Bloody Days in Sudan
By <
http://www.ipsnews.net/author/zeinab-mohammed-salih/> Zeinab Mohammed
Salih
KHARTOUM, Sep 26 2013 (IPS) - Activists claim that more than one hundred
people have been killed and thousands injured during demonstrations in Sudan
following the removal of fuel subsidies.
Protests have been raging in Khartoum, Maddani, the second city 200 km south
of the capital, Port Sudan on the Red Sea coast and various other locations
since the government lifted the subsidies Monday.
Palls of black smoke are now commonplace above the city skylines. Protesters
have targeted petrol stations, police stations and checkpoints. Roads have
been blocked with burning vehicles, including the road to Khartoum airport.
Government officials have condemned the protests as "premeditated sabotage".
As tensions have risen, foreign embassies and companies have been put on
alert, with many closing non-essential offices and cultural organisations,
while their workers have been advised to stay home.
The U.S. Embassy in Khartoum has appealed for calm. In a statement it said:
"We call on all sides not to resort to force and to respect civil liberties
and the right to peaceful assembly," and regretted "reports of serious
injuries and attacks on property during demonstrations which turned
violent".
The security forces have shot into the crowds from armoured vehicles and
helicopters in the Khartoum suburb of Omdurman. Victims of the violence have
been killed by gunshot wounds to the head and chest.
Meanwhile, there are reports that elements of the Sudan Armed Forces are
refusing to carry out orders from
<
http://www.ipsnews.net/2013/09/wanted-for-war-crimes-sudans-president-threa
tens-u-n-appearance/> President Omar al-Bashir to control the situation on
the streets.
Some protesters have targeted offices of the NCP ruling party, while others
have gathered outside companies belonging to senior NCP members, such as the
Steam soda factory. In many cases the police and agents of the National
Intelligence Security Services (NISS) have tried to break up the
demonstrations using extreme force.
Activists denounced that opposition party leaders were arrested before the
fuel subsidies were lifted, in an attempt to prevent them from organising
protests. Since then thousands of demonstrators have been taken into custody
by the police and NISS.
However, the protesters remain defiant. Hafiz Ismail, an economist and
commentator, told IPS: "The protesters will make the government change its
policies - policies which will kill the people slowly."
Commenting on government claims that the lifting of subsidies would help
revitalise the Sudanese economy, he said: "They are lying and disrespecting
the Sudanese people. Besides these measures won't affect the rich but will
only harm the poor."
Hoyida Mohamed, 24, from Omdurman, told IPS she protested through the night,
to fight the fuel price hikes and call for the government to resign. "The
new policies will make our lives, which are already hard, impossible. Now we
don't have a chance to go to the university or get treatment when we get
sick. We want this government out. Our lives have become very hard under
this regime."
Rishan Oshi, an activist who has participated in the demonstrations from the
start, told IPS she was protesting against the government's "disrespect for
the Sudanese people. They want to fill their pockets from our wage packets
"The price increases are incredibly unjust. The people who are protesting
are ordinary people and don't belong to any political parties. I considered
it like a revolution of the downtrodden and the hungry."
The majority of the population in Sudan is poor.
Meanwhile, Internet services have been shut down in what seemed like an
official attempt to stifle coverage of the protests. The Committee to
Protect Journalist (CPJ) has appealed for an end to the block. "There is no
justification for any government to cut off the Internet's vital flow of
information, which journalists and citizens alike rely upon," said CPJ
Middle East and North Africa Programme Coordinator Sherif Mansour.
The government has taken a hand in the way the protests have been reported.
The Al-Ayam, Al-Qarar and Al-Youm al-Tali newspapers purportedly changed
reports on the demonstrations following pressure from the Sudanese security
forces. The Sudanese Journalists Network called for a strike, starting
Thursday.
Fuel prices rose by more than 90 percent since the subsidies were lifted.
And the annual inflation rate, which previously stood at 50 percent, is
expected to climb to 100 percent.
This is the second time fuel subsidies have been cut since South Sudan
became an independent nation in 2011, resulting in the loss of 75 percent of
Sudan's oil reserves.
Some economists have proposed alternatives to price increases to make good
the shortfall, including cutting state workers' salaries, fighting
corruption, and reinvesting in agriculture.
Ismail said the government should enter into dialogue with opposition
parties in order to address the country's economic difficulties.
He said the government should seek political reconciliation, and argued that
the removal of subsidies is "ineffective.These are short-sighted policies.
It's like treating cancer with Panadol (the painkiller paracetamol)."
The demonstrations are expected to continue over the next few days.
Received on Thu Sep 26 2013 - 22:20:16 EDT