By Barchoch Tut Jing
AUSTRALIA, 27 October 2009 - The tour took him first to Europe, Russia, Middle East and then Australia and he will also be heading to Canada. The visit is seen as a designed campaign by NCP to clean their image abroad.
“We have been to Europe, Russia and Middle East and met with Sudanese residing in those parts of the world. Our visit is to dignify the Sudanese citizens wherever they are across the globe. We did not come because of the upcoming election mobilisation or because of the referendum issue”, Dr Tahami told the Sudanese here in Australia at the meeting organised by NCP supporters.
However, most analysts believe that the NCP is trying to establish a link with the Australian Government as a counter to Government of Southern Sudan Mission to Australia. “We have come here to meet with the Australian Government regarding political issues. We have met with the secretary for external affairs and will be holding a meeting with the immigration department and another one to ask the NCP members in Australia to work hard for political capacity building”, added Dr Tahami.
He said that for 50 years southerners and northerners have been living and working together. “We do not have problems in Sudan”, the minister said this in an attempt to sell his one Sudan ideology to largely separatists southerners who formed the audience at the meeting. Despite that few South Sudanese NCP supporters are working relentlessly to establish an office in Melbourne for their party. The idea is at an advance stage now with the steering committee already in place.
The International Criminal Court case against the NCP President, Omar Hassan Al-Bashir is one of the reasons for this diplomatic maneuver. Dr Tahami proudly told the Sudanese gathering that Americans have changed their policy towards Sudan. “The problem was George W Bush and Bill Clinton’s administrations that were harsh towards us. President Barack Obama’s administration has softened its stands on the Darfur conflict. Sudanese everywhere demonstrated to show their opposition against Bashir’s indictment by the ICC in The Hague”.
Moreover, the NCP leadership is worried about qualified and established Sudanese living abroad for they believe these are the suppliers of information to the Western media against the NCP rule in Sudan. The forum held recently in Khartoum and chaired by the Council of Ministers recommended to Dr Tahami to meet with well qualified Sudanese expatriates that have connections to collect ideas from the grassroots Sudanese in Diaspora.
The visiting NCP members besides Dr Karar Tahami include Sheikh Hassan, Teacher Ruot Simon Mayen, and an advisor in the White Nile State Government and will be joined by Adhalla Hassan Essa, Director for Taxation Chamber and Chairman of Economic Committee.