12) MASS ARRESTS IN SUDAN
In mid-June, mass protests erupted in Sudan against the regime of President Omar al-Bashir. The government's response has been an escalation of repression, including an estimated 3000 arrests. The following statement was issued in early July by the Sudanese Communist Party (SCP).
On July 4th, the major opposition political parties which include the Umma Party and the SCP, signed the political document entitled the "Democratic Alternative". The signing took place on the twentieth day of continuous mass demonstrations against the al-Bashir regime. These peaceful demonstrations, which engulfed the main cities and towns of the country, are being met with cruel repressive measures, widespread detention, torture, denial of medical treatment and beatings. Despite all this the demonstrators continue to fill the streets....
Members of the Journalist Democratic Network demonstrated in their hundreds in front of the UN human rights building, demanding an end to security harassment, respect of freedom of expression, and release of detained journalists. The security forces have released two female Egyptian journalists and deported them back to Egypt.
Lawyers, in their hundreds, have picketed the Ministry of Justice demanding respect of the constitution, fair trials for the demonstrators, more humane conditions for those arrested, including the right to see doctors and defence lawyers, and release of all political prisoners and detainees.
The demonstrations, which started as protests against rising prices and austerity measures, are gradually taking a different shape. New forces are joining the protest movement and more political demands are coming to the fore. The overthrow of the regime is the main demand of the people.
The "Democratic Alternative" document calls for a transitional period during which the country is ruled under a special Constitutional Declaration, beginning with the establishment of a national unity government and finishing with fair, free and honest elections. Furthermore the document calls for the separation of religion from the state, and prohibits the exploitation of religion for political purposes... The document defines the tactics to overthrow the regime through strikes, peaceful demonstrations, occupation, civil disobedience and popular revolution.
The different political forces have agreed to continue the struggle until final victory, stressing that there is no way for talks with the regime.
The main challenge now is to transform the document into a people's manifesto that can help to bring all opposition forces together in the final push against the regime. The Sudanese Communist Party stresses that adherence to the document by those who have signed, and support by other forces who are waging fierce struggles in Darfur, Southern Kordufan and the Blue Nile, as well as international solidarity, will all pave the way for an end to the present regime, the sufferings of our people and the establishment of a democratic Sudan.
Long live International Solidarity! Victory for the Sudanese people!
Secretariat of the CC of the SCP
(The above article is from the August 1-31, 2012, issue of People's Voice, Canada's leading communist newspaper. Articles can be reprinted free if the source is credited. Subscription rates in Canada: $30/year, or $15 low income rate; for U.S. readers - $45 US per year; other overseas readers - $45 US or $50 CDN per year. Send to People's Voice, c/o PV Business Manager, 706 Clark Drive, Vancouver, BC, V5L 3J1.)