Fuel Protests Crushed

Posted on September 7, 2006
Filed Under General Thoughts |

The Protests that occured recently have been crushed by the Sudanese dictatorship.

Opposition political parties had planned a demonstration against a rise in fuel prices.

In the last week, the Sudanese government have arrested dozens of opposition figures.

This was a show of force from all arms of Sudan’s security forces - riot police with their shields and teargas canisters, the army with guns, and everywhere plain-clothes security officers.

Mounting opposition

On the face of it, this protest was about a recent rise in fuel prices.

But it is also the frontline of an increasingly bitter struggle between the Khartoum government and an alliance of opposition political parties.

Several demonstrations in the last few weeks have been banned and then violently disrupted.

>>What was once about fuel has turned into a question of freedom of expression.<<

Well at least they used teargas this time. In the past they sometimes spilled hot boiling water and sizzling cooking oil from the back of trucks and onto the protesting crowd. Great improvement huh? :p

Hat tip: Sudan Watch

UPDATE: More and more protests are planned. This is going to get worse. The past one was crushed and this latest peacefull one was also crushed. Some innocent non-rioting civilians were brutally beaten up together with the rioters.

UPDATE: I was laughing so hard when I read the last parts of this article.

President Omar el-Bashir strongly criticized the demonstration, saying that “the spoilers and agents are exploiting freedom and democracy.”

Addressing a mass rally in the eastern city of Kassala on Wednesday evening, el-Bashir said that raising prices was aimed at building the country.

LOOOL!

Comments

One Response to “Fuel Protests Crushed”

  1. The Sudanese Thinker » Update on the Situation in Khartoum on September 20th, 2006 10:34 am

    […] A close friend of mine recently got back from Sudan. He brought back some interesting information from his uncle whom we shall call uncle K. Uncle K used to be a member in the ruling NCP and he’s a highly educated man. He quit the NCP (formerly known as National Islamic Front or NIF) after getting too disgusted by it but he’s still in contact with some members in it. I greatly value uncle K’s opinions and thoughts. The man’s information is valuable and not easily obtainable elsewhere. Most Sudanese people are busy “writing scripts for the latest conspiracy theory” but few actually know what the hell is going on and I happen to personally know some of those few. The information in this post isn’t officially available in Sudanese newspapers although some like Al-Rayyam have made vague speculations hinting the same thing. I can’t say it’s 100% absolutely true but I personally strongly believe it. As you already know, Khartoum recently witnessed peaceful protests against price increases in which the protestors were brutally beaten up. The NCP raised the prices of fuel and basic commodities to cover their increasing expenses. Apparently they miscalculated their annual budget. One of the major oil wells was supposed to start production soon but some mistake occurred and caused serious delays. Hence, the annual budget estimations got screwed. The increasing expenses are mainly due to security being on stand by 24/7 and also due to the latest military operations in Darfur. […]

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