Wüstenschiff

Sudan’s president Omer Al-Bashir has dismissed the protests that have been occurring in his country for the last three weeks as being organized by “street children.” “Those who tried to create [protest] movement are some youth and street children” he told a public rally in Wad Al-Fadni area east of the capital Khartoum on Saturday.

The Sudanese President Omer Al-Bashir on Saturday said that he rejects “secularism” and reiterated his commitment to replace the country’s constitution with an “Islamic” one. Speaking in a religious rally held in Wad Al-Fadni area east of Khartoum, Al-Bashir said that he rejects secularism in Sudan. He went on to declare that the country’s upcoming constitution will be “Islamic” and serve as “a role model for all people who have aspirations to apply religion in all aspects of their lives.”

Sudanese police on Sunday tear-gassed students who demonstrated in the capital Khartoum while security forces detained a prominent opposition figure ahead of his participation in a famous debate show. Eye witnesses told Sudan Tribune that anti-riot police fired tear gas to break up hundreds of students who marched out of Khartoum University chanting slogans calling for the downfall of the military rule and ousting of President Omar Al-Bashir. The protesters were beaten back after they hurled stones at the police [...] Local activist groups say that Sudanese authorities have arrested more than 2,000 people since the protests started on 16 June. They have reported that some of those detained have been tortured.

The competent authorities in Sudan have frustrated attempts to hack and bug more than 50 government websites, a local newspaper reported on Sunday. The pro-government daily Al-Ahram Al-Yawm cited unidentified sources as saying that local and international hacker groups have been attempting to plant spy software called Shell into more than 50 targeted government websites including those of political institutions [...] The famous hacker group Anonymous warned in a video on posted on YouTube that it will take action against the Sudanese government on account of its restrictions to free speech and internet access. Girifna, a Sudanese anti-government activist group, last month said that Anonymous would support the Sudan Revolts campaign which aims to oust the ruling National Congress Party (NCP) of President Omar Al-Bashir.

Various parts of Sudan’s capital Khartoum and other regional towns are beginning to witness shortages of bread coupled with exorbitant price increases, in the latest manifestation of a growing economic crisis [...] Citizens interviewed by Sudan Tribune in Khartoum complained that the price of bread and many other food commodities has gone up in the last few days. They also said they had to stand in long queues on Monday to buy bread. Bread is an essential part of standard Sudanese meals. Meanwhile, local newspapers reported on Tuesday that President Omar Hassan Al-Bashir reversed a resolution by the minister of finance, Ali Mahmood Abdel-Rasool, to lift wheat subsidies by increasing the price of one ton of wheat from $2,800 to $4,400.

Ein Jahr nach der Sezession des Südens mehren sich auch im Norden die Proteste, Grund ist die wirtschaftliche Lage. Auch in der Regierungspartei brodelt es [...] In den vergangenen Monaten haben sich die Preise für Zucker, Obst und den öffentlichen Transport teils verdoppelt [...] Rücknahme der Benzinpreissubventionen und Steuererhöhungen [...] Das Londoner Institute of War & Peace Reporting spekulierte in seinem jüngsten Bericht, ob für Baschir der Anfang vom Ende gekommen sei. Der Präsident sei selbst innerhalb der führenden Parteimitglieder inzwischen völlig isoliert [...] schließlich ist für eine erfolgreiche Revolution immer auch die Unterstützung der Streitkräfte nötig. Aber die gelten als Baschir gegenüber immer noch absolut loyal. Dafür reicht sein Geld noch – gerade.

President Omer Hassan al-Bashir said opponents who call to overthrow his regime will face a hot summer instead of an Arab spring they call for. He also directed to stop business with companies from countries enforcing economic sanctions against Sudan [...] The protests continue in the country, despite the arrest of around two thousands demonstrators. In order to mobilise more and more protesters, the activists organise peaceful demonstrations after the Friday prayer.

Seit Mitte Juni gibt es im Sudan regelmäßig Demonstrationen gegen die autokratische Regierung von Präsident Omar al-Baschir. Der greift hart durch – und konnte so bisher Massenproteste verhindern.

The administration of the protest hit University of Khartoum (UoK) decided on Thursday to close a number of its faculties citing “the need to prepare for exams” as tension looms once again ahead of planned weekly demonstrations on Friday. UoK has been witnessing violent clashes 11 July, between protesting students on one side and police and security agents supported by pro-regime militiamen known as Rabata. Security forces used teargas and batons to break up the protests as Rabata forces were filmed raiding the campus and attacking students. Activists told Sudan Tribune that the protesting students had bravely confronted security forces and forced them to retreat several times.

Sudanese police used teargas and rubber bullets to disperse protesters who emerged from Wad Nubawi Mosque in Omdurman on Friday, in the third crackdown on anti-regime demonstrations over a month. The protest which activists named the “Kandaka” after a legendary ancient queen in honor of the struggles of Sudanese women is part of a series of anti-regime demonstrations that have been gripping the capital Khartoum and other regional towns for the past month. [...] Friday’s protest started following prayer at Wad Nubawi Mosque in Khartoum’s twin-city of Omdurman. The mosque, which belongs to the Ansar religious sect that is associated with the opposition National Umma Party (NUP), has been the epicenter of Friday’s weekly protests for the past two weeks. Eye witnesses told Sudan Tribune that around 300 protesters led by women emerged from the mosque chanting slogans calling for freedom and the downfall of the regime. Heavily deployed police and security forces met them with teargas and rubber bullets. Witnesses said that more than 30 people were arrested in the crackdown. Police also used violence to suppress another protest in Bait Al-Mal area in Omdurman. Activists say that police arrested more than 10 people in similar protests in Al-Obied and Um Rawaba towns in North Kordofan State.

The National Islamic Front/National Congress Party regime in Khartoum has had plenty of opportunities over the past year and more to learn from the experiences of other repressive regimes during the ongoing "Arab Spring." In fact, "spring" seems an increasingly ironic term, given developments in Syria, Libya, and even Egypt, where the army has not really surrendered power and people have elected—as a "least bad" President—a member of the Muslim Brotherhood. This is the same organization that gave rise to the National Islamic Front in Sudan, now the National Congress Party. The NIF/NCP has watched carefully the events and responses of the past year, knowing full well that Sudan’s own fundamental demographic is the same as that of other "Arab Spring" countries: a large and increasingly well-educated population under 30 years of age, who face an economy that is highly unlikely to generate employment commensurate with their education, or indeed employment of any sort. Unprecedented protests in northern Sudan are now in their fourth week, and show no signs of slowing. Indeed, every Sudanese with whom I have spoken over the past few weeks has said the same thing: "This is our moment; if we do not seize it, another chance is not likely to come."

A group of over 300 Sudanese lawyers protested outside Khartoum’s main courtroom on Monday against the government’s use of violence and arbitrary detention during peaceful demonstrations. The lawyers marched from Khartoum criminal court to the presidential place where they submitted a memorandum urging President Omar Al-Bashir to order the stoppage of violence against protester and the release of detainees [...] Meanwhile, the anti-government youth group Girifna announced on Monday that the next Sudan Revolts weekly protest on Friday will be named after Darfur. The “Darfur Baladna Friday” will be the fourth in a series of Friday protests to which the government responded with excessive force, particularly around the epicenter of the protests in Wad Nubawi Mosque in Omdurman, which is linked to the opposition National Umma Party (NUP).

Police and security forces are currently clashing with students of Khartoum University (UoK) after they attempted to march in a peaceful protest to the office of the University’s director, Sidiq Haiati, activists said, on Tuesday’s afternoon, one day after the director said he rejected police involvement in university affairs. Police in Khartoum Activists also told Sudan Tribune that earlier on Tuesday the police had raided the dormitories of the main campus in down town Khartoum and fired tear gas at the students who refused to vacate in compliance with the University’s decision to close some faculties.

Egypt, Tunisia and Libya are conducting an initiative to reconcile Sudan’s bitterly divided Islamists, a spokesman for the ruling National Congress Party (NCP) said on Thursday [...] This development, if true, is likely to stoke concerns on the part of Western countries over the phenomenon of Islamist groups rising to power in post Arab Spring countries like the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt and the El-Nahda Movement in Tunisia. It also raises the possibility of these groups forging an affinity along ideological lines with Sudan’s Islamists [...] Al-Mahboob intoned that the current situation in Sudan is the cumulative effect of 23 years of running the country with wrong policies. He accused Al-Bashir’s regime of causing the “economic collapse” of Sudan due to its failure to use oil revenues to diversify the economy before South Sudan’s secession. The talk of re-unification of Islamists comes amid speculations of an imminent Arab Spring in Sudan as small but growing street protests sparked by worsening economic conditions continue to occur in different parts of the country.

Demonstrationen, Sparzwänge, Bürgerkrieg: Die Macht des Diktators Omar al-Baschir beginnt zu bröckeln. Er gilt als der internationale Schurke schlechthin: Putschist, Islamist, ehemaliger Schutzpatron von Osama bin Laden, Kriegstreiber. Die UN und westliche Länder haben sein Land mit Sanktionen belegt, der Internationale Strafgerichtshof sucht ihn mit Haftbefehl. Kein Staatschef hat sich in den vergangenen zwei Jahrzehnten einen so langen Steckbrief erarbeitet wie Sudans Präsident Omar al-Baschir. Kein anderer hat den internationalen Druck so geschickt für den Machterhalt zu nutzen gewusst. Baschir ist der große Überlebenskünstler im afrikanisch-arabischen Raum. Einen Arabischen Frühling, so hat er in den vergangenen Monaten immer wieder erklärt, »wird es im Sudan nicht geben«. Das Regime zu stürzen, so ein beliebter Spruch aus seinem Machtzirkel, »ist so unmöglich, wie den eigenen Ellbogen zu lecken«.

A revolution to oust the regime of President Omer Al-Bashir could occur at any moment, said the Islamist opposition leader Hassan Al-Turabi on Sunday, after accusing the regime of ruining the country. In an Eid Al-Fitr sermon in his home village, Wad Al-Turabi, located South of the capital Khartoum, the opposition leader said the stature of the Sudanese government is weak. He added it has lost its impact and leverage on the regional and international arenas. "The voice of Sudan is low after it was high," he said.

Im Sudan haben Demonstranten die deutsche Botschaft gestürmt. Die Menge in der Hauptstadt Khartum riss das Emblem der deutschen Vertretung und die deutsche Fahne nieder. Stattdessen hissten sie nach Augenzeugenberichten eine schwarze Fahne. Zudem wurden die Fensterscheiben zerstört und Feuer gelegt. Die Polizei soll Tränengas gegen die Demonstranten eingesetzt haben. Die Mitarbeiter der deutschen Botschaft befinden sich in Sicherheit [...] Für Sonntag seien weitere Demonstrationen vor der Deutschen Botschaft in Khartum angekündigt - es werde daher empfohlen, die Umgebung zu meiden.

Im Zuge der Proteste war am Freitag auch die deutsche Botschaft im Sudan angegriffen worden - nicht unvorbereitet und in erste Linie nicht wegen des islamfeindlichen Films. Die Mitarbeiter hatten mit Ausschreitungen gerechnet, denn seit Tagen hatten Imame zu Protesten vor der deutschen Botschaft aufgerufen. Sie hatten verbreitet, in Deutschland dürften Mohammed-Karrikaturen ungestraft gezeigt werden [...] Da die Botschaft freitags geschlossen ist, kam niemand zu schaden. Für morgen wurden neue Proteste vor dem Gelände angekündigt. Das Auswärtige Amt empfiehlt daher allen deutschen Staatsbürgern, die Umgebung zu meiden. Grundsätzlich sei derzeit bei Reisen in muslimische Länder Vorsicht geboten.