KHARTOUM, Sudan (AP) -- President Omar al-Bashir said Wednesday that he would bar Danes from Sudan and told tens of thousands of people at a government-backed rally that the Muslim world should boycott Denmark because of a reprinted cartoon of the Prophet Mohammed.
Tens of thousands of Sudanese protest at a government-backed rally in Khartoum, Sudan.
"We urge all Muslims around the world to boycott Danish commodities, goods, companies, institutions, organizations and personalities," al-Bashir told the crowd outside the Republic Palace in downtown Khartoum.
"Down, down, Denmark!" shouted the crowd. Al-Bashir vowed that "not a single Danish foot will from now on desecrate the land of Sudan."
It was not clear whether al-Bashir planned to act on his rhetoric and force out the hundreds of Danes who work in Sudan, most in aid organizations, with a dozen in the U.N. peacekeeping force in southern Sudan. Danish diplomats in Khartoum said they had not been notified of a new trade boycott and that Sudanese authorities had not notified them about expelling Danes.
Seventeen Danish newspapers reprinted the cartoon showing Mohammed wearing a bomb-shaped turban this month in a gesture of solidarity after police said they uncovered a plot to kill the cartoon's artist.
Sudan was one of the nations where large protests were held against Denmark in 2006 when the cartoon and 11 others depicting Mohammed and Islam were first published. In riots that followed around the Muslim world, dozens of people were killed and several Danish embassies were attacked, while Danish goods were boycotted.
Danish exports to Sudan are minimal, consisting mainly of dairy products. In 2006, they amounted to $23 million, a drop of 26 percent over the previous year.
But Sudan is one of the largest recipients of Danish aid and Danish aid groups that operate there include the Danish Refugee Council and the Danish Red Cross, which runs large projects to alleviate suffering in the western Darfur region.
Sudan received $26 million in Danish aid in 2006 and a $100 million humanitarian and reconstruction package is planned through 2009.
Sudan said Tuesday that it had enacted a ban called by al-Bashir on imports of Danish goods in response to the cartoon reprint.
Al-Bashir came to power in an Islamist and military coup in 1989 and has since imposed Muslim Sharia law on the country's predominantly Arab north.
The Khartoum protesters were organized by a group known as The Popular Front for the Defense of Faith and Religion, which backs the ruling National Congress party.
Al-Bashir also spoke in support of Palestinians and called for holy war to "liberate" Jerusalem. He warned of "other measures" against Denmark apart from boycotting Danish products and institutions but did not elaborate.
Germany's interior minister expressed respect for the newspapers' decision to reprint the cartoon, according to comments released Wednesday.
"I have respect for the fact that Danish newspapers have now all printed the Mohammed caricatures, on the basis (that) we will not let ourselves be divided," Interior Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble was quoted as saying by the weekly Die Zeit.
"Actually, all European newspapers should now print these caricatures, with the explanation: 'We also find them lousy, but the exercise of press freedom is no reason to practice violence,"' Schaeuble added. E-mail to a friend
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All About Sudan • Denmark
Scan of the cartoons as printed on page 3 of the "KulturWeekend" section of ''Jyllands-Posten'''s September 30, 2005, edition. 

The country of Sudan has initiated an official boycott of Danish products, after the controversial Muhammad cartoons have been reprinted by a series of newspapers in Denmark and other European countries. Yesterday, President Omar al-Bashir expressed his concerns at a government-backed rally in the nation's capital, requesting that all Muslims in the world take a stand against Denmark by boycotting “businesses, institutions and individuals,” adding that “no Danes shall ever again be able to set foot in Sudan,” however, no Danish emergency workers in the country have yet been asked to leave.

The crisis, which appeared to have been averted two years ago after a near-omnipresent boycott of Danish goods in the Middle East and other Muslim countries, has re-surfaced after three men were apprehended earlier this month, charged with plotting to murder the cartoonist of what is considered the most offensive caricature, portraying the prophet Muhammad with a turban in the shape of a bomb on his head. Two of the men, both Tunisian citizens, have since been expelled from the country.

=== Considering dropping financial backing ===

Several Danish politicians have openly suggested dropping the development aid offered to Sudan. The Danish Minister of Development understands the concerns expressed by party associates and states that she cannot promise not to take action. The strongly-nationalist party, the Danish People's Party, has stated that any financial support to the country should cease immediately. Other politicians, especially members of the opposition social democratic party believe that removing the financial support to Sudan will only hurt the refugees in the Darfur and other poor regions of the country, rather than the government and people of the capital, Khartoum.

In addition, the Danish Minister of Foreign Affairs, Per Stig Møller, has also stated, that Sudanese government might want to reconsider their methods, if they wish to become members of the World Trade Organization, which the nation has previously stated its interests in. The organisation does not permit consumer boycotts of other countries by its members.

Since the cartoons were published by 17 Danish newspapers earlier this month—along with a number of foreign ones—there have been demonstrations and attacks on Danish embassies and consulates in Pakistan, Jordan and Indonesia.

The Sudanese boycotts and demonstrations throughout the Muslim world have already claimed the first jobs at Arla, the main Danish provider of dairy products, who has seen itself forced to fire 8–10 employees due to lowered demand.