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Launch of 'Million-People March to Accomplish Revolution' in Sudan

October 22, 2019 at 4:26 am

A group of people stage a demonstration call for the disbanding of Sudan’s former ruling National Congress Party (NCP), which was headed by ousted President Omar al-Bashir, on 21 October, 2019 in Khartoum, Sudan [Mahmoud Hajaj/Anadolu Agency]

Hundreds of thousands of demonstrators started heading on Monday towards Freedom Square in the suburb of Arkaweet, east of the capital Khartoum, to take part in the “Million-People Rallies to Accomplish Revolution.

“The Sudanese Professionals Association, the Communist Party and other political organisations adopted the call for the million-people march to demand the dissolution of the National Congress Party (Al-Bashir’s party).”

The demonstrators marched from Khartoum Bahri, El-Haj Yousif and Omdurman to reach the venue of the celebration, especially with the lack of transportation, the closure of several roads, and the massive security deployment in Khartoum.

The demonstrators chanted the Sudanese revolution slogans, including “blood for blood, we do not accept bribery,” and “the people want retribution for the martyr,” and condemned the permission of Al-Bashir’s party to continue its activities, calling for promptly dissolving it and confiscating its premises and properties.”

We came out today because we feel that many of the revolution’s goals have not been yet achieved and that there is a slowdown in the confrontation of Al-Bashir’s party, which is involved in the killing of protesters, and which caused all the tragedies in the country,” citizen Ahmad Osman told Al-Araby Al-Jadeed.

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In turn, citizen Hanadi Ali Abdul Rahim stressed that ” former regime’s brigades are still active, and are still playing around in the Sudanese universities.” She cited in an interview with Al-Araby Al-Jadeed what happened at the University of the leader Al-Azhari when pro-former regime students attacked yesterday the rest of the students using various types of weapons.

Several leaders of the Forces of Declaration of Freedom and Change are expected to deliver speeches in the celebration at the Freedom Square.

The Umma Party, led by Sadiq Al-Mahdi, one of the components of the Forces of Declaration of Freedom and Change, has announced its boycott of the event, warning of what he called “chaos”, and warned the Sudanese Congress Party of “million-people marches called by unknown parties and aimed at preparing the country for a military coup.”Other Sudanese cities witnessed marches and similar events, with thousands out in the city of Wad Madani, central Sudan, Atbara, northern Sudan, Ad-Damazīn, southeast of the country.

To date, no violent clashes between security authorities and demonstrators have been reported.

The security authorities have closed all roads leading to the Presidential Palace, the Council of Ministers and the headquarters of the Armed Forces, with the closure of the King Nimr bridge linking the cities of Khartoum and Khartoum Bahri, near the three headquarters.

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Activists and political parties called for carrying mass rallies today, in commemoration of the October 1964 Revolution, which toppled the country’s first military rule. They also turned the occasion towards pressuring the government of Abdalla Hamdok to “achieve the goals of the revolution, first and foremost of which the dissolving of the National Congress Party, the party of ousted president Omar Al-Bashir, the pursuit of corrupt figures and the retribution for the blood of the martyrs of the revolution. “The new Attorney General in Sudan, Taj Al-Sir Ali Al-Hebr, issued orders to protect the parades and marches of Monday.

The Sudanese armed forces issued a statement calling on the demonstrators to “stay away from military sites and headquarters in the governorate of Khartoum and other governorates to preserve the nationalism and neutrality of the armed forces.”

The forces also urged the demonstrators “not to get close to the safety points that will be set on the main street in front of the army headquarters and the branch points on the roads leading to it, as the announced time from 7 a.m. to 5 pm,” and considered this “a reminder to all participants in this march.”

Hamdok anticipated the million-people march of Monday by forming an investigation committee headed by lawyer Nabil Adib, to investigate the incident of the breaking of the sit-in in the surroundings of the army leadership, during which several protesters died.

The Sudanese police forces called on political parties taking part in the demonstrations “not to allow opportunists and those seeking to implement suspicious agendas to exploit these demonstrations, and make sure not to swerve the marches from their legitimate objectives,” warning of “creating a state of security chaos that might lead to unpleasant consequences.”

A statement by the police stressed that “the constitutional document and the law guarantee the right of peaceful expression and demonstration.” It also called on all parties to “provide the requirements for the holding and conduction of rallies and marches, and to stick to routes and timings, to secure and protect those gatherings.”