Oral History

The Failed Coup of Opposition Groups or Parties against the Gaafar El-Nimeiri  

Interview by: Saraa Fadl

Interviewee: Osama Fadl

Date: 5/15/15

Time: 9:00 pm

Abstract: In 1976, there was an attempted coup located in Khartoum, Sudan in which my father, who was 11 years old at the time, had witnessed. This failed coup was lead by opposition parties against president Jaafar El-Nimeiri and his military at an attempt to overthrow the military government in Sudan and take over. He mentions how the event that happened at that time is connected with what is happening today. He talks about his opinion of the situation and the government.

Research on Jaafar El-Nimeiri

He was president for 17 years (1969-1985). He was a US ally and was known for creating a sharia law that he thought would make Sudan peaceful but instead, it created conflicts between the north and the south. He was responsible for creating a lot of conflicts from his ruling which resulted in him being exiled in Cairo, Egypt. He was in exile for 14 years and came back to Sudan in 1999. He tried to get reelected but did poorly. He died on May 30, 2009 at the age of 79.

Sources:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaafar_Nimeiry

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/8075376.stm

S.F: Hello this is Saraa Fadl and I'm here to talk about the failed coup led by various groups such as the Islamists, The Uma Party (A Political Party) that opposed Jaafar El-Nimeiri with my father who at the time was 11 years old witnessed it. So how are you?

O.F:I’m alright.

S.F:So, I’m just here to ask you questions based on your knowledge about the failed coup. So, what happened based on your knowledge?

O.F: That time there was we were coming from  a wedding of my cousin and the wedding lasted until 4 am in the morning that day and while we were coming my dad’s pickup truck we heard the bombing and shooting. Was like far away it was supposed to be like in downtown which was like maybe about 67, miles from where we were but still we were overhearing the bombing so when we got home we were outside just listening and you know wondering where was that and then the news came in and said there was a coup led by the opposition but the official government was saying like they were saying is  a missionary from overseas past soldiers from other countries. They came to invade Sudan so that helped the government which is the military at the time helped them to you know the people help them because they were against the foreigners.

SF: So did this last all day or..?

OF: It was until like from like 3 or 4 am to like maybe around 11 or 12 and then you know when the people that came in, they came in and they couldn’t control the government or the country or the capital. Then they were driven away from there from the center and they came closer to where I lived like a mile so there was shootings all morning.

S.F: Was this a school night or a weekend?

O.F: It was Friday i think Thursday night to Friday night. it was the next day was.. we were

S.F: So it lasted a couple days?

OF: No I think it was the fighting was until 12 or something and then the government came back and the president was overseas and then they took over

SF: So when this happened he didn’t know about it or...?

OF: No he knew about it from overseas and i think he was directing it from overseas but there was some of his ministers and his people in the military you know that helped him.

SF: Did you witness something disturbing? Did you hear, see, or smell something unusual?

OF: No it was far away i mean i was too young to go and you know but we just heard stuff we heard the guns if we weren’t in the wedding we wouldn’t hear that. We would be asleep but it happens at the time of the wedding night of my cousin so we heard the whole thing and we stayed up but i didn’t see anything.

SF: Did you see any helicopters?

OF: No there were soldiers on the ground they were trying to control the radio and the tv stations and the military installations.

SF: So you mentioned it was far away, where was it located?

OF: In downtown like where the TV and the radio stations and the military headquarters.

SF: So where were you?

OF: Like in the suburbs, like 6 or 7 miles away.

SF: Of Khartoum or..?

OF: Downtown yeah.

SF: So when you first saw it, was there anyone in the family that knew about it a little bit, so that they can fill you in because you probably was confused at the time?

OF: Yeah, I had my cousin he was in the secret service, like the internal secret service, so yeah, he didn’t know too, but when he came back later on, he told us it’s a, you know, a missionary they call it مرتزقة (which is like paid soldiers from overseas from other countries). So thats how the government defeated them but they were opposition parties opposing the government but when they came they brought people that didn’t know the area they didn’t know the city, and they looked different from the people in the city, so it was easy to see that they are not sudanese, so the propaganda of the government they told them to pay missionaries to stop. All the sudanese were behind the government so thats what he told me.

S.F: How are people knowing about it now or years after the event happened? Do you think they are teaching that in school or are their relatives telling them?

OF:yea i mean people are talking about it because we are in the same situation right now in Sudan. There is a military government, there is a military taking over the country for now 25 years and the opposition parties are against the government and at this point, there were a lot of fights, there are a lot of wars in the south and the west and now people are trying to come together in a reconciliation so it’s the same situation like at the time 1976 i think ‘75 so its the same scenario happening right now so people are trying to--

SF: Compare?

OF: Yea, it’s comparable because its the same situation. the opposition were against the government. some parties of the opposition are fighting the government and now everybody is trying to come together and have a peaceful reconciliation and have a national government so it doesn’t get worse.

SF: What is your opinion? Do you have a side?

OF: No I am with everyone coming together because the country’s situations are getting worse, economically, politically, and socially. People are going back to their tribes, going back to their ethnicity.

SF: Because of the government.

OF: Because of the government trying to rule by dividing the people, dividing the parties together, dividing people against people, so they managed to control the country but in the end, the country is divided and divided, so hopefully they can come together and bring all the sudanese to one government and then work in improving the situation in Sudan.

SF: Are there leaders in Sudan that are trying to fix it?

OF: Yeah there is some leaders but because i think that personally because of selfishness they don’t want to join. They feel like they supposed to get more than what they can get, they don’t want to compromise. They are selfish and it can’t work with some parties joining and not the others it’s going to be the same problem. So everyone has to come so that's why its difficult to bring everybody in but that’s the only solution right now. otherwise it’s going to be wars its going to be like civil war. There is some wars fighting in the west, in Darfur and other states in the country but it’s going to be more people even in the capital because there is a lot of guns now with each parties so--

SF: So, history is repeating itself.

OF: Yeah. So the president at the time was wise and he managed to reconcile people but now i think the president is trying but i don’t know if he is trying hard and some opposition parties are--

SF: He’s(the president) abusing his power?

OF: Yeah of course I mean he’s responsible for all the mess that happened at the end.

SF: Is he the same president as what happened a long time ago?

OF: No that was El-Nimeiri now it’s Al-Bashir. There was a democratic elected government in between the two military governments but it’s the same problems and same situations.

SF: Ok , thank you!

OF: You’re welcome!