Zegabi

After more than a week of protests, the leader of one of Sudan’s main opposition parties, Hassan Al-Turabi, has called on President Al-Bashir to heed the people’s call and peacefully step down.

Speaking in a phone interview on Wednesday with Al Arabiya, Al-Turabi the leader of the Popular Congress Party (PCP) said President Bashir must hand over before the protest degenerates into a civil war. “If they accept advice, they have to peacefully leave; that is better for them of course than being held accountable like what is happening in revolutions across the region,” he said.

He also called on fellow opposition leaders to come together and reach an agreement on an interim government after the departure of President Bashir. Several other coalitions and opposition parties – including the Sudanese Opposition Alliance, the Sudanese Revolutionary Front and the Sudanese People Liberation Movement (North) – have called on their supporters to join the protests. Currently, the opposition parties seem to be torn between creating an Islamic state or a non religious democratic state.

President Al Bashir of Sudan took power in 1989 through a bloodless coup. He ruled as a military head of state under the Revolutionary Command Council shortly, before dissolving the unit and becoming President in 1993.

Since he became President, Bashir has faced a series of political and economic troubles that culminated in the Darfur genocide, which ended in 2005. Numerous accusations of human rights violations by the Sudanese military during the warring period prompted the International Criminal Court to issue an arrest warrant for him – the first arrest warrant issued against a sitting President.

Until now, the government of Sudan seems to have been immune to the wave of protests that spread through North Africa in the past few years. On two occasions, most memorably in July last year, protesters seem to have finally taken to the streets, but the protests were short lived.

Experts believe large scale protests in Sudan – one capable of bringing the government down – would be very difficult to sustain given the regime’s notoriety for the use of force to crush protests. A former American envoy to Sudan alleges that President Bashir has a special unit numbering close to 30,000 made mostly of his tribesmen, who are willing to defend the regime against all odds.

Protesters took to the street last week after President Bashir announced the removal of fuel subsidies in order to cut his government’s spending. The removal of fuel subsidies has had a far reaching effect on the Sudanese economy as the prices of almost all other goods have also doubled.

But unlike other unsuccessful protests in the past, this protest has a wide appeal among all sections of the Sudanese population. Students, politicians, traders, businessmen and even bureaucrats have showed up on the streets to protest against the regime.

The Sudanese government has characteristically responded with an iron fist. Last week, the government reported that about 33 protesters were killed by security forces, but the opposition says the death toll is about 150. Adding that the security forces fired indiscriminately into the crowd of protesters. Due to the perpetual media blackout in the country very little information can be verified, but reports today suggests that security forces have continued their war against the protesters. Close to 700 people are also reported to have been arrested and hundreds more injured as security forces and protesters collide.

The protests seems to have grown in intensity after 40 protesters were charged with fomenting riots last week and were sentenced to pay fines of SDG150 ($34) and receive 20 lashes each.

Several international bodies including Human Rights Watch have cautioned the government of Sudan against excessive use of force to control the protests. According to Daniel Bekele, director of HRW Africa, “Lethal force is only permitted where strictly necessary to protect life. Authorities should make sure that police and security forces know the legal limits of force and hold accountable any who exceed those limits.”

Security officers are still stationed in the main streets of Khartoum, Wad Medani, Omdurman, El Obeid, Port Sudan and other towns. Schools remained closed today after the government announced an extension of the closure of all basic and secondary level schools to Oct. 20th.

But things are not all gloomy for President Bashir’s regime. Last week Friday, the United Nations Human Rights Council agreed to renew the mandate for an independent expert in Sudan for another 12 months. This came after reports that the Sudanese government has been following the council’s recommendations. On the recent clampdown on protesters, the UNHRC urged the Sudanese government to caution its security forces against the excessive use of force.

Also, the United Nations/African Union Mission in Darfur recently held a 2 day conference with about 100 Darfur tribal leaders to find a solution to the long standing conflict which has left thousands dead and many others displaced. Speaking at the conference, Retta Reddy, Head of the UNAMID’s Civil Affairs Section said “I believe that Darfur is rich both above and under the ground, it is rich above the ground through its human resources – all of you, the great intellectuals and technocrats with wisdom and skills to meet all the needs of Darfur.”

The government of Sudan is desperately trying to wriggle its way out of this turmoil. The Council of Ministers of Khartoum recently called on all officials in the state to make residential visits to poor families and ensure the cash aid given by the government was actually getting to them. For now, it is unclear what impacts these handouts would have on the temperament of the people.

Everything seems to point towards change in Sudan – but it is too soon to figure what sort of state beckons in the horizon.