Protesters in Wau threaten to burn NCP premises – official

By Ngor Arol Garang

December 7, 2009 (KHARTOUM) – While demonstrations for democratic reforms were taking place in Khartoum, thousands of protesters in Southern State of Western Bahr el Ghazal, threatened to burn the offices dominant National Congress Party (NCP) in Wau.

The protesters with placards chanting down, down dictatorship, up, up, up democracy, marched through the centre of the state capital today on Monday 7.

Addressing the angered protesters in Wau, Edward Lino, the leading member of the SPLM currently visiting Western Bahr el Ghazal State, urged citizens to participate in peaceful demonstration.

Reacting to Edward Lino, NCP official spokesperson in the state Fazi Shaila described the protest as an act of “political bankruptcy.

The official also said the whole town has violently gone to the streets targeting offices, officials and individuals associated to the ruling national congress party of President Omer Al-Bashir.

“I have not been able to come out of my office after entrance this morning,” he said adding the protesters had been trying since this morning to “set our offices and mosques ablaze” but state government has been able to quickly deploy riot police forces to areas with increased number of protesters.

They were out all over the place with placards chanting “Bashir must go”, he adds

However, Effessio Kon Uguak, state official spokesperson and minister of information and communications, denied having seen crowd targeting NCP officials and their offices.

“What I saw this morning almost everywhere were group of people demonstrating peacefully,” he said adding that none of them (demonstrators) had ever entered any of the facilities belonging to National Congress Party with attempts or threats to burn.

“Although I do not support demonstrations, I ask Sudanese people to come out in numbers to peacefully express their dissatisfaction over issues surrounding delays to reaching consensus on southern referendum,” said Wol Maduong, another SPLM official in the state.

In Khartoum, journalists working for private media houses are banned from covering Monday’s event. Security forces have embraced repressive measures including erasing of suspicious coverage and confiscation of photographing equipments.

However, opposition parties’ leaders, their members and supporters alike despite security forces crackdown on demonstrators, are still able to speak out against government rigidity to amend laws not complying with the interim constitution of Sudan.

(ST)