Sudan Forces Labor Leaders to Back Away From Strike : Protesters Disperse Peacefully After Union Chiefs Meet Head of New Junta

Sudan’s new military government won its first challenge today by forcing labor union leaders to abandon an attempt to resume a crippling general strike that led to the ouster of President Jaafar Numeiri two days ago.

Official Omdurman Radio made the announcement after thousands of members of professional unions marched on army headquarters where union leaders were meeting with Gen. Adbul-Rahman Suwar Dahab, head of the ruling junta. The marchers later dispersed peacefully.

Dahab had summoned the labor leaders after they decided in meetings Sunday to continue the strike until the state security apparatus, a pillar of Numeiri’s ousted regime, was dismantled and government institutions were transferred “from the army to the people.”

Anti-Government Protests

There were unconfirmed reports of scattered anti-government demonstrations in some parts of Khartoum today in support of the union stand. Kamal Absher, the new governor of Khartoum, ordered a ban on all marches inside the capital and said rules of state of emergency would be applied against violators.

Following the series of meetings between the new government and the unions, an appeal by union leaders for all members to return to work was broadcast by Radio Omdurman.

The general secretariat of the Sudanese Labor Federation called on workers to return to their jobs “because this is our weapon to realize the people’s demands.”

Strike Crippled Economy

Dahab had threatened to charge anyone calling for continuation of the general strike with high treason, punishable by death. The strike had crippled the Sudanese economy and severed most air and communications links between this African nation and the outside world. Telex and telephone communications were back today.

In Cairo, meanwhile, a source close to the Egyptian government said Numeiri had been taken to a hospital near Cairo today for medical tests and not a heart ailment as first reported.

The source said Numeiri, 55, “entered the Armed Forces Hospital for a series of medical tests and analysis.”

However, Egyptian Prime Minister Kamal Hassan Aly said, “We have not learned that he has been admitted to any hospital.”

Dahab Defends Takeover

Dahab announced on Saturday, shortly before Numeiri arrived in Cairo en route home from a nine-day visit to the United States that the army was taking control of Sudan because of a deteriorating political and economic situation.

A main reason for Numeiri’s visit to the United States had been an annual medical checkup. Numeiri has been ill since the late 1970s. The nature of his ailments has never been disclosed.

Egypt’s state-owned Middle East News Agency reported today that Numeiri sent a message to Dahab, a longtime ally, saying he understood the motives behind the coup.

Numeiri Offers Support

“Numeiri wished (Dahab) success in the discharge of his new responsibilities in the service of Sudan and in defending Sudan against the forces of conspiracy and in preserving its national unity,” the news agency said. It quoted Numeiri as saying that he, “as a Sudanese citizen, always will remain at the service of Sudan.”

Dahab has promised after six months a return to civilian rule, which Numeiri ended with a 1969 coup. On Sunday Dahab ordered the army to take over the security agency’s functions and confiscate its weapons and communications equipment.

The security agency’s head, Omar el-Tayeb, who was Numeiri’s first vice president, was arrested Sunday along with other key Numeiri officials. Western diplomats said Numeiri’s ministers were placed under house arrest. (Story on Page 5.)