SUDAN: New Leader Seeks Ties to Soviets, Libya : Sudan’s New Leader Courts Soviets, Libya

The leader of Sudan’s new military regime said Monday that he has sent messages to the Soviet Union, Libya and Ethiopia expressing his desire for normal relations and his intention to strike “a more balanced position in foreign alliances.”

Gen. Abdul-Rahman Suwar Dahab, who overthrew the pro-Western government of Jaafar Numeiri on April 6, also told reporters at a news conference that he has received “positive responses” from all three countries and will pursue his goal of ending tensions with Sudan’s neighbors, Libya and Ethiopia.

Dahab added that the country’s controversial system of Islamic law, or sharia, will remain in effect, although it will be revised to eliminate abuses. This appeared to mean that Sudan will liberalize the laws and may quietly revert to the combination of Western and Islamic legal practices used in most Arab countries.

Western diplomats believe that Dahab intends to fulfill his earlier pledge to maintain close relations with the United States and Egypt, and many of them consider it diplomatically astute of Dahab to put some distance between himself and the Numeiri era by indicating a more nonaligned posture between East and West.

In addition, they said, the move, if made in a moderate way, will not affect the money he gets from Washington or the military backing of Cairo.

Egypt considers Sudan crucial to its own well-being because it controls the headwaters of the Nile River and because it acts as a buffer for Egypt’s southern underbelly.

Reports on Monday that Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak will visit Sudan soon--after a new Sudanese Cabinet is named--strengthen the contention that Egypt feels comfortable with the Dahab regime.

A list of names for the Cabinet--which will answer to the ruling military council--was submitted Sunday to Dahab by the trade unions whose general strike helped bring down Numeiri, union sources said.

The two nominees for prime minister are Mergani Nasri, president of the Sudanese lawyers’ association, and Golozi Dafala, head of the physicians’ union.

Dahab reiterated his intention to turn over power to a civilian government within one year and said Sudan will have a Western-style parliamentary democracy.

He said the strict application of Islamic law, which involves amputations and public floggings for petty criminals, will be reviewed and eventually put to a vote.

“In principle, it will stay,” he said, “but certain changes have to be done. They must be done. A revision must be done. It will be left for the masses to decide, but I believe they will make it stay.”

Speaking in fluent English, Dahab also made these points:

--The army decided to overthrow Numeiri to avoid bloodshed when street demonstrations made it clear that the unity of the country was at stake.

--John Garang, the former army colonel leading an Ethiopian-backed rebellion in southern Sudan, is a defector, but the junta is prepared to be flexible in seeking a settlement with him. “There is a problem, and we have to negotiate,” Dahab said.

--Chevron Oil Co. will resume work in southern Sudan as soon as security conditions permit. Chevron, which has invested $900 million in oil exploration, was forced to stop its operations because of rebel activity.