Ed, Here is the Mubarak Note...
News Article by AP on September 30, 1998 at 09:23:26:
Mubarak: Sudan factory may have been used for chemical weapons·
CAIRO, Egypt (AP) -- President Hosni Mubarak of Egypt says a
Sudanese pharmaceutical factory bombed by the United States last
month could have been used to make chemical weapons agents.
Mubarak's comments published Wednesday in the government-run
Al-Ahram newspaper are the first by an Arab leader endorsing the
Clinton administration's claim that Sudan was using the plant for
military purposes.
"We know that this plant was for medicine but it is possible
that it produced agents that are used in manufacturing chemical
weapons," Mubarak was quoted as saying in an interview.
He said Sudan also has another "chemical plant" close to the
al-Shifa pharmaceutical factory, which was destroyed in the Aug. 20
bombing.
The remarks contradict Egypt's endorsement earlier this month of
an Arab League resolution supporting Sudan's claim that the plant
was producing only medicines.
Sudan has called for a United Nations investigation to prove its
claim. The United States rejects such a probe, saying American
intelligence has supplied enough evidence to back its stand.
Relations between Egypt and Sudan have remained cold since
Mubarak survived an assassination attempt in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
in 1995. Egypt said Sudan was behind the attempt and that it is
harboring the attackers.
In the interview, Mubarak accused Sudan's Islamic government of
terrorism and repeated claims that it harbors Egyptian and other
Muslim militants who are trying to topple their governments.
Mubarak did not elaborate or cite any evidence to support his
statements.
His comments came even as Sudanese President Oman el-Bashir, in
a separate interview published Wednesday, hailed Egypt for
supporting Sudan in the Arab League resolution over the
pharmaceutical plant.
Relations between the two countries are improving, especially
after Egypt "stood with Sudan against the American aggression,"
el-Bashir was quoted as saying by the London-based Arabic weekly,
Al-Wasat.
On the assassination attempt on Mubarak, el-Bashir said it is
impossible for his government to "find the accused and hand them
over to concerned countries for their trial. |
