Sudan’s FFC call for end of repression after lift of state of emergency
May 30, 2022 (KHARTOUM) – The Forces for Freedom and Change (FFC) Monday called on Monday for an end to repression against protesters after the removal of the state of emergency on Sunday.
The head of the military-led Sovereign Council Lt Gen Abdel Fattah al-Burhan announced Sunday the lift of the state of emergency and the release of the detained activists of the Resistance Committees as part of confidence-building measures ahead of a process to end the political stalemate.
Following a meeting held on Monday evening to discuss the lift of the state of emergency, the formerly ruling coalition and partner of the military component issued a statement saying this decision should be implemented and not go unheeded.
“This step must be implemented on the ground but not remain a dead letter. The violent incidents on Al-Arbaeen Street in Omdurman today have proven that words alone are not enough,” reads the statement.
The FFC groups, therefore, urged to end all the repressive measures the security forces used under the emergency law to disperse protesters. Also, they called to release all the political detainees and to stop using the criminal charges against the political detainees to hamper their release.
The security forces used tear gas, and rubber bullets to disperse protesters in Al-Arbaeen Street on Monday. A journalist Saleh Abdallah Bilal Srour was injured in the eye by a rubber bullet while covering demonstrations in Omdurman.
Also, the security authorities arrested several activists in Gaderaf of eastern Sudan and injured and detained several protesters. The National Umma Party and Unionist Alliance said that six were detained and three injured on Monday.
Late on Sunday night, the authorities released dozens of the resistance committees activists, after months of arbitrary detention without charge.
The coalition affirmed its “continued positive interaction” with the trilateral mechanism, stressing that the goal of the political process must be to end the coup and its consequences as well as to establish a new constitutional path of transition based on a full civilian authority.
The statement stressed the need to limit the process facilitated by the trilateral mechanism to the forces that resisted the coup including the FFC, the Resistance Committees and the armed groups that rejected the coup.
Troika countries, Norway, the UK and the USA welcomed the release of detainees and lifting of the state of emergency.
“These are important steps to create the right environment for dialogue. Excessive force against protesters must end and human rights be respected. We call on all Sudanese parties to engage with the UN-AU-IGAD process,” reads a tweet posted by Therese Løken Gheziel Norwegian ambassador to Sudan.
Also, IGAD Executive Secretary Workneh Gebeyehu issued a statement welcoming the lift of the state of emergency in Sudan.
“The Executive Secretary hails it as a positive step towards creating a conducive environment for an all-inclusive intra-Sudanese (process)”.
(ST)