Sudan: Human rights organization condemns state of emergency in Sudan

The Society for Threatened Peoples (STP) criticizes the fact that a state of emergency was imposed in Sudan, after dictator Omar Hassan al Bashir failed to stop the peaceful protests in Sudan by intimidation, press censorship, arbitrary arrests, and torture. Now, he is trying to take his measures to the next level by imposing a one-year state of emergency – as a means to justify even more ruthless measures against the peaceful protesters. Clearly, the dictator feels that his reign of terror might be coming to an end after 30 years," stated Ulrich Delius, the STP's director, in Göttingen on Saturday. At least 57 people have so far lost their lives in crackdowns on the protests, which started on December 19, 2018. Several thousand demonstrators were arrested, including 79 journalists. Officially, the authorities only acknowledged the violent deaths of 31 people.

There was another wave of public protests on Friday, after 17 opposition politicians were arrested on Thursday, another nationwide protest day. On Friday, 66 days after the beginning of the protests, Bashir held a TV speech in which he announced plans to dissolve the federal and state governments and to suspend constitutional amendments, allowing him to run in the presidential elections in 2020. Bashir insists that he should be able to stay in office, while the protesters have been demanding him to step down for the past two months.

In his speech, Bashir also announced plans to enter a dialogue with the opposition parties in order to restore peace in the country. "These appeals will be ineffective. It is especially the young people who are taking part in the protests on the street – and they are demanding a fundamental change of policy in Sudan. The protesters will not accept vague concessions or promises regarding well-paid jobs," Delius emphasized. Never before has Bashir been under such pressure. Meanwhile, the dictator appears to take the protests more seriously. He is no longer making fun of the demonstrators, as he had in January 2019.

In addition to disappointed young people who are fighting for more democracy, the wave of protests is mainly supported by professional groups such as doctors, teachers, and professors. For weeks, they have been calling for an independent investigation into the brutal crackdown on the protests – emphasizing that those who are responsible must be punished.

Header image: Martha Heinemann Bixby via Flickr.