Joy turns to fear in Sudan as army takes control after ousting Bashir

Joy turns to fear in Sudan as army takes control after ousting Bashir

Protesters who rushed on to the streets to celebrate the ouster of Sudanese strongman Omar al-Bashir Thursday are facing the prospect of a long struggle ahead as the military figures who ended his 30-year rule seem to be preparing to hang on to power.

As news of Bashir’s downfall was still reverberating around the world, a military council dissolved the government, suspended the country’s constitution and declared a three month state of emergency.

The military said it will remain in control for at least two years to oversee a “transition of power,” leading to dismay from protesters and outside observers that elections will not be held anytime soon.

In a statement, the African Union said that a military takeover “is not the appropriate response to the challenges facing Sudan and the aspirations of its people.”

It added that Sudan was a signatory to international treaties which “strongly condemn any unconstitutional change of Government and commit member states to the respect of the rule of law, democratic principles and human rights.”

On Thursday, protesters celebrating their victory over Bashir quickly turned to chanting against the country’s defense minister, Awad Mohamed Ahmed Ibn Auf, who made a statement explaining the military’s seizure of power on state TV.

“The people want to topple Ibn Auf,” a crowd chanted in Khartoum. The group that has been leading the anti-government protests, the Sudanese Professionals Association, or SPA, rejected the “coup declaration,” and has called on people to press on with demonstrations and to stage a sit-in outside military headquarters.

The group said protests would continue until “power is handed over to a civilian transitional government.”

“The regime has conducted a military coup to reproduce the same faces and entities that our great people have revolted against,” the SPA, an umbrella organization of doctors, lawyers and journalists, said in a statement, Thursday.

“Those who destroyed the country and killed its people want to appropriate every drop of blood shed by the great people of Sudan during their revolution.”

Speaking to CNN, activist Omar al-Neel said that “the street refuses totally the announcement by Ibn Auf.” “All Sudanese people are in the street and demanding the downfall of the regime and not recycling the same people,” he said.

KEY ‘TEST’ FOR MILITARY

The US said Thursday that it had ordered the departure of all non-emergency US government personnel from Sudan following the coup against President Bashir. The State Department also raised its travel advisory to the highest level — Level 4: Do Not Travel.

The UK also warns against “all but essential travel to Khartoum and all remaining areas of Sudan.”

State Department spokesman Robert Palladino said the US is “monitoring” the situation and that the “big focus for the United States right now is the safety and welfare of our embassy team on the ground as well as private citizens, American citizens in Sudan.”

He added that “the Sudanese people should determine who leads them and their future,” and that they “should be allowed to do so sooner than two years from now.”

Human Rights Watch associate Africa director Jehanne Henry said how the new Sudanese authorities handled protests against them would be a key “test” for the new regime.

“Protestors watching are right to be skeptical,” she said, adding that Ibn Auf “doesn’t have a good record at all … the US has sanctioned him for his role in Darfur atrocities.”

On Friday morning, the UN Security Council is set to discuss developments in Sudan in closed door discussions, according to the United Kingdom Mission to the United Nations.

Jonathan Allen, UK deputy permanent representative to the United Nations, said Thursday that “the main message again is there must be no violence against those protesters.”

“The change proposed by the military isn’t enough. It’s not enough to say that it’s a two-year transition to civilian rule is adequate,” Allen said.

“We need to see much faster transition. We need to see civilian rule now. That’s what the protesters have been calling for, and that is what we need to do.”

Tags:

Bashir Sudan military

Want to send us a story? Submit on Wananchi Reporting on the Citizen Digital App or Send an email to wananchi@royalmedia.co.ke or Send an SMS to 25170 or WhatsApp on 0743570000

Leave a Comment

Comments

No comments yet.

latest stories