Africa

June 9, 2019 (KHARTOUM) - Four people were shot dead in the capital on Sunday during the first day of the general strike which was largely followed in Khartoum and other Sudanese cities.

Sudanese deserted the streets and of Khartoum, as shops and markets were closed. Also, most of the public facilities in Khartoum were disrupted and air traffic at Khartoum airport stopped.

Official media continued to claim that public corporation and institutions continue to work normally activity assertions, but activists released images of empty streets without traffic and shops completely shut down. Also, banks were closed because their staff refused to work.

Reliable sources confirmed the disruption of the work of the courts and public prosecution offices after the strike of the judiciary staff.

In the same way, daily newspapers and magazines were not published due to the large participation of journalists and newspaper workers in the civilian disobedience.

The opposition Sudanese Professionals Association (SPA) the spearhead of the pro-democracy protests in Sudan said the general strike will end with the fall of the military junta and the establishment of transitional civilian rule.

Sunday was the first working day after the end of the Eid al-Fitr holiday.

The SPA had called for the general strike after the killing of over a hundred peaceful protesters by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) militiamen in the first hours of Monday 3 June.

Talks between the ruling military council and the opposition over power transfer stalled after the junta's refusal to accept give the opposition coalition Forces for Freedom and Change to control of the collegial presidency saying they want to oversee the transition process.

The Central Committee of Sudan Doctors (CCSD), a pro-democracy group, said four people were killed Sunday, some of them by gunshot wounds to the neck and chest in different parts of the capital.

The four victims were at the roadblocks and barricades in the neighbourhoods of the capital.

The CCSD said the killing of the four protesters bringing the death toll of civilians killed after 3 June attack on the sit-in to 118 people.

The RSF militiamen attempted to remove the roadblocks and barricades from the streets but they were shortly reestablished by the protesters.

In addition, the security forces fired tear gas at a group of protesters in Khartoum.

The cities of Wad Madani of Aljazira state, Port Sudan on the Red Sea, and Karima in Northern state, as well as other towns, took part in the nationwide protests.

Also, the SPLM-N Agar released pictures showing its Chairman Malik Agar participating with thousands of civilians in a sit-in in the rebel-held area of the Blue Nile state.

Malik Agar leader of a SPLM-N faction take part in a sit-in organized in a rebel-held area in the Blue Nile on 9 June 2019 (Photo SPLM-N Agar)

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In Guinea’s capital, Conakry, family members cry after identifying the body of a relative killed on September 28, 2009, when security forces fired on opposition supporters as they marched to and later held a rally in the September 28 Stadium. The body of their relative was one of 57 dead displayed at the Grand Fayçal Mosque on October 2, 2009.

© 2009 Reuters

The resignation of Guinea’s Justice Minister Cheick Sako – who oversaw significant progress in the investigation in Guinea’s devastating 2009 stadium massacre – should not end hope of bringing those responsible to justice.

On September 28, 2009, several hundred members of Guinea’s security forces opened fire on tens of thousands of opposition supporters in a stadium in the capital, Conakry. At least 150 people died and dozens of women were raped.

Efforts to deliver justice for one of Guinea’s worst episodes of political violence is a litmus test of President Alpha Conde’s willingness to end impunity for the security forces, demonstrate the independence of the judiciary, and improve the rule of law. 

The years after Sako’s appointment in 2014 saw several steps forward in the case. In July 2015, a panel of Guinean judges charged Moussa Dadis Camara, the former leader of the junta ruling Guinea at the time of the massacre and commander-in-chief of the security forces responsible for the killings. In November 2017, the judges closed their investigation, having charged more than 14 suspects, including several high-ranking security officials in President Condé’s current administration

In April 2018, Sako appointed a steering committee to organize the trial. But the steering committee, initially supposed to meet once a week, has met only sporadically and has not yet set a trial date.

In a May 20 resignation letter made public earlier this week, Sako stated his opposition to a potential revision to Guinea’s constitution, which many believe Condé will announce to remove barriers to a third term in office. Guinean human rights groups worry that with Sako gone, any remaining momentum for the trial will be lost.

Guinea’s justice system should operate independently of politics, however complicated they become. Asking the steering committee to set a date for the trial would be a way for Sako’s successor, currently interim minister Mohammed Lamine Fofana, to show he is committed to a credible, independent judicial system and that he stands ready to advance Guinea’s crucial fight against impunity.

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