This week, I focused on China’s deepening economic relations with Sudan and the politics of football/soccer in Egypt. To round out these stories, I wanted to share a few more items from today’s papers.
First, The Sudan Tribune has a bit more from Zhou Yongkang, the Chinese security chief, who led the delegation to Sudan this week and about whom I blogged yesterday. After his meeting with Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir, he showered the man wanted on seven charges at the International Criminal Court with the following praise:
“As an old friend of the Sudanese president, I got a full sense of the profound changes that have taken place in Sudan under your leadership as soon as I stepped on Sudanese soil…This morning I visited the Khartoum Oil Refinery. Ten years ago it was a mere construction site. Today it is covered with one modern plant after another.”
Second, two leading Sudanese papers (Al-Rai Al-Aam and Al-Sahafa) this morning lead with stories about the aftermath of the Egypt-Algeria match on Wednesday. Stating that President Hosni Mubarak thanked Bashir for the efforts of the Sudanese security, the articles try to put to rest rumors of new tensions between the Egyptians and Sudanese. The articles also claim that at least 10 Algerian fans are being held in Khartoum and will face charges in Sudanese courts for their assaults on Egyptian fans after the game.
Many Sudanese are upset with the way in which the Egyptian media attacked the Sudanese for their inability to maintain order. They feel like its yet another demonstration of the colonial mindset of the Egyptians – too many of whom, they claims, still revel in the nostalgia of the Anglo-Egyptian Condominium from 1899-1955. For an Egyptian perspective of what happened in Khartoum though, check out this article in Al-Ahram Weekly, as well as Dina Ezzat in the same issue who “laments the senseless Egyptian-Algerian furore.”
