Sudan Tribune

February 9, 2019 (LONDON) - The opposition Sudan Call External Affairs Secretary Yasir Arman Friday urged the international community to stop the normalization process with the government of President Omer al-Bashir and to investigate recent human rights violation against peaceful protesters.

A general view of participants during the 29th Regular Session of the Human Rights Council in Geneva on 3 July 2015 - (UN Photo)

The Sudanese opposition forces have staged a diplomatic campaign to draw support for the nearly two-month peaceful demonstrations calling on al-Bashir to step down.

In a speech delivered at the Oxford University on Friday, Arman recalled that the ICC-wanted al-Bashir has ruled Sudan for 30 years and was not able to resolve the country basic issues. Instead, he has involved the country "in terrorism and internal wars".

"The international community needs to put an end to their strategic dialogue with Khartoum. What strategic dialogue can be achieved with a president who is wanted by the ICC and with a regime that commits genocide and war crimes?"

He said that the Western democratic states should stop their strategic dialogue with the government of President Bashir and instead, help establish an independent international committee to investigate human rights violations.

"They must recommend taking Sudan back to Item 4 in the Human Rights Council and appointing a new Rapporteur," he further stressed.

Item 4, is a rare and special procedure can be decided by the Human Rights Council when the latter deems it is warranted by the seriousness of the situation in a country. As a result, it may set up an investigation committee or appoint a special rapporteur.

From 1993 to 2009, the HRC had appointed a UN special rapporteur on human rights in Sudan. Since it has been replaced by an independent expert tasked with providing technical assistance to the government on human rights reforms.

The international community condemned the excessive use of force and killing of 31 protesters. Also, Washington and London called on Khartoum to end the brutal crackdown of civilians and to ensure freedom warning that they may reconsider the ongoing dialogue to normalize relations and remove sanctions.

On the negotiations process, Arman said the Sudanese regime is not genuine in its search for peace.

"Its piecemeal approach will have no place in the new Sudanese political landscape given the huge impact of this revolution," he said.

In addition, the deputy leader of the SPLM-N Agar appealed on the peace mediators and facilitators to rethink the way they are dealing with the issue of Sudan.

"No one among the Sudanese national political forces will accept business as usual. The current peaceful revolution requires a totally new approach to Sudan by the regional and international community," he stressed.

(ST)

Sudanese Revolution: A Different Political Landscape and a New Generation Baptized in the Struggle for Change

By Yasir Arman,

I would like to start by thanking Jason Mosley and the Northeast Africa Forum and the African Studies Centre at Oxford University for inviting me to speak today on “Sudan's Political Crisis: What's Next?”

Sudan is facing multiple crises of nation-building, democratization, social justice, gender equality and the need for sustainable development. All these require a paradigm shift and structural changes on the basis of a blueprint that has sufficient national consensus and will eventually lead to building a modern state on equal citizenship.

The ongoing non-violent Sudanese revolution is the widest peaceful mass movement that Sudan has ever witnessed since its independence in 1956. It has involved rural and urban Sudan, women, youth, students, professionals, political parties and movements, civil society groups, and activists from all walks of life, including anti-dam and anti-land grabbing movements and others. It has also attracted, in a limited way, some Islamists from the new and older generations who are for change. Protests have continued for almost two months, which has provided Sudan's political life with new blood, baptizing a new generation whose courage and abilities have re-energized the entire society and provided confidence that democratization and building a new Sudan is possible.

It is worth mentioning the wider participation of women and that the discourse of this new generation is generally embracing diversity, equal citizenship, anti-racism, and the other demands of this revolution. It is well summarized by one of the dominant slogans asking for “freedom, peace and justice”, which are the cardinal issues challenging nation-building in Sudan. I believe the current revolution represents a great opportunity to resolve the multiple crises of Sudan. Additionally, the mass movement involved in this revolution have similarities in many ways to those who received Dr John Garang when he came back to Khartoum in 2005. They share the same dreams, sometimes chanting similar slogans.

Sudan has witnessed a short period of multipartyism and a long period of dictatorship. The longest period of dictatorship and fascism has been under the current regime, which rules Sudan with the iron fist of political Islam ideology. The current revolution is a culmination of the immense sacrifices of the Sudanese people in rural and urban Sudan, especially by the marginalized and poor groups, including women, who are one of the main targets of political Islam. In different ways during this continuous process of revolution, the Sudanese masses have expressed publicly, for the first time, their anger regarding genocide and war crimes committed by the regime against Darfur, the Nuba Mountains and the Blue Nile as well as the responsibility of the regime in the secession of South Sudan. Although the current revolution has been triggered by the economic crisis, as of now, it has taken a full political shape with a very clear demand for Bashir and his regime to step down and open the way for a new interim democratic arrangement. Social media has helped the youth greatly in organizing and building a strong network, while also aiding in providing a degree of coordination and some sort of leadership among the activists.

The peaceful protests, which started on the 13th of December 2018 in Damazin town of Blue Nile, went into a higher level on the 19th of December in Atbara and Gadarif towns, and it took a qualitatively different shape when it involved the professionals on the 25th of December. It developed further when the professionals, the Sudan Call, the National Consensus Forces and others signed the Declaration of Freedom and Change that has constituted a centre and a leadership for the revolution. The revolution also has witnessed a Sudanese Diaspora involvement all over the globe beyond the dichotomies of ethnicity, religion and regions. This revolution has paved the way for a new national discourse. It is an opportunity for a correct nation-building discourse. It has taken us to the drawing board again where almost a century ago, in the 1924 revolution that was led by Sudanese leader Ali Abdelatif, mass peaceful demonstrations began for the first time in Sudan during the colonial period.

The regime has responded to the revolution with excessive levels of violence including killing more than 52 peaceful protesters with live bullets, inflicting wounds on hundreds, attacking hospitals and health clinics to prevent protesters from accessing medical care and arresting the wounded, as documented by the UK based television station, Channel 4. In addition, the regime has arrested approximately 2,000 people, including top political and professional leaders, activists and women leaders, and security forces have raided many homes in residential areas. At least four detainees were tortured to death. One of them, Ahmed Elkhier Awad el Kareem, a teacher from Eastern Sudan, was raped and tortured. A few prisoners have been released because of the lack of detention facilities.

The courage of the youth activists is having a huge impact on society. It gives a great hope in the renewal of political life after long decades under the fascism of political Islam. The revolution has also witnessed the return of the professionals in a way that has added value to the political scene and has opened the way for a civil rights movement that can involve marginalized and urban activists. Furthermore, this revolution has given rise to work in the field of creative arts and culture, birthed by a vision that embraces great values of human dignity and equality. It can also pave way for a strategic exit for the armed struggle into a peaceful movement to achieve a new Sudan of democracy, equal citizenship, and social justice.

The center that is leading the revolution is fragile as it has been newly established, but there are many efforts to consolidate it to respond effectively to the requirements of a successful revolution. That is a process, which can never be a single event, but one that must witness ups and downs. This is expected in such a process, but it is clear that the involvement of the new generation has constituted the basis for a successful transition from a dictatorship into democracy and from war into peace. Sudan has reached a point of no return, and it will never be the same again. Therefore, all those who are thinking in terms of business as usual, ought to revisit their position.

In the revolution of 1964 and the uprising of 1985, Sudan managed to achieve democratization without resolving issues of war and achieving a peaceful settlement. This has been the cycle since independence, from dictatorship to democracy that has not been able to settle war issues. Unresolved war issues themselves, among other factors, will lead to the failure of a fragile democratic system. For our part, we have developed new ideas of how this peaceful revolution can resolve issues of war and achieve peace, hand in hand with democratization. It is also worth mentioning that a peaceful agreement with a dictatorship is never sustained, from our own experience. Democracy cannot be sustained without peace. Peace can never be sustainable without a democratic environment. These are the key lessons of 1964 and 1985 that need not be ignored.

The current revolution lacks the classical tools of transferring power from the old system into the hands of the new system. In 1964 and 1985, this was done through the democratic forces within the Sudanese army. As of now, the Sudanese army composition is different and complex as a result of many factors. There are also other forces outside of the army. In addition, trade unions have played a critical role in the past in bringing about a political strike and civil disobedience. This is not exactly the case today. Nevertheless, other steps are being discussed to compensate for the absence of the exact situation of 1964 and 1985. The contradictions within the ruling class are widening and the more the mass movement pressure increases, the more these contradictions increase too. The bottom line here, is that change is inevitable and is coming.

The main driving force is the mass movement, which is seeking to remove Bashir and his system. Interestingly, the ruling bankrupt class is seeking to remove Bashir and reproduce the old system. Thus they both meet temporarily, yet differ significantly in their final objectives.

The Sudanese situation is different from what is called the Arab Spring. One of the major forces leading the Arab Spring uprising was the Islamic movements, which constituted an important and integral part of it. In Sudan, this revolution is being lead by national and democratic forces. It is the opposite of the Arab Spring. The leadership of the Arab Spring uprisings were not firmly settled in most cases regarding the role of arms and the peaceful character of the uprising. In Sudan, all political forces and mass movements, including the armed struggle movements, are very firm on the importance of keeping this revolutionary process peaceful and to involve more peaceful protestors until we overthrow the regime. This is important as it will ensure the democratic content of the transition. It has been proven beyond a doubt that peaceful struggle can yield more democratic results than any other means. Again, this does not nullify the importance of the armed struggle, taking it from its historical perspective as the means necessitated by the objective situation in the marginalized areas. Nevertheless, the situation in the urban areas is different. The peacefulness of the current revolution in Sudan is key to its success.

The marginalised forces need to develop their political discourse to realise their huge potential by peaceful means, as the armed struggle is a temporary phenomena necessitated by the historical circumstances, but the political struggle remains the principal one. The new social movement led by the youth and women, is a strategic ally of the marginalised forces, regardless of their ethnic or geographical background.

There are four forces leading the revolution and they constitute the core. They are namely; the new forces of youth, women, professionals, etc., the marginalized bloc, the traditional historical parties, and the progressive forces. This does not mean they can veto others who do not belong to these blocs. The coming together of these four forces in a robust manner is critical to achieving the objectives of the revolution that is underway.

Again, this revolution is not a product of today's events, it has deep roots in the soil, of the sacrifices of our people in the last 30 years and definitely beyond.

We must make a distinction between the system that has been built by the Sudanese Islamic movement over the last 30 years and the Islamic movement itself. We have to change the system totally and to retrieve the national and professional character of the state institutions, especially the security sectors and other public institutions. We must have accountability for all crimes, address issues of corruption, return the resources of the people to the people, and allow no place for impunity. Yet, we should be careful. The Islamic movement is going to continue in one way or another, and a new generation of the Islamists will carry on their vision; however, they are required to accept the pillars of what can bring the Sudanese together on the basis of accountability, democracy and restructuring of the old system. We should welcome the Islamists who are for change, democratization and accountability. In fact, the Islamists, equally, have an opportunity to renew the Islamic movement in a new fashion that accepts building a modern state based on the principles of equal citizenship and democratic competition, provided that they take a clear position against their current experience.

The economy is the Achilles' heel of the Islamist regime and the economic crisis is largely a political crisis as a result of the nature of the parasitic, non-productive social group who are ruling the country and who are depending on looting the state resources, misdirecting and misusing economic resources on repression, wars and corruption. Also, the ruling clique has a narrow social base, and it cannot rule democratically. Therefore, the success of the revolution will involve adopting a different paradigm where resources are geared towards addressing the daily needs of the people with health, education, water, and housing as a priority, and will include economic plans that diversify resources and renovate the national economic projects, which have been destroyed by this regime especially in the agricultural sector, industry, etc. Reviving the economy is a top priority.

What do we need from the region and the international community?

Bashir and the regime are clinically dead no matter how much time it will take the Sudanese people to bury them. The regional and international communities should bet on the forces of the future. It is only those forces that can bring stability to the region and normalized relations with the international community. Is it not the same Bashir who is wanted by the ICC? Is it not his very regime, which has been unable to resolve basic issues for over 30 years and has involved Sudan seriously in terrorism and internal wars? The regime is a producer of immigrants and it has been denying Sudanese citizens space in their own land. Between 5-8 million are either internally displaced or refugees, making them potential immigrants to Europe, the U.S. and elsewhere.

The international community needs to put an end to their strategic dialogue with Khartoum. What strategic dialogue can be achieved with a president who is wanted by the ICC and with a regime that commits genocide and war crimes? Bashir is worse than the fallen Robert Mugabe, who is not wanted by the ICC, and yet the international community had refused to engage in strategic dialogue with him, so why with Bashir? Taking Sudan off of the list of states that sponsor terrorism by the United States will only advance the cause of impunity, killing more Sudanese, sending out more immigrants, and creating greater regional instability. What can Bashir strategically do today with the international community that he did not do for the last 30 years as the only president of Sudan? Given the serious human rights violations against peaceful protestors and in support of peace, stability and democracy, we call upon those who believe in these values to stop their strategic dialogue with General Bashir and his regime and instead, help establish an independent international committee to investigate human rights violations.

In addition, they must recommend taking Sudan back to Item 4 in the Human Rights Council and appointing a new Rapporteur. The region and the international community should support the demand of the Sudanese people for a new democratic interim arrangement. On the peace process, the way it has been conducted, and its piecemeal approach will have no place in the new Sudanese political landscape given the huge impact of this revolution. Those who are in charge of these processes need to rethink seriously the way they are dealing with the Sudan issue. No one among the Sudanese national political forces will accept business as usual. The current peaceful revolution requires a totally new approach to Sudan by the regional and international community. The international media in the past, has ignored the Sudanese suffering. The current revolution has brought attention to the immense Sudanese suffering in the eyes and ears worldwide.

Lastly, to answer the question of this seminar, “What's Next?” We need to change direction. The status quo will never bring peace, democracy or stability. This revolution is a great opportunity in the history of Sudan for the renewal of our country in a new social, political, economic, and cultural dispensation. Sudan needs a new social contract to pursue its nation-building in the correct parameters. That will definitely require the removal of Bashir and his system and opening the way for transformation and restructuring of the old system.

Yasir Arman is Deputy Chairman of the SPLM-N and Secretary for External Affairs for the Sudan Call. He made this speech at Oxford University North East Africa Forum and the African Studies Centre, on 8 February 2019

February 9, 2019 (KHARTOUM) - The National Intelligence and Security Services (NISS) on Saturday evening has released all journalists arrested during the popular protests.

Members of Sudanese Journalists Network (SJN) hold banners outside the National Council for Press and Publication (NCPP) premises in Khartoum in protest against repeated seizure of newspapers, on May 26, 2015 (ST photo)

Protests that first erupted on 19 December over a government decision to triple the price of bread have swiftly escalated into nationwide rallies, with protesters calling on President Omer al-Bashir to step down.

A government fact-finding commission has recorded 31 deaths while Human Rights Watch said over 50 people have been killed. Also, thousands of protesters have been arrested.

Reliable sources told Sudan Tribune that more than 16 journalists have been arrested during the course of the protests.

According to multiple sources, among the released journalists are Iman Osman, Qurashi Awad, Adel Kalar, Mohamed Babiker, Ali Al-Dali and Kamal Karar.

In his meeting with the Chief-Editors of the newspaper last week, President al-Bashir issued a decision to release all detained journalists.

(ST)

February 9, 2019 (KHARTOUM) - The director of the National Intelligence and Security Services (NISS) Salah Abdallah (aka Gosh) said all regular forces are backing President Omer al-Bashir.

Deadly protests have rocked Sudan since December 19, with demonstrators holding nationwide rallies calling on al-Bashir to resign.

The government said 31 people have died in the protests, while other credible reports including from Human Rights Watch says at least 51 people have been killed.

On Saturday Gosh briefed the NISS officers in Khartoum on the situation in the country saying the only way to achieve change in Sudan is through the ballot box.

He pointed out that they wouldn't allow the country to slide into chaos, stressing all regular forces are backing the “legitimacy” (i.e. President al-Bashir).

Gosh also said Sudan is for all Sudanese, underscoring that favouritism wouldn't be tolerated during the coming period.

The chief-spy renewed his call for "thinking outside of the box" in order to address the real issues and objective demands of the youths and the new generation.

Gosh's statements come after Western reports about a U.S plan to speed up al-Bashir's departure because he has been weakened by the nearly two-month protests and to replace him by the current head of the spy agency.

Last month, the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) announced its full support to al-Bashir saying it wouldn't hand over the country to the “homeless”.

At the time, SAF's Chief of General Staff Kamal Abdel-Marouf echoed Gosh's words saying they wouldn't allow the country to collapse or slip into the unknown.

He accused those leading the protests of being hostile to Sudan, saying they had always sought to distort the country's world image.

(ST)

December 27, 2018 (KHARTOUM) - Sudanese security service on Thursday evening arrested ten opposition leaders ahead of protests announced for Friday afternoon and the announcement of a joint coordination committee between all the opposition groups.

Calls for regime change during Tuesday's demonstrations in the capital Khartoum organized by professions unions marked a turning point in the nature of protests which a started as spontaneous popular reactions in the provinces to the increase of bread prices and difficult living conditions.

Aware this development the opposition groups, held a series of talks, putting their differences aside and agreed on Wednesday 26 December to set up "a coordinating committee to manage the joint action to continue the popular uprising and bring down the regime, dismantle (its apparatus) and liquidate the regime".

Took part in the meeting, which was held at the premises of the Sudanese Congress Party (SCoP) in Khartoum, delegates of the National Consensus Forces (NCF), Sudan Call alliance, Sudanese Professional Gathering, Republican Party, Centre Forces for Change, Intifada Forces, and Federal Alliance.

Hours after the statement, the opposition groups announced the arrest of ten leading members mainly from the NCF factions including Sudanese Communist Party, Ba'ath Party, Nasserist Party and Unionist Movement.

According to the statement, the detainees are Siddiq Youssef, Jamal Idriss, Mohamed Dia al-Din, Babikir Mahgoub, Tigani Mustafa, Mrs Rahamah Attiq, Fatehi Siddiq, Hamad Musa, Ahmed Hadra and Kamal al-Suni.

The opposition groups, according to the statement, called on the other political forces, civil society groups and national figures to join them to achieve a radical change, pointing they welcome their propositions over the agreed charters.

Activists recently circulated audio and written comment on the Popular Security which is known as a militia of the ruling National Congress Party. Also, they circulated videos showing these militiamen opening fire on the peaceful protesters.

The Sudanese government on Thursday reviewed the number of people killed during the protests saying it reached 19 victims. Initially, it sail only eight were killed.

(ST)

December 27, 2018 (KHARTOUM) - Egyptian government and Turkey's ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party ) on Thursday expressed their support to the government of President Omer al-Bashir which is facing growing popular discontent over economic hardships.

President al-Bashir on Thursday met with the visiting Egyptian Foreign Minister and the head of Egyptian intelligence service who were in Khartoum for talks with their Sudanese counterpart over bilateral relations.

The longtime scheduled visit coincided with the popular protests across Sudan over the difficult living conditions and calls to overthrow the regime of President al-Bashir who is ruling the country nearly 30 years ago.

Following the meeting, Sameh Shoukry told reporters he handed over a message from President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi to his Sudanese counterpart stressing the importance of supporting bilateral relations and stability in the two countries through the activation of all frameworks of cooperation and coordination.

"This is an essential matter because we feel that stability in Sudan is directly affecting Egypt's stability and Egypt's stability also directly affects the stability of Sudan," Shoukry stressed.

The Egyptian minister further said that his country "is confident that Sudan will overcome the current circumstances," stressing that Egypt is "always ready to provide support to Sudan in accordance with the vision of the Sudanese government and its policies."

Sudan and Egypt developed this year strong security and political cooperation after accusations in January 2018 of support to Eritrean-backed rebels to carry out attacks in eastern Sudan.

In Angara the Turkey's ruling AK Party voiced its government support to the government of President Omer al-Bashir.

"We are aware of the recent ploys against Sudan," Cevdet Yilmaz, deputy chairperson of AK party, said during a meeting with the Sudanese ambassador in Ankara on Wednesday.

"We support the legitimate government of Sudan. Turkey has faced similar ploys many times," he further added.

Ankara is confident that the Sudanese government is sensitive to the demands of the Sudanese people and works to avoid violence, he added.

Last Saturday, the Emir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani phoned President al-Bashir to express his support for Sudan and added that his country was ready to all that was necessary to "help Sudan overcome this ordeal".

Sudanese opposition forces are calling to extend the protests and to announce general disobedience in the country after the success of Tuesday protests organised by the professional unions.

Also, the armed groups in Darfur and the Blue Nile and South Kordofan states announced their support to the peaceful protests stressing that the peaceful mass protests are able to protect themselves from the violence of the regime's militias.

(ST)

December 27, 2018 (JUBA) - Murle political leaders in Buma state have vowed to end the practice of cattle raiding and child abduction by individuals in the community.

Jodi Jonglei, who is also the state speaker, announced the move on the festive season during the Christmas festive season.

We don't want the issue of cattle raiding, killing and child abduction to happen in our area again, not just as the government – but as political leaders of Murle in Buma State in Pibor or in Juba here.”

“Those coming to Juba here from Pibor to sell their cows always when they are going back, they abduct children of other people according to Eye Radio.

Community Empowerment for Progress Organization strongly welcomes and congratulates the position of the Buma State political leaders. It is a remarkable decision that requires real seriousness for actualizing it into reality.

Cattle raid and revenge attacks stand as the second major factor in the country that leads to loss of human lives in big number and destruction of properties at large scale annually across the country since the independence of South Sudan.

Watching at cattle raiding without a proper state policy for addressing, it is a clear demonstration of reluctance and careless of political leaders in finding a lasting state-driven solution.

Edmund Yakani, Executive Director of CEPO said the move of the Buma state political leaders for declaring no more cattle raiding is encouraging and deserve support for translating those political leaders' decision for enough to cattle raiding into policy with clear actions that contributes for minimization cattle raiding in short-term and stoppage in long term. CEPO will take lead in taking further steps for supporting the decision for “enough to cattle raiding”.

Among the steps CEPO will undertake is declaring a campaign called “Enough to Cattle Raiding” which will be kick-off in Buma state on 20th February 2019.

Also, Right Honour Speaker, Jodi Jonglei of Buma State Parliament will be declared as “CEPO First Ambassador for Enough to Cattle Raiding-2019,” Yakani stressed.

CEPO is calling upon the leadership of Buma State at their capacities to take their made decisions serious and set it as an example for the rest of the other states where their communities are engaged in deadly cattle raiding.

CEPO will take lead in mobilizing funds and other forms of support for making the made decision of Buma State on “Enough to Cattle Raiding” to be real and as a new state of movement for no more deaths and destruction of properties due to cattle raiding. CEPO is aware that it is not an easy task but all positive records in history starts with hard decision.

December 27, 2018 (KHARTOUM) - Sudanese government admitted that 19 people have been killed during the recent demonstrations throughout the country to protest against the difficult living conditions and calling on President Omer al-Bashir to leave.

"Nineteen people lost their lives in the incidents including two from security forces" since the protests began on 19 December, announced the Information Minister and Government Spokesperson Bushara Juma said in a press conference held in Khartoum on Thursday.

Juma gave the details of the death toll saying three were killed in the Northern State, five in th River Nile State, six in the Gedarif State and three in the White Nile State, in addition to two regular forces without elaborating on how and when they were killed.

Until Thursday, the government maintained the number of dead was eight people. Opposition leader Sadiq al-Mahdi spoke about 22 victims while Amnesty International put the death toll at 37 people.

The minister went further to say they arrested 107 opponents most of them belong to the Sudan Liberation Movement-Abdel Wahid al-Nur (SLM-AW).

He said that the government will file a case against the group leader and issue an Interpol arrest warrant for him. However, the SLM-AW denied the accusations that its members are involved in sabotage actions during the protests.

BRITISH MPS CONDEMN VIOLENCE

In a statement extended to Sudan Tribune on Thursday, the UK All Party Parliamentary Group for Sudan and South Sudan (APPG) condemned the"disproportionate and deadly "
use of violence by the Sudanese government in response to the peaceful protests.

"The Government of Sudan must now engage constructively with the legitimate grievances raised by a diverse range of demonstrators across the country," said APPG Vice Chair Mp David Drew.

Drew further called on the Sudanese authorities to respect the freedoms of assembly, expression and association in accordance with the Sudanese and International Human Rights Law, and to investigate into the killing of protesters.

(ST)

December 27, 2018 (KHARTOUM) - The Sudan People's Liberation Movement-North led by Abdel Aziz al-Hilu (SPLM-N al-Hilu) Thursday joined calls by the opposition forces to protest against the regime of President Omer al-Bashir saying its collapse allow to preserve Sudan's unity.

The SPLM-N split last year following calls by al-Hilu to include the principle of self-determination in the talks with the Sudanese government.

Also, the group leaders in their briefings to the faction supporters in the Diaspora about the peace negotiations said the self-determination is the ultimate goal of the group, pointing they might accept a transitional period before a referendum on the future of the Two Areas.

Nonetheless, in an audio message released by the rebel group on Thursday, al-Hilu said he believes that all the Sudanese have to participate in the uprising against the "mafia of the National Islamic Front".

"I invite you all women and men to break down the barriers that the Centre has made, (...), to unite at this historic juncture and devote our strength and energies to remove this fascist regime in order to clear the way for a radical and genuine change that provides the opportunity for a just unity based on justice, equality and freedom," he said.

He further said the regime change will allow Sudanese to bypass the "unilateral exclusivist project" that continues to threaten the unity of the country and to build a secular democratic Sudan based on the peaceful transfer of power and transparency.

"From this perspective, I appeal to the masses of the SPLM to take to the street and participate actively in the national epic in support of the popular uprising and the battle of dignity and freedom," he stressed.

Al-Hilu's call comes as calls have been launched in the capital to take the street after the weekly prayer of Friday while the Popular Security members, a militia of the ruling National Congress Party, patrolling the main streets of the capital Khartoum.

Also, U.S. Embassy in Khartoum issued a demonstration alert saying protests are expected after Friday prayer and urged "American personnel at the U.S. Embassy" to limit their movements from 12 noon to 5 p.m.

"Demonstrations are also expected in Khartoum and in other cities and locations across Sudan on Monday, December 31, 2018, and Tuesday, January 1, 2019, in light of Sudanese Independence Day," the embassy further said.

For his part, the Deputy Chairman of the SPLM-N led by Malik Agar released Thursday an opinion article where he called on the opposition forces to define a joint plan of action setting clearly the priorities to be undertaken during the upcoming days.

"We really need a unified centre for the Intifada, in which the steps are collectively agreed upon," said Yasir Arman.

Arman further joined a call by Gebril Ibrahim, leader of the Justice and Equality Movement stressing that the uprising should remain peaceful pointing that the participation of millions is the (best) protection of the uprising.

(ST)

By Mohamed Elshabik

One of Sudan's most distinguished figures in investigative journalism, Sudanese veteran journalist, Idriss Hassan (1937-2018), died Sunday 16 December in Khartoum at the age of 81 years. He worked for Al-Mustaghbal, Al-Thawrah and Khartoum News Agency and was the former editor-in-chief of Al-Raay Al-Aam, Al-Akhbar, Al-Ayaam, and founder and Chief Editor of the short-lived Al-Wihdaa (Unity) newspaper.

His legacy, however, is not just about investigative journalism, Idris was also known for his integrity, intelligent analysis, sensational memory and meticulous work. His courage and bold aptitude and willingness to confront and stand firm in face of numerous dictatorships in Sudanese history to get the truth was epitomised by his ability to shape and direct public opinion during his leading days in the journalism industry. Idris Hassan possessed a journalistic instinct that may have averted Sudan from violent decades of war and dictatorship rule should his words have been taken seriously at the time.

Idris Hassan's passion and love for newspapers work began at an early age when he started his career in the field as a newspaper boy before Sudan's independence in 1956. At that time, the circle of newspaper readers was limited to a few politicians and intellectuals from the Khartoum elitist community, known at the time as ‘alafndiya'. This narrow circle offered him the advantage of being surrounded by some of the most influential Sudanese historical politicians and intellectuals during the halcyon days of Sudanese independence in modern history.

Although coming from a background with more allegiance to the National Democratic Party, one of the two big Sudanese political parties, Idris was a nationalist and never confined himself to narrow cells of any political party. His inner circles included figures from all rainbow political parties in the country. There is little doubt that his success and prominence in journalism can be attributed to his combination of social intelligence, interpersonal skills, persistence and hard work that allowed him to progress in his chosen career as a journalist to become one of the pillars of Sudanese journalism.

Idris Hassan, ‘the man, whom we didn't believe,' said the formidable politician and first Prime Minister of Sudan, Ismail al-Azhari (1954-1956) remorsefully, when he met him at the infamous Sudanese Kobar prison in 1969, a few days after JaafarNimeiry's military coup. At the time, Idris had already warned the Prime Minister several times that some military factions were hatching a coup; this was in the last six hours before Nimeiry's move. Idris's connections, fortune and instinct enabled him to make his name as the chief recipient of significant leaks about planned coups in Sudan (failed or successful) during the period between (1958–1989). He documented his authentications in his recently published book ‘My story with military coups in Sudan', his unpublished book project and ‘The Egyptian role in Sudan coups' is yet another powerful record of the man's secret repository of knowledge.

Idris is also remembered in Sudanese memory for being the only Sudanese journalist to witness the Sudan communist party leader's fake trial, Abdul Khaliq Mahjoub, after the short-lived communist-backed coup in July 1971. Idris was one of two credible sources who documented the events of those days, also known as ‘Shajara trials' and the events of ‘the Guest House massacre', and his words still resonate in Sudanese memory for the plight and mystery surrounding these occurrences today. The second source was the French newspaper, Le Monde via its correspondent at the time in Khartoum.

After stepping down from his last position as al-Akhbar Chief Editor in 2011, Idris continued to write his daily column ‘BilaRotoush' for some years in the later period of his professional life. The work environment for journalists and continuous harassment in recent years in Sudan discouraged him, and he became frustrated at the increasing challenges in trying to continue his work and earn a living in his chosen field. Many who ignored, abandoned, and pushed him out, and caused him pain and suffering in his recent few years, came to mourn his demise in the typical Sudanese proverb manner of ‘Aretoyomshokrak ma yje' of honouring those professionals and people who contributed significantly to public life only after their deaths.

Mohamed Elshabik is a Sudanese blogger he can be reached at mohamedelshabik@gmail.com

December 26, 2018 (KHARTOUM) - The quadripartite committee between Sudan and Egypt including foreign ministers and heads of intelligence would hold its second meeting on Thursday in Khartoum.

Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry

Following a meeting held on the sidelines of the African Union summit in Addis Ababa in January, President Omer al-Bashir and his Egyptian counterpart Abdel Fattah al-Sisi discussed the tensions between the two courtiers and agreed to form a quadripartite committee to develop a roadmap to restore the relationship to the right track.

In a press release on Wednesday, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Babiker al-Siddig said the meeting would follow up on the implementation of the outcome of the first meeting held in Cairo on 8 February 2018.

He pointed out that the meeting would also discuss ways to enhance all aspects of bilateral relations as well as the regional and international issues of common concern.

The tumultuous relations between Sudan and Egypt experienced in December 2017 a new crisis over media attacks against al-Bashir after a visit of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to Sudan. Also, Sudan accused Egypt and Eritrea of supporting rebel groups to attack the Kassala state on the eastern border.

However, the two countries recently developed joint security cooperation against the opposition groups from both sides.

The main differences between the two neighbours remain the dispute over the border triangle area of Halayeb and the construction of Ethiopian Grand Renaissance Dam that Sudan backs.

(ST)

December 26, 2018 (KHARTOUM) - A leading member of the Popular Congress Party (PCP) has called to investigate and bring to justice those responsible for the killing of demonstrators during recent protests in Sudan.

In a press conference held on Wednesday, the PCP Political Official Idriss Suleiman called on the government carry out an urgent investigation into the killing of peaceful demonstrators, and to punish the perpetrators. Further, he called for the release of protesters detained following these demonstrations.

The Islamist party which is part of the government of President Omer al-Bashir said in a separate statement that 17 demonstrators were killed and 88 others were injured. It also said the number of the protesters arrested on Tuesday reached 519 people, most of them were later released.

Until now, the number of people killed during the nationwide protests is still not clear.

The government officials say eight people have been killed, while the leader of the National Umma Party Sadiq al-Mahdi said on Saturday they had counted 22 people in separate cities. For its part, Amnesty International in its latest report on Tuesday said that 37 demonstrators were killed by security forces.

Suleiman further urged the government to ensure freedoms and the "right of peaceful expression" in the country.

It worth mentioning that the PCP leadership is under growing pressures of the party's youth who once again on Wednesday called for an immediate end to participation in the government at all levels.

In a related development, the Sudanese parliament on Wednesday decided to summon the Minister of the Interior in an emergency session to discuss the unrest and the violent crackdown of demonstrators.

The Speaker of the National Council, Ibrahim Ahmed Omar, took the decision in response to a request by the independent MP Mohamed Taher Assil who denounced the shooting of protesters.

Last October, Amnesty International recalled that the Sudanese authorities are yet to bring to justice a single person for the killing of at least 185 people who were shot by the Sudanese security agents during the September 2013 protests.

(ST)

December 26, 2018 (KHARTOUM) - The London-based Alaraby TV Wednesday said that the Sudanese authorities prevented its team from covering demonstrations in Sudanese cities and ordered its correspondent to leave the country within 24 hours.

On Tuesday several reporters mentioned brutality by security agents while covering the recent demonstrations that took place in Khartoum to protest the difficult living conditions saying they confiscated their mobile telephone and deleted the pictures also some were arrested and other beaten violently.

In a clip posted on the social media, Adnan Jan said he arrived in Khartoum on Tuesday morning on the same day and started the coverage of the protests but after his first reportage he was summoned by the security service.

"They ordered me to leave the country immediately and asked me to sign a commitment that I would never exercise my profession as a journalist from Khartoum," he said.

"We call on the Sudanese authorities to lift the ban on Alaraby TV (local) team in Khartoum," he further said.

In a separate statement, the pan-Arab TV media said the Sudanese satellite services company, which deals with Alaraby TV was also ordered to not air any reporting from the local team of the channel in relation to covering the demonstrations and protests.

The Alaraby TV which is established by former journalists of Al-Jazeera TV to promote change issues and sees itself as a "backer of Arab popular revolutions demanding freedom, justice and dignity," according to its director Abbas Nassir.

Al-Jazeera TV correspondent in Khartoum Ahmed al-Rahaid and his team were also harassed by the security service during their coverage of the protests.

Also, a Sudanese journalist of Al-Sudani newspaper, Yasir Abdalla was brutally beaten by armed men in plain clothes while he was outside the newspaper building.

The journalist who was monitoring the demonstrators was taken to a vehicle without registration plates and beat and insulted him before he was released.

A number of journalists including Azmi Abdel Razek, Tariq Mohamed Osman, Hajo al-Aqra, Mohamed Daoud narrated on the social media platforms that they had taken from the protests by the security forces and subjected to beatings and abuse by the security agents.

In January 2018, the Sudanese security service arrested 15 journalists while they were covering protests against the rising living prices.

(ST)

December 26, 2018 (JUBA) - South Sudanese army chief of staff General Gabriel Jok Riak and the SPLA-IO Deputy Chief of staff Lt. Gen. James Koang Chuol Ranley joined thousands of South Sudanese in Bentiu to celebrate the revitalized peace agreement last Monday.

The function which was organized by the Northern Liech Governor Nguen Monytuil Wijang was also attended by the SPLM-IO Governor of Northern Liech Tor Tunguar who came with an important political and military delegation.

"The SPLA-IO thanks the organizers of the peace celebration for disseminating the peace message to the suffering civilians who desperately need peace now more than anything," said SPLA-IO Deputy Spokesperson Lam Paul Gabriel said in a statement on Wednesday.

The celebration was attended by a huge crowd from Bentinu and IDPs camps in the areas. Also, Gabriel added that some civilians came from Sudan to take part in the event.

Speakers at the celebration reiterated their commitment to the full implementation of the peace agreement. They also vowed to work together to achieve national reconciliation and development of the oil-rich area.

During the five-year civil war, Bentiu witnessed fierce fighting that forced nearly 120,000 civilians to seek refuge at the UN-protected camps in the area.

SPLA-IO Deputy Chief of staff Lt. Gen. James Koang Chuol Ranley arrived in Juba last Thursday 21 December take part in the meeting of the Joint Defence Board (JDB) that exercises command and control over all forces during the Pre-Transitional Period.

Northern Liech Minister of Youth Culture and Sport, Lam Tungwar Kueigwong posted Wednesday on his Facebook page that Governor Manytuil met with SPLA-IO leadership to discuss troops cantonment areas and formation of join forces to deal with crimes across the state including SPLA-IO-controlled areas.

(ST)

By Magdi El Gizouli

Yesterday, 25 December, downtown Khartoum was the scene of a large-scale protest against the rule of President Bashir. The protest was called for by the recently established Sudanese Professionals Association, an alliance of independent professionals' unions including doctors, engineers and pharmacists. University students and younger employees from Sudan's business and service sectors predominated and granted the protest its social media galore compared to the preceding wave of protests in provincial towns beginning in Atbara on 19 December. Already on alert and expectant of the previously announced protest, the security services were strategically positioned to deal with the demonstrators using tear gas and gunfire. According to a statement of the Professionals' Association, eight people sustained gunshot wounds, three at the time of writing were fighting for their lives. Over five hundred people were taken into detention, mostly to be released on the same or the subsequent day.

Meanwhile, President Bashir travelled to Gezira State, south of the capital Khartoum. He addressed a crowd in the town of Wad al-Haddad where he described protesters against his government as “traitors, sellouts, agents and saboteurs”. The president read mostly form his ‘Islamist' dictionary but he was forced to cut his speech short by chants of teer teer ya Bashir, politely translated as ‘bug off oh Bashir' or probably more correctly when considering intent as ‘fuck off oh Bashir' as opposed to the standard seer seer ya Bashir (go on oh Bashir). Live television transmission was abruptly interrupted and the president's motorcade was rushed out to his next stop, al-Sheikh Mekki's village, where he held a 9 minutes speech rich with Quran verses that promise true believers tests and trials as a condition for deliverance and divine support.

Standing behind the president in Wad al-Haddad was al-Fatih Urwa, CEO of the telecommunications giant Zain Sudan, retired military officer and intelligence guru. Urwa who graduated form military college in 1970 was Sudan's representative at the UN (1996-2005), presidential national security advisor (1989-2005) and state minister of defence (1989). Urwa is a key figure of Sudan's intelligence establishment and was a prominent officer in Nimayri state security bureau from 1976 to the demise of Nimayri's regime in 1985. Veteran security officers from the Nimayri era claim he leaked details of the evacuation of Beta Jews from Ethiopia to Israel through Sudan in 1984 to the National Islamic Front of Hassan al-Turabi. Whether this claim is true or not, Urwa was one of two officers in charge of the operation from the side of Sudanese state security. Urwa is believed to be one of three people including his two wives, whom President Bashir sees almost daily. In light of events in the count,ry there waa s good reason to keep Urwa close. For whatever reason, he was not on stage when President Bashir addressed the small crowd of al-Sheikh Mekki.

Now, whatever information or counsel Urwa gave to President Bashir during his brief trip to Gezira protesters kept the security apparatus busy in the heart of Khartoum for several hours. Government rhetoric shifted firmly from the initial apologetic and rather defensive stance of ‘we understand your pain' to an offensive and divisive racial account spelled out by its security chief Salah Gosh in his briefing to the press on 22 December. The head of the National Intelligence and Security Service (NISS) claimed that a group of 280 people recruited by the Israeli Mossad from members of the rebel Sudan People's Liberation Army/Movement led by Abd al-Wahid Mohamed Nur and dispatched to Sudan from a neighbouring country were responsible for the burning down of headquarters of the ruling National Congress Party (NCP) in several towns. Salah Gosh went on to accuse petty gangsters (habitually referred to with the slur ‘niggers') of taking advantage of the security situation to burn and loot. The security services, he claimed, apprehended seven members of the Mossad-trained group and had knowledge of the names of the rest.

On 25 December and as President Bashir was bellowing out about traitors and saboteurs in al-Sheikh Mekki young men who hail from Darfur faced state television cameras to admit being part of Salah Gosh's alleged ‘Zionist-Fur-Nigger plot'. The young men paraded for the cameras with their faces battered and swollen included Ahmed Mekki Abdalla Ibrahim, head of the Darfur Students Association in Sennar University. Mekki and 31 of his colleagues, all from Darfur, were arrested from their residence in Sennar, 21 were transferred to Khartoum as many other Darfuri students were being rounded up in the capital to satisfy a racial profile of alleged traitors, saboteurs and fifth columnists.

Corresponding with this racial profiling is a distinction that the government is at pains to create between ‘good' and ‘bad' protesters. The good are identified as peaceful complainants who wish to express their dissatisfaction with the worsening economic situation in the country and the bad as violent agitators plotting to exploit this sense of dissatisfaction and overthrow the regime. In his faceless statement on 24 December, his first comments on the situation in the country since the eruption of protests in Atbara on 19 December, President Bashir warned citizens against responding to "attempts to instil frustration”. The substance of this warning speaks to the fear of Sudan's propertied classes from the riverine heartland of an encroaching underclass of impoverished vengeful racial others from Sudan's war zones.

Darfuri students have been at the receiving end of this punishing racial regime for years and are today framed once again as the plotting saboteurs behind the revolutionary surge gripping the country since 19 December. While the overwhelming majority of the Khartoum downtown protesters on 25 December were released within hours of their apprehension, beaten up but not brutalised, the Darfuri students are likely to face the full wrath of the NISS, torture, lengthy detentions and criminal prosecution if not extrajudicial killing. To illustrate this point, eight Darfuri students were kept in detention from 13 September 2017 to 19 February 2018 on accusation of undermining state security after they held an ad hoc political rally in a Khartoum North bus station. They were rearrested a week later on the grounds that the NISS had fresh evidence against them.

Often solidarity with these students is limited by the race/class geography of media-savvy middle class protesters. Their fate is itemised as one of the crimes of a brutal regime but rarely pursued further apart from the impressive legal aid provided by the Darfur Lawyers Association. Where the NISS sees saboteurs standard educated opinion in Khartoum sees masakeen (pl. of miskeen), a multifaceted and rich term that refers to the powerless, the meek, the impoverished and ultimately disconnected, people who are not part of the networks of power, wealth and influence. Islamic sharia defines a miskeen as a person with no property to her name and hence eligible to receive zakat. Indeed, the revolutionary element in Sudan's recent days of rage is that masakeen of sorts, even from Salah Gosh's folk in Karima, rose to challenge state authority, burning down its idols and claiming its guarded warehouses as their own.

The author is a fellow of the Rift Valley Institute. He publishes regular opinion articles and analyses at his blog Still Sudan. He can be reached at m.elgizouli@gmail.com

26th December, 2018.

South Sudan Opposition Alliance internal leadership change frication is disturbing and demoralizing public opinion. The big question CEPO is raising, will SSOA be a strong and not fragile entity for genuine implementation of the signed Revitalized Agreement on the Resolution of Conflict in South Sudan? Community Empowerment for Progress Organization is closely watching the leadership friction among SSOA members; the fear is now, the friction is turning SSOA to be a fragile entity and losing public positive opinion for influencing implementation of R-ARCSS.

Mr. Edmund Yakani, Executive Director of CEPO said SSOA leadership friction is a clearly demonstration to our citizens that South Sudanese political elites have political problem for ownership of political leadership. Further, this tells us (citizens), that political leadership among the political elites is valued as control of political power for easier access to public resources than the notion of “being an opportunity for improving deliverance of social services to citizens”.

Therefore because of the wrong concept on political power, any political elite wants to be a leader at same time. The situation SSOA is facing now is displaying to us the possible risk for political democratic transformation in 2022 by the end of the peace agreement, where national general elections will be conduct.

For political settlement, it is essential to get committed to democratic and peaceful transfer of power. This means the initiation of power transfer should be democratic and the process for transferring power should be democratic. T

"The culture of political splits among the history of South Sudanese political elites is hazardous. SSOA internal leadership friction is telling us that recycling of political elites in South Sudan is no longer healthy and beneficial for growth of democratic transformation," Mr. Yakani stressed.

CEPO is calling upon SSOA members to sort out their internal political difference in democratic manner because we are afraid that their internal leadership frication can offer any risk for smooth implementation of the signed peace agreement.

END..

December 25, 2018 (KHARTOUM) - The Commander of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, (aka Hametti) has accused government officials of causing a cash shortage that has emptied ATMs and urged the government to provide services to people.

RSF Commander Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, (aka Hametti) (SUNA photo)

While thousands took to the streets in Khartoum on Tuesday, Hametti's speech bore a different tone that was openly critical of the country authorities, saying officials manipulated what led to a sharp cash crisis.

"Until now, we do not understand what is going on in the banks. Why a person deposits his money (in the bank) and does not find it. There is manipulation and the corrupt officials must be held accountable," he said in a speech to his militiamen who arrived in Tayba area of Khartoum state from North Darfur state.

Also, Hametti told his troops, which arrived in Khartoum while significant protests taking place in the streets of the capital, that they will not be sent to quell the demonstrations.

He said that the date of arrival of the force was determined before the occurrence of any events, and they "did not come to terrorize anyone" before to add that they "will be on the lookout for rebels and agents".

The militia leader called on the government to provide services to people and create decent conditions of living for them. Also, he stressed the need to intensifying control of the market prices and fighting greed and unscrupulous merchants.

Hametti's statements come after rumours that the powers of the militia leader have been reduced by the government and that the army is preparing to eject him from his position.

On Monday, the Ministry of Defence announced the appointment of the former Sudanese Army spokesperson, Al-Sawarmi Khaled as new spokesperson of the Rapid Support Forces.

(ST)

By Mahmoud A Suleiman

The uprising of the people of Sudan this time has coincided with the events of the declaration of independence of Sudan from within the parliament and the annual Martyrs' Day Celebration.

The uprising of the people of Sudan was accompanied by two great festivals, Eid al-Shuhada (Martyrs' Day) and the day of the declaration of independence of Sudan from within the parliament. The latter represents a historic Sudanese national event when Abdul Rahman Dabaka, a parliamentary deputy from the Darfur Province, suggested a Proposal for the Declaration of the Independence of the Sudan from within the Parliament on Monday the 19th December 1955, when the unity of the will of the Sudanese people behind one word which was independence for everyone in accordance with a prior agreement and hence they were the will to announce and declare it. It is one of the days of the Eternal Sudan, which preserves its history and its splendor, but repeats its memory every year because of its insistence on reaching the chandelier that was planned. https://mod.gov.sd/index.php/%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A3%D8%AE%D8%A8%D8%A7%D8%B1-%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%85%D8%AD%D9%84%D9%8A%D8%A9/%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B3%D9%8A%D8%A7%D8%B3%D8%A9/18718-%D8%A5%D8%B9%D9%84%D8%A7%D9%86-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A7%D8%B3%D8%AA%D9%82%D9%84%D8%A7%D9%84-%D9%85%D9%86-%D8%AF%D8%A7%D8%AE%D9%84-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A8%D8%B1%D9%84%D9%85%D8%A7%D9%86-19-%D8%AF%D9%8A%D8%B3%D9%85%D8%A8%D8%B1-1955%D9%85.html

On that immortal day in the history of the Sudan, at that historic session, Mr. Abdulrahman Mohamed Ibrahim Dabaka presented the proposal for the declaration of the independence of the Sudan from within the Parliament. It is noteworthy that the Deputy who presented the foregoing Proposal was a representative of the South Baggara Department Constituency in the Darfur Province and his origins descend from the Locality of “Idaelghanam” Translated literally into the sheep well, now it has been renamed by the National Islamic Front (NIF) Arabised Fundamentalists into “Iddalfursan” the Well of the Knights! On that Day, the Names of those who are among the first patriotic system have been shining were Abd al-Rahman Dabaka, Mirghani Husain Zaki al-Din and Mushawar Jumaa Sahl. Hammad Abu Sadr and others.

Thus, on Monday the Nineteenth of December 1955, the Independence of the Sudan From the clutches of Anglo-Egyptian colonialism better known as the Condominium was declared from within the Parliament and the Sudan Martyrs' Day, has also been Celebrated by the Sudan Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) which is observed each year, both the dates of the events have coincided with the uprising of the people of Sudan against the tyranny of the ruling regime of National Congress Party (NCP) led by the genocidal criminal and the fugitive International Justice Omer Hassan Ahmed al - Bashir and his criminal, corrupt and incompetent entourage. It is ironic that the uprising of the people of Sudan also coincided with the return of Omer al-Bashir and his team of entourage from his visit to Russia, Belarus, Syria on aboard the Russian plane, accompanied by his large begging Team of (NCP) regime close insiders partly on Tourism shuttles at the expense of the Sudanese people suffering from hunger, disease and lack of fuel and medicines.

It is also pertinent to recall that the uprising of the people of Sudan against the (NCP) autocratic regime coinciding with that National Occasions on the return of Sudan's criminal dictator Omer al-Bashir from his shuttle trips at the expense of poor people's money on a Russian plane after passing through Damascus in Syria to meet his ilk fellow Dictator Bashar al-Assad. After returning from his visit to Bashar al-Assad Omer al-Bashir met the consequences of his inhumane crimes and heinous reactions he has perpetrated through his lean years of arbitrary oppression against the Sudanese people, who today rose up in an Intifada all over the country to get out of the grip of repression, starvation, disease, poverty and genocide. Bashir and his criminal corrupt entourage have not expected this happening because the tyrants do not think they will ever leave their seat of power. They believe that their rule will be forever. Dictators like Bashir and others of his kind hey neither take lessons from the history nor from the events that took place around them and led to the demise of their counterparts in neighbouring countries; the so-called Arab Spring in late 2010 which remains as a living example.

The people of Sudan have overthrown military regimes twice before, in 1964 and 1985, and in September 2013 the NISS and the Janjaweed militias killed more than 200 protestors in the manner described as “Shoot to kill”. It seemed that Bashir's moment of reckoning had come with the current popular uprising of extreme discontent for the Poverty, lack of potential and lack of basic daily living commodities such as a loaf of bread while the associates of the (NCP) regime enjoy Life of luxury and spending of people's wealth lavishly.

How did the protests begin, according to the BBC report?
They started in the eastern town of Atbara, where demonstrators burned the offices of Mr Bashir's National Congress Party (NCP). Witnesses said that in some areas the military was not intervening and even appeared to be siding with the demonstrators.

But in a statement on Sunday 23rd of December 2018 indicated that the military has pledged loyalty to Mr. Bashir and said it would safeguard the "nation's security, safety along with its blood, honour and assets". On the other hand, a presidential adviser, Faisal Hassan Ibrahim, has been quoted as saying that the protests were being directed by "organised entities", without giving further details.

On Saturday 22 December 2018 AFP quoted witnesses in Wad Madani, south-east of Khartoum, as saying police used tear gas and beat protesters calling for Mr. Bashir to step down.

In El Rahad, south-west of Khartoum, the National Congress Party (NCP) office and other administrative offices were set ablaze and protesters chanting "no to hunger" were tear-gassed, another witness said.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-46666237

It seems that the spark of the uprising that swept all the cities of Sudan recently began in the city of Atbara. Atbara is the national seat of labour Movements and nicknamed the city of iron and fire as it is the Sudanese working-class City that is the headquarters of the Sudan railways - it remains a major site of labour activism and radical politics. But the spark of the diversion extended to Dongola in the far north and the city of al-Obeid in Kordofan and in Port Sudan and the city of Nyala and El Geneina and El Fasher in the Darfur region in western Sudan and of course in the Capital Khartoum with its three Towns at the junction of the two Nile Rivers of White Nile and Blue Nile to form the River Nile.

It is noteworthy to mention that the Sudanese people's uprising inside the Mother Land was attended by all Sudanese outside the country, whether they in the United States of America or in Europe, especially in London and in Manchester in the United Kingdom, in Europe in France especially in Paris, along with Sudanese people staging protests in front of the International Criminal Court (ICC)) at The Hague in the Netherlands and of course in Germany.

The cheers in all these demonstrations in different locations were echoed saying the people want to overthrow the regime." Cheers chanted in the streets, but quickly moved to the football stadiums during the match between Mars and Al Ahli, Khartoum after at least 20 people were killed and dozens arrested during protests against high prices.

Mass media outlets reported that the National Intelligence and Security Services (NISS) have arrested Opposition leaders as protests continued all over the Sudan. Meanwhile, protests have continued on Saturday in a number of towns across Sudan. Eyewitnesses said students protesting in the town of al-Rahad, North Kordofan State, set fire to the ruling National Congress Party's (NCP) headquarters and other official buildings. Also, there were unconfirmed reports that the house of the notorious Génocidaire the Governor of North Kordofan Ahmed Mohammed Haroun who is one of four Sudanese men wanted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for war crimes and crimes against humanity in the Darfur Region was set on fire on Saturday evening.

Darfur Conflict and Ahmed Mohammed Haroun
However, it was in his role as the holder of the Darfur security dossier at the Interior Ministry in 2003 that he attracted most notoriety. In between 2003 and 2004 Haroun is believed to have organized and mobilized the 'Janjaweed' militias that have been held responsible for numerous war crimes since the outbreak of conflict in the region. It was on account of his actions during this period that in April 2007 the ICC prosecutor Louis Moreno-Ocampo decided to issue an arrest warrant for Haroun, accusing him of overseeing the numerous acts of rape, murder, plunder and destruction committed by pro-government militias in the region. The warrant observed that Haroun had contributed personally to the perpetration of these abuses by exhorting the militias to commit these acts in public speeches.
http://www.sudantribune.com/South-Kordofan-governor-vows-to,42127
Protesters also gathered in several neighbourhoods of the capital, Khartoum and in the city of Madani, Gezira State. http://www.sudantribune.com/spip.php?article66811

Demonstrations in Sudan and Protests continue with calls for a strike.

Anti-government protests in Sudan continue for the Seventh day, and analysts say it is the biggest popular challenge to the regime of Omer al-Bashir who took power through a military coup d'état on June the 30th 1989.

The Sudanese armed forces (SAF) issued a statement pledging their support for the president, at a time when doctors' strike is due to begin, followed by a strike on Tuesday 25th 2018, Christmas Day. It is noteworthy that the Coptic Community in Sudan hinted saying that they will rather postpone the Festive Celebrations on the Day declared for the strike.

On Sunday, the Sudanese regime's National Intelligence and Security Services (NISS) forces used teargas to disperse soccer fans that had gathered on one of the roads and blocked it, shouting slogans calling for freedom.

Furthermore, it was reported that the Police prevented the demonstrators who were coming out of the Football Stadium from crossing the bridge to the heart of Khartoum and the Presidential Palace. Moreover, the Security elements cordoned off the stadium and the roads leading to it, as soon as the protesters left for Al-Arba'een – The Forty's Street, chanting slogans against the government of Omer al-Bashir; the Police dispersed the angry protestors in the surrounding areas. Police in Sudan have fired tear gas at football fans demanding an end to President Omar al-Bashir's rule as protests spread across the country.

Hundreds of demonstrators blocked a road near a football stadium in the capital, Khartoum, on Sunday 23 December 2018 before clashing with riot police.

So far, the Opposition figures say 22 protesters have been killed since Wednesday, but officials say the figure is much lower. The protests erupted after bread and fuel price rises were announced. But they have escalated into calls for an end to Omer al- Bashir's 29-year rule. Over the past year, the cost of some goods has got more than doubled, while overall inflation has risen to nearly 70%, the value of the Sudanese pound has fallen sharply and shortages have been reported in cities including Khartoum. Earlier, footage on social media appeared to show continuing protests in a number of areas. The Central Sudanese Committee of Doctors said its members had seen protesters in hospitals with gunshot wounds and said there had been a number of deaths and injuries. “The people want the downfall of the regime” is one of the people's chants!
.https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-46666237

It is important to refer to the troika Countries statement over the Sudanese Protest which says the following:
“The Troika (the United States, Norway and the United Kingdom and Canada) are concerned about the violence occurring during recent protests in Sudan, including reliable reports of the use of live fire by the Government of Sudan and of multiple deaths during several protests. We reaffirm the right of the Sudanese people to peacefully protest to express their legitimate grievances.

We urge all to avoid the use of violence or destruction of property. We also urge the Government of Sudan to respond to statements appropriately, through uniformed police acting in accordance with Sudanese and international human rights law, including the right to freedoms of peaceful assembly, association, and expression - and to avoid the use of live fire on protestors, arbitrary detention, and censorship of the media.

We expect the Government of Sudan to implement measures to investigate cases in which abuse of force has occurred, and welcome the assurances provided by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in this regard.

The Troika countries (the United States, Norway, the United Kingdom and Canada) are concerned about the violence that occurred during recent protests in Sudan, including credible reports of the use of live ammunition by the Government of the Sudan and multiple deaths during several protests. We reaffirm the right of the Sudanese people to peaceful protest to express their legitimate grievances.

We urge everyone to avoid using violence or destroying property. We also urge the Government of the Sudan to respond appropriately to the demonstrations, through regular police and in accordance with Sudanese and international human rights law, including the right to freedom of peaceful assembly, association and expression - and to avoid the use of live ammunition on protesters, arbitrary detention and media censorship.

We expect the Government of the Sudan to implement measures to investigate cases of abuse of force, and we welcome the assurances provided by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in this regard.”
http://sudantribune.com/spip.php?article66821

Howard Zinn the American historian, playwright, and social activist and a chairperson of the history and social sciences department at Spelman College as well as a political science professor at Boston University has been quoted as saying: “Protest beyond the law is not a departure from democracy; it is absolutely essential to it.”
https://www.google.com/search?q=howard+zinn&oq=Howard+Zinn&aqs=chrome.0.0l6.1889j0j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8
Moreover, Martin Luther King Jr. has been quoted as has said: “One has a moral responsibility to disobey unjust laws.” “The duty of youth is to challenge corruption.” “To sin by silence, when they should protest, makes cowards of men.” “Silence becomes cowardice when occasion demands speaking out the whole truth and acting accordingly.”
https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/tag/activism

The Tunisian Poet Abu al - Qasim Shabi has said in his Poem: “If people ever wanted life, then fate must respond and the constraint must be broken. And those who did not embrace the longing for life * Evaporated in the atmosphere and dispersed” !
https://analbahr.com/%D8%AA%D8%AD%D9%84%D9%8A%D9%84-%D9%82%D8%B5%D9%8A%D8%AF%D8%A9-%D8%A3%D8%A8%D9%88-%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%82%D8%A7%D8%B3%D9%85-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B4%D8%A7%D8%A8%D9%8A-%D8%A5%D8%B0%D8%A7-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B4%D8%B9/

Thus, the people of Sudan had the right to rise up against tyranny, starvation and the futile wars imposed on it by the Dictator, the Genocidal criminal who remains fugitive from the international justice, Omer Hassan Ahmed al-Bashir and his criminal entourage sought by the International Criminal Court (ICC) at The Hague in the Netherlands for apprehension and to bring them for fair trial and punishment.

Dr. Mahmoud A. Suleiman is an author, columnist and a blogger. His blog is http://thussudan.wordpress.com/

December 25, 2018 (KHARTOUM) - Thousands of protesters on Tuesday took to the streets of the Sudanese capital, Khartoum in a mass march to the Presidential Palace demanding that President Omer al-Bashir step down.

The Sudanese Professional Association (SPA) on Monday called on the Sudanese to gather at Abu Jinzeer squire to march to the Presidential Palace to hand over a memo demanding President al-Bashir to step down.

However, police and security forces cordoned off the Abu Jinzeer square since early morning hours on Tuesday forcing protestors to flood the streets in downtown Khartoum.

Protestors chanted slogans such as “Peaceful ... Peaceful against the Thieves”, “Freedom, Peace, Justice ... Revolution is the Choice of the People” and “The People Want to Bring Down the Regime”.

Security forces used excessive force attacking the peaceful protestors with tear gas, rubber bullets and live ammunition.

Medical sources speaking to Sudan Tribune in Khartoum said 8 protesters were injured by fire bullets, pointing out that 4 of them are in critical condition.

Eyewitnesses said security elements wearing civilian clothes prevented the journalists from taking pictures, pointing that several journalists and TV correspondents have been beaten up and their mobile phones were confiscated.

Also, activists released videos on the social media showing protesters wounded by the bullets of the security forces and other videos of security agents in plain clothes shooting demonstrators.

Tuesday's march follows nearly a week of protests initially triggered by rising prices and shortages of bread and fuel but later escalated into calls for al-Bashir to step down.

The protests over the past week have been met with a heavy security crackdown, with more than 37 protestors killed and dozens injured according to Amnesty International.

Also, dozens of protesters and opposition leaders have been arrested since the beginning of the popular protests.

The Sudanese authorities have suspended school and universities classes in Khartoum and imposed emergency situation and curfew in a number of states.

(ST)

December 25, 2018 (KHARTOUM) - Lam Akol, the leader of the National Democratic Movement (NDM) defended Peter Gadet's election at the chairmanship of the South Sudan Opposition Alliance (SSOA), adding that the other faction has been terrified by the support he has got.

Lam Akol, chairman of South Sudan's opposition National Democratic Movement (NDM) (AFP/Samir Bol Photo)

The election of Peter Gatdet at the head of the opposition coalition last November sparked a rift between two camps within the opposition alliance one led by the incumbent chairman Gabriel Changson and the other headed by Lam Akol.

South Sudan Patriotic Movement (SSPM) spokesperson Stephen Lual Garang Monday accused Akol of building a new SSOA faction with elements from outside the coalition, warning that these actions undermine peace implementation.

But NDM leader minimized the statements of the SSPM spokesperson and dismissed the accusations, pointing out that these accusations show they are in disarray after the election of Gadet.

"They refused to admit defeat in the elections and their members are breaking away from them in recognition of the elections result," Akol told Sudan Tribune on Tuesday.

"It is this desertion that is frightening them," he stressed.

In a statement released on 1 December, Peter Gadet said he won with five votes against three for Gabriel Changson, underscoring that the vote took place after agreeing on the procedures to be followed in the election.

Asked about the IGAD's position on the rift as they have to work with SSOA as one on the peace partners involved in the implementation of the peace agreement, he said that the regional bloc, at the moment, is adopting a wait-and-see posture.

"It says persons already nominated by SSOA to the various implementation committees and mechanisms should not be changed," he said.

"The question that cannot be avoided will be: to whom will heads of committees/mechanisms report?" Akol emphasized.

(ST)