Sudan: Omar Al-Bashir admits responsibility for 1989 coup

Sudan’s ousted President, Omar Al-Bashir, admitted that he was primarily responsible for the 1989 coup, recounting the events that preceded it.

Al-Bashir made his statements before a court in the capital, Khartoum, yesterday, according to the official Sudanese television station.

After recounting the events in detail about the atmosphere before the coup, Al-Bashir said: “I bear full responsibility for the events of June 1989.”

However, the president, who ruled Sudan for nearly 30 years, did not express remorse for his rule, which came as a result of the coup.

Al-Bashir spoke of the achievements of his rule related to national consensus, peace, oil extraction, and infrastructure construction.

He added: “We invited 77 party leaders for dialogue after the 1989 events, with the aim of restoring peace to the country.”

“We gave attention to the issue of peace because it is the key to resolving all the issues that the country suffers from, and we strived to achieve that.”

“We had great successes, we wanted to serve the Sudanese people and our goal was not power,” he added.

Al-Bashir denied the participation of any civilians in the implementation of the 1989 coup, and stated, “I do not know any of the civilians in the preparatory meetings for the coup.”

On June 30, 1989, Al-Bashir carried out a military coup against the government of Prime Minister Sadiq Al-Mahdi, and assumed the position of Chairman of the Leadership Council of what was known as the National Salvation Revolution. During the same year he became president of the country.

Al-Bashir was placed in Kober Central Prison, north of Khartoum, after the army removed him from the presidency on 11 April 2019, after three decades in power. He was removed under the weight of popular protests denouncing the deteriorating economic situation.

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