Sudan’s activists say they will not back down

Demonstrations against Omar Al Bashir are fuelled by decades of repression and injustices, protesters say

Sudanese activists said they had waited decades for the nationwide protests threatening the rule of President Omar Al Bashir and had no intention of stopping despite the violent response from security forces.

The catalyst for the unrest was Sudan’s shattered economy, but activists said they also harboured longstanding grievances for crimes committed against them, their families and communities.

Amal El Zein is a human-rights lawyer who has defended political detainees since the 1980s, making her family a target of the government.

Her brother has been arrested for his activism three times since Mr Al Bashir seized power in 1989, while her other brother was dismissed from the police force days after graduating from police college.

Ms El Zein’s husband is also a human-rights lawyer and critic of the regime, putting him on the government’s radar.

After protests broke out in the River Nile city of Atbara on December 19, he suspected that security agents would come looking for him.

He packed some belongings and went into hiding that same evening without telling his wife where he was going.

“We weren’t even in the protest but security agents often summon well-known activists whenever there is unrest,” said Ms El Zein, 51. “Security agents knocked on our door the night after he escaped. They left after I told them that I don’t know where he is.”

Now alone with her son, Ms El Zein has joined protests in Khartoum despite the risk of reprisal. Rights groups said security forces had killed at least 37 people during protests and arrested hundreds, some of whom were later released.

The protests erupted in a half dozen cities across the country and appear to be building momentum.

Mahmoud Lain, an activist from the western state of Darfur, which was subjected to a state-sponsored genocide beginning in 2003, has also joined the protests.

On Tuesday, he attended a march towards the presidential palace in the centre of Khartoum.

The Sudanese Professional Association organised the march, which was backed by two of Sudan’s largest political parties, the National Umma and Democratic Unionists.

Yet the demonstration was quickly dispersed by teargas and live ammunition. Security forces also reportedly beat protesters with batons.

“We just responded to the killing by throwing stones and chanting, ‘Freedom, dignity and justice, the people want the downfall of the regime’,” Mr Lain told The National.

A close friend was shot in the head and is still in hospital but the violence has not dissuaded protesters from mobilising.

Asil, a women’s-rights activist, said the government was cutting internet services, making it difficult for protesters to organise and to contact journalists and rights groups.

Despite the challenges, she said her family had been waiting for such mass demonstrations since 1989. She also has a personal score to settle: three years ago, she was detained and beaten by security forces for speaking out against female genital mutilation.

“The government has arrested so many of us, including children,” Asil told The National.

“But all my family and relatives are still protesting, and we will remain together until the government of Bashir falls.”

That is the only fate that Obama Mousa envisions for Sudan. As a boy, many of his friends and family were killed and raped by the Janjaweed, a state-sponsored militia that led the genocide in Darfur.

And with essentials such as meat, fava beans and fuel now unaffordable for most Sudanese, Mr Mousa hopes the president will step down soon.

He suspects Mr Al Bashir will not relinquish power without a safe exit. Without one, he could be handed over to the International Criminal Court, which issued a warrant for his arrest in 2009 for crimes in Darfur.

One option could be Qatar, whose emir reportedly phoned Mr Al Bashir on December 22 to offer his support.

“Every revolution has a price and we are willing to pay the price,” Mr Mousa said. “We know Al Bashir’s militias are going to kill demonstrators, but we won’t back down.”