led to
the evacuation of about 300 Americans
from Khartoum this month after the
shooting of an American Embassy em-
ployee after the Libya air strikes.
The United States influence may slip
further, they say, because the Sudan's
recent successful harvest, coupled with
coming worldwide cuts in American
aid, will translate into less assistance
for the Sudan.
"Libya is ingratiating itself with the
Sudan, which is making the mistake of
saying, 'Look, Libya is the only country
doing what w&-' ask,"' one diplomat
said. "And the Arab solidarity and in-
fluence cuts deeply. Yes, the tide is
running the other way. How long and
hard it runs remains to be seen."
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/05/02 : CIA-RDP90-00965R000605690001-8