SUDAN: Thousands of mourners gather in Khartoum for the funeral of Mohamed Ibrahim Nugud, leader of once-powerful Communist Party

Record ID: 436921

  • Title: SUDAN: Thousands of mourners gather in Khartoum for the funeral of Mohamed Ibrahim Nugud, leader of once-powerful Communist Party
  • Date: 26th March 2012
  • Summary: KHARTOUM, SUDAN (MARCH 25, 2012) (REUTERS) MEMBERS OF THE SUDANESE COMMUNIST PARTY (SCP) CARRYING COFFIN OF MUHAMMAD IBRAHIM NUGUD, SECRETARY GENERAL OF THE SCP SUPPORTER WEEPING SUPPORTERS CARRY COFFIN PICTURE OF NUGUD/ SUPPORTERS IN FUNERAL PROCESSION VARIOUS OF WOMEN WEEPING HASSAN AL-TURABI, HEAD OF THE OPPOSITION POPULAR CONGRESS PARTY SADIQ AL-MAHDI, HEAD OF THE UMMA PARTY NUGUD'S COFFIN BEING CARRIED ON TO TRUCK VARIOUS OF FUNERAL PROCESSION THROUGH STREETS SCP SUPPORTERS SAYING: "REVOLUTION IS THE CHOICE OF THE PEOPLE... FREEDOM, PEACE AND JUSTICE" (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) AFAF ABU KASHAWA, JOURNALIST SAYING: "His political and intellectual history and legacy are an inspiration for future generations and he was positive about youth revolution and the Arab Spring and believed that the younger the generation were the future, and that they would carry the banner after him." PROCESSION CARRYING COFFIN ENTER CEMETERY GROUNDS CHRISTIAN LEADER OFFERS CONDOLENCES TO NUGUD'S SUPPORTERS (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) UMAR USHARI, SCP PARTY SUPPORTER SAYING: "To me he represents a generation of respected politicians who spent their life struggling for human freedom and social justice." (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) MUHAMMAD ABD AL-QADIR, SCP PARTY SUPPORTER SAYING: "The Arab and African world have lost one of their pillars... the nation of Sudan has lost one of its political pillars... one who shaped Sudanese conscience on the values of democracy and peace." VARIOUS OF MOURNERS PRAYING AT FUNERAL PEOPLE IN CEMETERY GROUNDS (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) PETER ADOK, REPRESENTATIVE OF THE GOVERNMENT OF SOUTH SUDAN SAYING: "This is not a loss only to the Communist Party of the people of north Sudan but to all of Sudan, Africa and the world. This man cannot be underestimated, he committed his entire life to the struggle, that is why Salva Kiir sent us to offer condolences and be part of the funeral." VARIOUS OF WOMEN CARRYING PICTURES OF NUGUD
  • Embargoed: 10th April 2012 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Sudan, Sudan
  • Country: Sudan
  • Topics: Obituaries,Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVA9HQ6CLAARJ7OZCU6LEG98051N
  • Story Text: The coffin of Mohamed Ibrahim Nugud, head of Sudan's Communist Party, was carried shoulder high through the streets of Khartoum on Sunday (March 25) where thousands of mourners gathered to pay their last respects.
    Nugud died on Thursday (March 22) in Britain, where he had travelled for brain cancer treatment, party officials said.
    Born in 1930, he spent more than four decades at the helm of what was once one of the African country's most potent political forces.
    Nugud became the party's secretary general shortly after President Jaafar Nimeiri had his predecessor executed in a broad purge of the party's leadership following a failed coup in 1971.
    Members of the party, weeping supporters as well as prominent opposition leaders were among thousands who chanted slogans and escorted Nugud's body in a procession to his house then to the SCP headquarters in downtown Khartoum and finally to the Al-Farouq cemetery where he was buried.
    Known for his personal charisma, Nugud was one of a generation of ageing politicians which still wields influence in Sudan, alongside Umma Party head Sadeq al-Mahdi and Popular Congress Party chief Hassan al-Turabi, who both attended the funeral.
    "His political and intellectual history and legacy are an inspiration for future generations and he was positive about youth revolution and the Arab Spring and believed that the younger the generation were the future, and that they would carry the banner after him," said Afaf Abu Kashawa, a journalist.
    The Communist Party was a major force in Sudan after the country gained independence from Britain in 1956, helping shape the political landscape of the tumultuous years that followed.
    The party long advocated its ideology as an antidote for the sectarian and ethnic divisions which have fuelled Sudan's long internal conflicts, but never managed to take control.
    "To me he represents a generation of respected politicians who spent their life struggling for human freedom and social justice," Umar Ushari, an SCP supporter.
    "The Arab and African world have lost one of their pillars... the nation of Sudan has lost one of its political pillars... one who shaped Sudanese conscience on the values of democracy and peace," Muhammad Abd al-Qadir another Supporter.
    Nugud led the party through years that saw resumption of civil war with the country's south, Nimeiri's ousting in a popular uprising and a coup which brought the current military government to power.
    He was arrested numerous times, including after President Omar al-Bashir's government took power in a 1989 coup.
    "This is not a loss only to the Communist Party of the people of north Sudan but to all of Sudan, Africa and the world. This man cannot be underestimated, he committed his entire life to the struggle, that is why Salva Kiir sent us to offer condolences and be part of the funeral, said Peter Adok, a representative of the South Sudan's government at the funeral.
    In 1971, party members were linked to a short-lived coup against Nimeiri who then carried out a massive purge of the group, arresting and executing much of its leadership.
    The party never fully recovered from the blow and has remained much diminished.
    The editor of its mouthpiece, al-Midan newspaper, said authorities had repeatedly blocked the paper from publishing this month after it ignored a warning to avoid writing about the recent killing of a girl by police.
    Nugud, who earned a degree in economics and philosophy in Bulgaria also wrote several historical and Marxist-themed books.
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