Protests in Sudan 2018–19

The articles Protests in Sudan from 2011 , Military Coup and Government Formation in Sudan 2019 and Protests in Sudan 2018–19 thematically overlap. Help me to better differentiate or merge the articles (→ instructions ) . To do this, take part in the relevant redundancy discussion . Please remove this module only after the redundancy has been completely processed and do not forget to include the relevant entry on the redundancy discussion page{{ Done | 1 = ~~~~}}to mark. Vanellus ( discussion ) 18:14, Jun 22, 2019 (CEST)

In Khartoum on August 21, 2019

On December 19, 2018, demonstrations broke out in several Sudanese cities . This was due to the increased cost of living and the deteriorating economic situation . The original calls for economic reform were soon drowned out by calls for President Omar al-Bashir to step down .

The government violently suppressed the protests. On February 22, 2019, al-Bashir declared a state of emergency . He dissolved the government at both national and regional levels and replaced them with military and intelligence officials. On March 8, al-Bashir announced that he would release all women detained in the protests. On the weekend of the 6-7 In April 2019 there were mass protests for the first time after the state of emergency was imposed. On April 11, al-Bashir has been by the military from office coup .

Despite the coup, the protests continued, led by the Sudanese Professionals Association and other democratic opposition groups. They called on the government (the Transitional Military Council (TMC)) to resign "immediately and unconditionally" and to make way for a civilian transitional government. At the end of April and May there were negotiations between the TMC and the civilian opposition to form a joint transitional government. These negotiations failed when the Rapid Support Forces and other TMC forces killed 118 people and injured and raped numerous others in the Khartoum massacre on June 3, 2019.

In response to the Khartoum massacre and the subsequent arrests, the opposition groups called for a general strike from June 9th to 11th. They called on the population to civil disobedience and non-violent protest as long as the TMC does not hand over power to a civilian government. On June 12, the opposition ended their strike and the TMC pledged to release political prisoners. Both sides expressed an interest in resuming negotiations on a civilian transitional government. After an agreement was reached on July 5, both sides signed a corresponding agreement on July 17, 2019. It provides for a "sovereign council" made up of representatives from the military and the protest movement, in which the army will initially take the chair and later the opposition.

background

Al-Bashir has ruled the country since 1989 after leading a successful coup against the elected but increasingly unpopular President Sadiq al-Mahdi . The International Criminal Court charged Al-Bashir with war crimes and crimes against humanity in the western province of Dafur.

In January 2018, there were mass protests in the capital Khartoum due to rising bread prices. The protests were led by the Sudanese Professionals Association. Women played a central role in this.

The Sudanese government devalued the local currency and cut subsidies for grain and electricity. The country's economy has been fragile for a long time, but problems worsened with the declaration of independence in South Sudan in 2011 , which had previously been an important source of foreign currency due to its rich oil reserves. The devaluation of the Sudanese pound led to strongly fluctuating exchange rates and a shortage of cash in October 2018, which was noticeable in long queues at gas stations, grocery stores and ATMs. Sudan has an inflation rate of 70%, only in Venezuela the inflation rate is currently higher. In August 2018, the National Congress Party supported Al-Bashir's renewed candidacy for the 2020 presidential election, despite his growing unpopularity. This led to stronger opposition within the party, as the constitution also does not allow Al-Bashir to be re-elected. Activists organized a campaign against Al-Bashir's candidacy via social media.

Oppositional groups and personalities

The Sudanese Professionals Association coordinated the protests. The grouping is a civil society organization and an umbrella organization of various trade unions. Its core is composed of doctors, engineers, teachers, lawyers, journalists, pharmacists and other members of the urban middle class. After it was founded in 2012, the group acted mainly in secret to avoid harassment by the Sudanese regime. Other opposition groups are Nidaa Sudan, a movement founded by popular political figures (including Farouk Abu Issa and Amin Mekki Medani ), which also includes the National Umma Party , the Sudanese Congress Party and the People's Liberation Movement-North . The National Consensus Forces , an alliance of the Sudanese Communist Party and the Sudanese Baath Party, also took part in the protests. These different groups united in January 2019 under the name Alliance for Freedom and Change and published the Declaration of Freedom and Change , which called for the resignation of the regime and a democratization of the country under a civilian government. The socialist journal Jacobin described the Sudanese protest movement "as probably the best organized and politically most progressive party in North Africa and the Middle East".

Role of women in the protests

Much Western media highlight the central role women play in the protests. The British broadcaster BBC estimates that around 70 percent of the demonstrators were women at the beginning of the protests. Sudanese legislation is based on Sharia and denies women fundamental human rights. For example, girls from the age of 10 can be forcibly married with their parents' consent. Flogging and female genital mutilation have not yet been banned. Since May 2020, female genital mutilation has been a criminal offense in Sudan. Section 152 of Sudan's penal code under Omar al-Bashir made it possible to arbitrarily arrest thousands of women for their clothing. It became common practice for police officers to arrest women in order to extract fines from them. During the mass protests against Bashir, women also called for an end to paragraph 152. In the course of the evacuation of the protest camp on June 3, the Rapid Support Forces violated human rights . Corpses of sexually abused women have been pulled from the Nile, and cases of rape have also been documented in hospitals. The Rapid Support Forces are a paramilitary unit consisting mainly of former members of the Janjawid militia who were already accused of serious human rights violations during the Darfur conflict . According to scholars, the rapes are a strategic tool and have been carried out systematically in the Arab world since the Arab Spring in order to intimidate opposition groups.

International reactions

United Nations UN On December 28, 2018, two United Nations Special Rapporteurs expressed concern over the rise in violence and arbitrary arrests.
African Union African Union On April 16, 2019, the African Union announced that Sudan's membership would be suspended if a civilian government was not formed within 2 weeks. On April 23, this position was revised at a summit in Cairo. Instead, the Transitional Military Council was given a 3 month ultimatum to organize democratic elections.
Egypt Egypt Egypt's Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry was the first high-ranking politician from an Arab country to publicly side with the Sudanese government.
Qatar Qatar - Shortly after the protests broke out, Omar al-Bashir made a state visit to the Emir of Qatar Tamim bin Hammad . This assured the Sudanese government of his full support.
Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia King Salman sent a diplomatic delegation to Sudan with an appeal to restore public order. He said security in Sudan is a prerequisite for security in the Saudi kingdom itself.
United Arab Emirates United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates provided 1.12 million tons of gasoline to the Sudanese government, as well as $ 300 million.
Ethiopia Ethiopia On June 23, the Ethiopian government announced that a mediation offer it had initiated resulted in an agreement between the military council and protesters. An interim administration consisting of 7 military and 8 civilians is now to be formed.