Wüstenschiff

Small-scale protests continued for a second day on Monday in several places in the Sudanese capital, Khartoum and elsewhere against government’s decision to lift fuel and electricity subsidies. On Sunday night, dozens of people staged demonstrations in the capital of al-Jazeera state, Wad Medani and chanted “Freedom. Peace. Justice. Revolution is the choice of the people” before they were dispersed by police and security services. In one Khartoum neighbourhood, al Deim, protesters on Sunday marched on side streets chanting anti-regime slogans. On Monday, students from the University of Khartoum (UofK) on Monday took to the streets to protest against price increase before riot police used tear gas and batons to disperse them. Also, engineering students from Wadi El-Neel University in Atbara, 320 km. north of Khartoum on Monday afternoon staged a demonstration that roamed a number of the main streets in the city. Hundreds of high school students took to the streets in South Darfur’s capital, Nyala to protest against the rise in fuel and electricity price. A number of students told Sudan Tribune that riot police excessive tear gas to disperse the demonstrations, saying the decision to raise fuel and electricity price has increased the suffering of their families [...] A reliable source told Sudan Tribune that the government has deployed large military troops on the main streets of Nyala with armored trucks roaming the streets to prevent further protests. Meanwhile, the National Intelligence and Security Services (NISS) has continued its arrest campaign and detained the Secretary General of the Sudanese Congress Party (SCoP) Mastoor Ahmed on Monday just hours following the arrest of the party’s former chairman Ibrahim Al-Shiekh.

Sudan’s National Intelligence and Security Services (NISS) has launched massive arrest campaign against members of the opposition Sudanese Congress Party (SCoP) and detained seven of its leading figures during the last four days [...] In a press release extended to Sudan Tribune on Tuesday, SLM-MM spokesperson Mohamed Hassan Haroun described the arrest of the SCoP leadership as deliberate targeting of all Sudanese who resist injustice, saying the regime’s acts wouldn’t deter the opposition. He called on all Sudanese to stand ready to uproot the corrupt regime and end the suffering of the people, demanding them to unite to achieve peace, security, democracy, freedom and justice.

Sudan’s National Intelligence and Security Services (NISS) on Monday has seized copies of Al-Watan newspaper for the second time within ten days from the printing house without stating reasons [...] On 6 November, the NISS seized copies of Al-Tayyar, Al-Jareeda and Al-Watan newspapers for publishing news reports criticizing the government decision to scrap raise fuel and electricity subsidies. Meanwhile, the NISS on Sunday detained reporter Mohamed Abu Zaid of Al-Saiha newspaper for two hours in Khartoum’s twin city of Omdurman.

Sudanese President Omer al-Bashir has sacked the secretary general of the Sudan Pharmacy Council (SPC) and cancelled a new list of drug price issued by the latter, said Sudan’s Health Minister on Friday. Earlier this month, CBoS announced it will no longer provide US dollar for drug importation at rate of 7,5 Sudanese pounds (SDG) forcing pharmaceutical companies to buy the dollar from the black market at 17,5 pounds. Following the CBoS’s decision, the SPC issued a new list showing the drug price has drastically increased by 100 to 300 percent. The decision stirred a large wave of protests across Sudan. Also, some two hundred private pharmacies in Khartoum went on partial strike and closed their doors from 09:00 am to 05:00 pm last week in protest against the government’s move. At an emergency press conference on Friday, Sudan’s Health Minister Bahar Idris Abu Garda said the secretary general of the SPC, Mohamed Hassan Imam, made enough mistakes to get him stripped of his position, saying the list of drug price he hastily issued contains some medicines that the government continues to subsidize. He stressed that the list of drug price issued by Imam has been cancelled, pointing that a committee was formed to issue a new list as soon as possible. However, Abu Garda acknowledged that there would be a “reasonable” increase in drug price, saying it wouldn’t include the life-saving drugs for blood pressure, diabetes, Parkinson’s disease, psychiatric diseases and hemophilia.

Sudanese authorities ordered to close down a TV station on Sunday, as the opposition called for a three day civil disobedience to protest the recent austerity measures and the lack of freedoms.

Public transport stayed off the streets, several squares and roads in Khartoum were deserted and many shops were shut in a mixed response to opposition calls for a nationwide strike against fuel subsidy cuts in Sudan. Schools in the city were open but many parents preferred to keep their children at home fearing clashes between protesters and security forces.

Shop owners, such as Mohammed al-Amin, are similarly struggling. "A 50kg of sugar went up from 510 Sudanese pounds [$78] to 580 [$89], and a 10kg packet of flour went up from 65 Sudanese pounds [$10] to 85 [$13]." "Most notably, 100kg of beans went up from 1700 Sudanese pounds [$262] to 2100 [$324], beans – which is the most consumed meal," al-Amin told Al Jazeera, complaining that he is struggling to sustain his sales.

Sudan’s National Intelligence and Security Services (NISS) on Tuesday has seized copies of four daily newspapers as civil disobedience enters its last day. At dawn on Tuesday, NISS agents confiscated print runs of Al-Tayyar, Al-Jareeda, Al-Youm Al-Tali and Al-Ayam newspapers from the printing house without stating reasons as usual.

"No, no to high prices," shouted about 300 men and women as they marched along a main street of Omdurman near Khartoum on Wednesday morning, an AFP correspondent reported. Anti-riot police swiftly arrived at the scene and fired tear gas to disperse them, the reporter said.

Sudan’s National Intelligence and Security Services (NISS) on Sunday has seized copies of the independent daily Al-Jareeda and mouthpiece of the Sudanese communist Party (SCP) Al-Midan from the printing house without giving reasons. Mass confiscation has emerged as a new technique of punishment by the NISS which tend to accuse affected newspapers of crossing the red lines through publishing reports that adversely impact on national security. NISS has recently intensified crackdown on newspapers for publishing news reports and articles on the nationwide civil disobedience act which took place between 27 and 29 November. Since last Monday, it seized copies of various dailies 19 times.

Minni Minnawi, a leader of a Sudan Liberation Movement faction (SLM-MM) welcomed calls to topple the regime of President Omer al-Bashir through the civil disobedience and announced the fall of the regime means the end of armed struggle. Speaking in a public meeting in Hanover, Germany on Sunday 18 December, the day before the general strike, Minnawi said his movement backs all the efforts by activists aimed to overthrow the Sudanese regime. "We assure you that the fall of the regime means the end of the reasons for the armed struggle and will we will participate in the peace building process," Minnawi said according to a statement extended by his movement to Sudan Tribune on Wednesday [...] He further urged all the civil society groups to stand by the activists who used through the social media to mobilize the street.

Sudanese security apparatus continues for the sixth day to carry out the collective confiscation against four newspapers, as the Popular Congress Party has urged the Prime Minister to stop what he called harmful "tampering" . Since the beginning of last week, the security and intelligence apparatus has confiscated on daily basis the print runs of Al-Yayyar, Al-Jarida, Akhir-lahza and Al-Watan newspapers without revealing the reasons behind this punitive measure.

Sporadic protests have erupted on Friday in Khartoum and the Gazira State in central Sudan against the recent government decision to increase the bread price. On Friday, bakeries raised the price of a loaf of bread from 50 cents to 1 Sudanese pound following a government decision to increase the price of flour sack from 167 pounds to 450 pounds. The government decision was part of tough economic measures contained in the 2018 budget which also saw the lifting of electricity subsidies as well as increasing the U.S. dollar exchange rate to 18.00 pounds from the official rate of 6.7 pounds. Several neighbourhoods in the Sudanese capital including Al-Sahafa, Al-Kalakla, Al-Giraif and Burri on Friday witnessed limited demonstrations where the protesters burned car tires to block some streets. Also, police on Friday used tear gas and batons cautiously to disperse protesters in the neighbourhoods of Al-Mazad, Shendi Foug, Al-Hilla Al-Jadida and Al-Dibaga in Wad Medani, capital of the Gezira State [...] On Thursday, the opposition called on the Sudanese people to take to streets to protests against the unprecedented rise in the cost of living and commodity price.

Sechs Zeitungen in Khartum, die über die Proteste und ihre Hintergründe berichten wollten, wurden auf Anweisung der Zensurbehörden am Erscheinen gehindert, meldete der unabhängige Rundfunksender Radio Dabanga auf seiner Internetseite. Anlass der Proteste ist die sprunghafte Erhöhung vieler Verbraucherpreise zu Neujahr. Sudans Regierung hat den offiziellen Wechselkurs der Landeswährung zum US-Dollar zum Jahreswechsel von 6,7 auf 18 abgesenkt, um den blühenden Schwarzmarkt einzudämmen. Dadurch haben sich die Preise für zahlreiche Waren über Nacht verdoppelt oder verdreifacht, zum Beispiel für Brot, das aus importiertem Weizen gebacken wird.