Thousands of Sudanese youth and university students have recently been joining a Facebook event page calling for mass protests starting today, January 30th. And it looks like the protests have indeed begun, and are underway as indicated by the pictures being uploaded right now on the Facebook protest page .
Here are some of them.
And here is a video on Facebook of chanting protesters that just got uploaded. Sudanese youth in Washington DC are also planning a solidarity protest later today in front of the Sudanese Embassy there to demand change.
Here are the stated demands on the Facebook event page, organized by the protesters who call themselves “The Spark.”
The people of Sudan will not remain silent anymore, It is about time we demand our rights and take what’s ours in a peaceful demonstration that will not involve any acts of sabotage, We will demonstrate against the rising of the prices, the corruption, unemployment and all false practices of the government such as violence against women and lashing them in ways that breaks all laws of religions and humanity and the violation of minorities rights.
… our brothers in Tunisia did it and so did our brothers in Egypt. It is about time for us
At the time of of writing this, there are “15,709 Attending,” “3,384 Maybe Attending,” “101,409 Awaiting Reply,” and “7,172 Not Attending.”
Many, if not most active members on the page, seem to be Diaspora Sudanese, and not Sudanese living within Khartoum. But those who are, are mostly university students seeking to mobilize their fellow university mates and the general population to protest against a number of things, especially rising prices and economic hardships.
The large number of “101,409 Awaiting Reply” indicates that while the invite on Facebook went viral, it hadn’t captured the attention of the large majority of those who were invited or gotten a response from them… yet, hopefully.
Still though, “15,709 Attending” isn’t a small number, and the police were already on alert ahead of the planned protests as well as the announcement of the referendum results which is now out.
At the moment, BBC Arabic and Reuters are reporting that police is beating and arresting students protesting at the heart of Khartoum demanding the resignation of the government. It’s also using tear gas against them.
According to sources in Khartoum, things have now calmed a bit, but there are plans for more and bigger protests later in the day.
So far Aljazeera seems to be completely ignoring the news, which is annoying to say the least, and I suspect it’s because of the close relationship between the Sudanese and Qatari governments, but I really, really hope I’m wrong.
Let’s see if they remain quiet.
Dear Aljazeera International,
You’ve been amazing so far. Please do the right thing and report on the protests in Khartoum!
Arabic speakers, you can follow some of the latest news through Facebook here, here, and here.
Whether this will actually blow up to the same level we’ve seen in Tunisia and Egypt is something that remains to be seen. After all these recent events, nothing seems far fetched anymore.
There’s real anger, and rising prices and economic hardships are starting to sting people including those who are usually politically apathetic. Plus, with the results of the referendum, the South going bye bye, and weak opposition parties remaining, Northerners realize they’re going to be left all alone to deal with the government.
We’ve done it before twice, toppling two military dictatorships in 1964 and 1985, and it may just happen again if the people rise up.
UPDATE: Aljazeera is now officially reporting on the demonstrations (Arabic article). Thank you Aljazeera. Now keep reporting.
UPDATE: Here’s a recently uploaded video of students from Khartoum University’s Faculty of Medicine protesting.
UPDATE: The NY Times has a good piece on the Tunisia and Egypt-inspired protests and how they started.
UPDATE: It’s been confirmed. The protests are no longer limited to the Sudanese capital. People have started demonstrating elsewhere in the country including in Kosti (Arabic article).
It’s also been confirmed that a student has died in one of the protests, and that there are more planned protests. Whether all of this will lead to a revolution or not, is now the big question. For a worthy perspective on this, I encourage you to check out Mo Elzubeir’s take.
You see, Bashir, like it or not, has his supporters among the Sudanese people. He is actually a polarizing figure, unlike Mubarak, who is almost unanimously hated. Looking at the protest event page on Facebook and reading through the comments is revealing.
So, how can you have a ‘popular’ uprising when the country is not really behind you and your core participants would like to see a regime change, no to all politicians and are unable to call for what they really want?
You have an impotent movement.
Sadly, I think Sudan is more likely to experience an all out civil war than a popular uprising uniting all Sudanese. There is a serious lack of a unifying rallying point and a chronic identity crisis that everyone is trying to ignore. We are too far behind to try and emulate what is happening in Egypt or Tunisia. Sudan has a lot of soul searching to do, a rediscovery of what it is to be Sudanese after the South voted to secede.
To learn more about this annoying identity crisis too many Sudanese suffer from, read my post “Sudan: Arab or African?” to a get a pretty good idea.
UPDATE: It seems like there will be more protests today advocated by Girifna (We’re Fed Up):
Tomorrow’s Rally, Feb 3rd, is at 4 pm in Bahari at Agrab Square. Please spread the word. The aim of this rally and all the spark rallies is to break the legend of the security forces and the break the fear. The rallies are nonviolent direct action. There are also sit ins and street speeches urging the people to unite against the National Congress Party (the ruling party in Sudan).
In other news, the ruling NCP issued an urgent message to its members, especially those in the IT sector, accusing the protesters of wanting to disrupt “Sudan’s Islamic Project.” The message also encouraged party members to enter all Facebook groups calling for the protests and discourage people from participating.
Lovely. The cyber-battles have begun, but at least the government didn’t feel the need to block Facebook… yet?
Now, speaking of Facebook in Sudan, to all readers based in Khartoum, here’s how you can ensure that your Facebook is secure from attacks and password phishing attempts by the regime.
As I said before. I would never rule any possibilities out anymore, especially after Tunisia.
BUT… we do need to take into account that Sudan is a unique case, and al-Bashir is different in the eyes of a lot of his people because they don’t see him as an American puppet, unlike how Mubarak and Ben Ali are perceived by the Arab street.
On the other hand, we also need to take into account the worsening economic hardships, widening rich-poor gap, and appalling NCP corruption, which triggered some smaller protests even before Tunisia. These factors are real and might trigger big protests if they continue to worsen. But for now, at least in Khartoum, most of the visible activity seems to be advocated by young university students using Facebook to organize and get their message out.
UPDATE: Sudan cracks down on opposition ahead of protests.
KHARTOUM (Reuters) - Sudan widened its crackdown on the opposition by arresting 10 journalists from the Communist Party newspaper ahead of anti-gvernment protests expected on Thursday by activists inspired by Egypt’s uprising.
Sudan has used armed riot police to disperse more than a dozen demonstrations by young Sudanese across the north of the country this week.
The protests are directed against price rises and a government that demonstrators say is restricting freedoms. Security forces have surrounded universities, preventing students from spilling out onto the streets.
The protests have been small but widespread. Hundreds of arrests and beatings have fragmented the movement, with around 50 activists still detained or missing. Khartoum arrested opposition Islamist Hassan al-Turabi and 12 of his party officials ahead of the protests. None have been charged.
UPDATE: The regime has been cracking down on the opposition and many journalists as well in the last couple of days.
The Sudanese government continued cracking down on opposition media and protestors Thursday, as activists continued planning for more rounds of demonstrations.
… The protests in northern Sudan have been small, but widespread. Hundreds of arrests and beatings have fragmented the movement, with around 50 activists still detained or missing. But activists say they are planning to continue demonstrating, with the next protest planned for February 7.
The protestors, largely students and youth, have used Facebook and SMS to communicate with each other. Security forces Thursday used the protestors’ own tactics against them, according to Ahmed.
“The security forces themselves, they sent messages to people to gather in a specific area to protest. When people went there to protest they saw the security forces arresting them immediately when they arrived in the area,“ said Ahmed.
According to Ahmed, future protests will probably be planned over different channels.
Also, if you haven’t yet, check out this Aljazeera video report on the protests
SudaneseThinker
SudaneseThinker
{ 23 comments… read them below or add one }
good luck people
this makes me happy, i hope they keep going, stronger. people in our generation tend to forget that the sudanese are known for their military coups and their protests
i’ve been waiting for this for so long
If they think demonstrating or changing the government will lower food prices, they will be disappointed. Food prices are going up world wide, and nothing a government can do short term will help. Look at the price of onions in India (which is not a dictatorship).
In the longer term, governments can put money into irrigation and agricultural technology.
To Don Cox … Think with your brain, not your tummy.
I am thinking with my brain. The only way to get food prices down is to improve agriculture.
A dictatorship is unlikely to do this. A democratic government might. Mostly, it is left to NGOs.
Now think about unemployment. This is almost inevitable in times of rapid population growth. Corrupt dictatorships not only ignore the problem, but tend to make it worse by increasing red tape and generally interfering with business.
The only solution lies in a rapid growth of small and medium businesses. No kind of licenses or permission should be needed to start a small business, or to publish a newspaper. In dictatorships, there tend to be all kinds of laws the make you wait for months, fill in loads of forms, and pay heavy bribes before you can start trading.
(Big companies are a different matter - they do need controlling.)
It’s inspiring to see the people of the world standing up for their freedoms through public demonstrations. Good luck today, Sudan! Our eyes are on you.
the main difference between Ben Ali, Mubarak and Bashir is that Bashir has set him self in opposition to the west, united states, and israel which can more easily be harnassed for support among large segments of society. Yemen and Jordan might be next but definitly not Sudan. even if he does leave there is no other viable option, the opposition is a joke and in most cases even worse.
I’m hoping for a repeat of Ceausescu’s execution with Bashir.
The only difference between Sudan and Egypt is the capital of Egypt is Washington while the capital of Sudan is Beijing.
The only difference between Sudan and Egypt is the capital of Egypt is Washington while the capital of Sudan is Beijing.
Which is the only difference that matters.
Don,
You may have a point. Higher prices and unemployment won’t simply go away if a new government takes over. Heck, even if one does take over, it will take lots of time for things to calm down and get orderly again.
But that’s not the point. Ending endemic corruption is, because if anything is certain, then it’s that this regime is corrupted as hell, and has enriched itself in an appalling way at the expense of regular ordinary people.
Osman,
Each country is unique, and things will play out differently. In Sudan’s case, you’re right. The prospects are not as bright as Egypt’s or nearly as Tunisia’s which is more prosperous. Still, who knows, I wouldn’t write anything off anymore. A unity government consisting of opposition parties might be a possibility. These are new and interesting times we’re witnessing today. And just as long as that filthy theocratic al-Turabi doesn’t make gains, things could get better.
Endemic corruption is incredibly difficult to remove. But at least throwing out Bashir might reduce it.
Does anyone knbow if Tom Paine’s “The Rights of Man” is available in Arabic? This would be a good time for people to read it.
i cant get over the size of the police batton.. what is that thing..
i love that they referenced women’s rights..
http://www.zerohedge.com/article/interactive-map-recent-food-riots-and-price-hikes
the kind of “unrest” isn’t going to disappear soon, unless a miracle happens and that Maghreb and Sahel become green again, but that were millenariums ago
Marie: Picture the Sahel green, the Sahara shrinking, Daily rains, Lake Chad restored, the Nile flowing freely and copiously: IT CAN BE! What is in the way is a huge infestation of aquatic weeds and the silt that they have left behind them. In North Africa, it is primarily Typha, but Phragmites, Papyrus and water hyacinth are also dragging you down. The weeds are all biomass, waiting to be sold as biofuel. The silt is soil, waiting to repair eroded and desertified land. With the weeds gone, the lakes will fill again and again generate “lake effect” rains. With the silt gone, the lakes will again replenish the aquifers, and the Oases will come back to life. The task is enormous, but so is Africa’s labor glut. The reward is arable land. The side benefits are staggering- Typha swamps are a mosquitoes favorite breeding ground, and a Quelea’s as well.
The halves of men of the general, killed a student….
Mohamed is our first martyr.
Some say that these “revolutions” are monitorised, guess by whom:
http://www.iran-resist.org/article6213.html
Please people get a grip & think about this. For democracy to be anything but Mob Rule-which is always bad & what unstructured democracy is-there has to be a frame for it. It doesn’t just pop up one day, that is why we are a Constitutional Republic-it took years for the Founding Fathers to develop, it wasn’t like we woke up one day & next had a new government in place. Without a STRONG middle class & rational thinking you end up with another Iran. While I sympathize with people I am not irrational about it. Lay foundations first, have something to support a stable Constitutional democracy-not mob rule-that is how Fanatics gain control-they have a plan & why these silly little kids are stumbling around they put a government in place 10 x worse than the one in place. Once again look at Iran.
Thx for the updates u have noooooooooooo idea how annoyed i am at not hearing anything about sudan.
Drima; Glad to see you reference corruption for it is corruption that leads to high unemployment. Hard to start a business and hire people if half of your income goes to paying bribes or hiring relatives of the well connected. And then they don’t work because they are protected.
Then word goes out and no one else even starts a business. Or they are forced into the underground, cash only economy which robs the people of tax revenue, forcing others to pay a higher tax.
And foreign companies will not locate there because they cannot turn a profit. And foreign investors will also avoid corrupt countries that steal away their investments.
Corruption must be dealt with.
the only difference between Sudan ,Egypt,and Tunisia ,is the level of education,which is so low or deformed type ,this makes the people easily leaded by liars of the government
they abuse the neglectfulness of the people and deceive them by the misuse of religion.
as a result ,it is very obvious that protesters are more educated(most of them if not all are university students)
but they may receive the people’s support as the time continues,and as more news about the torturing the protesters flowing over the country
Poverty breeds corruption (because people such as civil servants need to augment their pay), and corruption breeds poverty. How to get out of this vicious helix?
It would be interesting to study the reduction of corruption in England over the centuries. There is still some corruption, but you don’t expect to have to pay bribes to officials. In the late 17C, the British government was totally corrupt. What happened?
I have been trying to contact a friend in Khartoum for 3 weeks now. Access seems to be being denied. Is this the case generally? I support the protests and to women out there let’s really support International Womens Day. March 8th. Please put the word out as I am a novice at all this! STAY SAFE wherever you are.
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