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December 21, 2007 Special Dispatch No. 1792

Editor of Sudanese Daily Harshly Attacks U.S., Castigates U.S. Chargé d'Affaires in Sudan; Alberto Fernandez

December 21, 2007
Special Dispatch No. 1792

Following a talk on U.S. policy by U.S. Chargé d'Affaires in Sudan Alberto Fernandez at an independent research institute in Khartoum,[1] the editor of the Sudanese paper Al-Intibaha, Al-Tayeb Mustafa, published a two-part article titled "Alberto Fernandez – A Man Without Shame," in which he harshly attacked Fernandez and condemned the U.S. and its policies.[2]

Following are excerpts from the article:

Fernandez and His Administration Shed Crocodile Tears over Darfur – As If its Inhabitants Are Not Insignificant People, Just like the Indians Whom the American Cowboys Annihilated

"When Alberto Fernandez was appointed U.S. Chargé d'Affaires in Sudan, I expressed by deep sorrow that our country would be subjected to the torment of this arrogant man. I had seen him many times on Al-Jazeera and on other [TV] channels representing and defending America's foreign policy in Iraq, [the cradle of] civilization, [land of the great Caliph] Haroun Al-Rashed.[3] The American forces have killed a million [Iraqis] and exiled millions more, and have driven Iraq and its civilization decades into the past, in terms of education and medical services and electricity and water infrastructures. So when [Fernandez], a speaker of Arabic, arrived [in Sudan], I knew that we were [facing] a new age of violence, tyranny and moral decay.

"Therefore, as I read the summary of Fernandez's talk at Friendship Hall [in Khartoum]... I had certain expectations, and [what I read] did nothing to allay my fears or to reverse [these expectations]. Most of his talk focused on Darfur, over which Fernandez and his administration are crying crocodile tears – as though the people of Darfur belong to the Anglo-Saxon elite which dominates the American political scene, [and as though] they are not insignificant people, just like the Indians that the American cowboys annihilated, and like the other peoples whom [the Americans] have used as guinea pigs for trying out their weapons of mass destruction.

"I did not know whether to laugh or to cry as I read the man's talk, in which he said, quoting [U.S.] Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice, that '[America's] policy toward Africa is rooted in partnership not paternalism.' He said this in the most paternalistic and hideous [manner] imaginable. His talk was – to put it in the mildest possible terms – impolite, and he deserves not only to be summoned to the [Sudanese] Foreign Ministry, but to be kicked out of the country after being reprimanded and scolded!"

Fernandez Adopts the Reasoning and Expressions of John Garang, Who Called Sudan a Land of 'Slave Traders'

"My amazement grew as I heard Fernandez – who, judging by his name, must be Hispanic – using the same terms that are used by Pagan Amum,[4] and saying that what threatens Sudan is the gap between the marginalized [people] and the elite. Not only that – the man has adopted the reasoning and expressions of [John] Garang[5] and his successors... [who called Sudan] a land of 'slave traders.' Fernandez talked on and on... describing the aid that the U.S. is extending to the marginalized Sudanese, and said that 'these people in the South and in the other marginalized areas have been faced by successive Sudanese governments that wouldn't or couldn't help them'!!"

The Marginalized American Blacks Live in Harlem, While Manhattan Is the Site of the World Trade Center, Which Was Destroyed by the Planes of the Lion of Allah Osama bin Laden

"However, when he talked about the marginalized people and the elite [in Sudan], he forgot to compare them to the elite of Manhattan and the marginalized people of Harlem in New York... I visited Harlem and walked in its streets less than 10 years ago, and saw the misery of the marginalized blacks who live there. I tell you in all honesty that I did not see a single white person as I wandered there. I saw a neighborhood not much different from Hajj Yousef or Embeda [slums in Khartoum]. Manhattan, on the other hand, is full of skyscrapers, and that is where the stock exchange and Wall Street are located, as well as the World Trade Center, which the planes of the Lion of Allah, Osama bin Laden, destroyed. Manhattan, [only] a few kilometers from Harlem, is the borough of the white Anglo-Saxon billionaires who continue to maintain their chokehold on America, its economy, and its politics. I would like to hear Fernandez talk of the successive white Anglo-Saxon American governments that have controlled America since its independence, and about the need to keep [the power] in the hands of the WASP elite.

The Rulers of America are Required to Be WASPs; the Only Exception Was the Kennedys – And They Were Assassinated

"Those who rule America are always required to be white Anglo-Saxon Protestants. The only exception, which proves the rule, was President Kennedy, who was Catholic, and he was assassinated, as everyone knows. When his brother tried to run [for president] he was also assassinated, and he was the last non-Protestant [candidate]! Moreover, when the black Jesse Jackson ran in the Democratic presidential primaries, Barbara Bush – the mother of the current president – described it as a bad joke!

"I demand that Fernandez assume for once the virtue of truthfulness, which the American administration lacks – that administration whose lies have been demonstrated in front of the entire world, and which invaded Iraq on the pretext that it possesses weapons of mass destruction. Even after the lie was exposed and [the U.S.] acknowledged it, it remained in Iraq, tormenting its people, bringing catastrophes upon them, and enslaving them.

"I demand that [Fernandez admit] the truth, which is [also] manifest in the support and assistance that [the U.S.] extends to the Zionist entity. That entity occupies, exploits and enslaves the Palestinians, who are the [true] owners of the land, and defiles [the Al-Aqsa mosque], from which the Prophet ascended to Paradise – an affront to all the Muslim peoples. I ask Fernandez to answer honestly one question: Why do you weep over Darfur, sticking your noses in our business, and why do you treat us with such arrogance, and at the same time boast that your attitude is not paternalistic?"

Why Isn't Fernandez Happy with the Sudanese Democracy that Brought the Sudanese Governments to Power?

"The America that I saw in New York... has no right to make a statement like the one that Fernandez made about the gap between the marginalized [people] and the elite. [In New York] I saw beggars, and I gave one of those marginalized blacks a dollar, as resounding proof that I have never seen a country in which the gap between the rich and the marginalized is so wide. The question I ask is this: If the American ambassador is so fond of paraphrasing the expressions of Pagan Amum, such as 'land of slave traders,' why isn't he happy with the democracy that brought those successive [Sudanese] governments to power, and with the people who elected [these governments]? Aren't these the very marginalized [people] he is defending?...

"When America talks about democracy, it forgets [to state] that it is in favor of democracy only when it serves its selfish strategic and political interests. [After all,] didn't it support the regime of Ja'far Numayri, who assisted in smuggling the Ethiopian Jews to Israel,[6] even though it was a totalitarian military regime? America's feeble claim [that it supports democracy] is belied by the fact that it supports tyrannical regimes and turns a blind eye to their oppression of their own people.

"Surprisingly, Fernandez asked why those who had burned houses in a few villages in Darfur – meaning the government's armed forces – refused to let the [inhabitants] return. In response, I ask him why America, which spent millions on the war in Iraq, and which destroyed and burned [Iraq] and deported [its people] – is not allowing the return of the [Iraqis] whose homes were burned down and destroyed [by the American] fighter jets..."

America Has No Moral Advantage that Allows It to Preach Morality to Others; America is Like a Circumciser of Women Who Has Not Been Circumcised Herself

"America has no moral advantage that allows it to preach morality to others. [America,] which talks about freeing political prisoners... should start by freeing the inmates of Guantanamo, who have been hidden away in American jails for years, without trial. [America,] which talks about human rights, should remember the acts that its soldiers committed in Abu Ghraib – acts which even animals would not have committed. [America,] which talks about freedoms and freedom of the press, should remember the British documents that revealed a plan to bomb the Al-Jazeera TV station. In fact, Al-Jazeera's offices in Baghdad were bombed, and dozens of journalists were killed by American fighter jets – suffice it to mention the tragic case of Al-Jazeera reporter Tareq Ayyoub.[7] Indeed, America is like a circumciser [of women] who has not been circumcised herself...

"I demand that the American ambassador shut his mouth, since he is incapable of saying anything good... Now I want Fernandez to answer the question over which the American politicians and elite are losing sleep, [namely]: Why do they hate us so much?"


[1] The talk was given on November 29, 2007 at the Future Trends Foundation for Strategic Studies & Dialogue. For a transcript of the talk, see http://khartoum.usembassy.gov/ev-112907.html.

[2] Al-Intibaha (Sudan), December 5, 2007; December 7, 2007.

[3] The era of fifth Abbasid Caliph Haroun Al-Rashed (ruled 786–809) is considered the golden age of Islam.

[4] Secretary-General of the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM), the largest of the rebel organizations in South Sudan.

[5] John Garang (19452005) was the leader of the rebel Sudan People's Liberation Army, the military branch of the SPLM.

[6] Ja'far Numayri seized the presidency of Sudan in a 1969 military coup, and was deposed in a subsequent coup in 1985. In the early 1980s, he allowed Ethiopian Jews to pass through Sudan en route to Israel, and in 1984, as a result of U.S. pressure, he secretly agreed to let Ethiopian Jews fly from Khartoum to Europe on their way to Israel.

[7] Ayyoub was killed in an American air strike on Baghdad on March 8, 2003.

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