SUDANESE President Omar al-Beshir said order and calm reigned in Khartoum on Monday after he declared a state of emergency and dissolved parliament ahead of a vote to curb his powers. Beshir declared a three-month emergency late on Sunday and announced the dissolution of parliament, which was two days away from debating curbs on presidential powers backed by its powerful speaker Hassan al-Turabi. Through his spokesman Ghazi Salah Eddin Atabani, Beshir said life was normal and would remain so, adding state radio and television were carrying on with their usual programs. Witnesses said the streets were calm and there was no unusual security presence in public places. Atabani, Beshir’s information minister who was quoted in Monday’s Akhbar Al-Yom daily, said the measures were to resolve the mounting political conflict between the speaker and the president which he said “has almost paralyzed the running of the state and has harmed its legitimacy and competence.”
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