Sudan’s security service lodges complaint against Communist party
December 29, 2017 (KHARTOUM) – The opposition Sudanese Communist Party (SCP) Friday said the Sudanese security service has lodged a complaint against the leftist party for hosting a press conference of the banned Republican Party and accused the authorities of planning to stop its activities.
The National Intelligence and Security Services (NISS) filed a claim with the Political Parties Affairs Council (PPAC) on 17 December, accusing the SCP of hosting a press conference of the banned Republican Party last November 21 without permission.
An SCP Central Committee member Siddiq Youssef told Sudan Tribune that his party received a letter from the PPAC containing a copy of the complaint in which the NISS requested the Council to take “the necessary legal measures” against the Communist Party.
The Republican Party held a press conference at the premises of the Sudanese Communist Party in Khartoum on the vision of the Republican Party on the issues of freedoms and fundamental rights, during which they announced they plan to resume their activities despite the ban.
The party which calls to reform the Islamic religion, says the Political Parties Affairs Council has refused to register the Republican Party claiming it violates the religion and inciting religious tensions. The group founder and leader Mahmoud Mohamed Taha was executed by President Gaafer al-Nimeri in 1985 after his opposition to the implementation of Islamic law in the country. Taha was charged with apostasy.
Youssef said that under the Constitution and the PPAC law, no authority has the right to intervene in determining the activities of the Communist Party within its own premises or to require prior authorization.
“We will not accept the government intervention and our party is free to receive whoever he wants in its premises and to organize any activities,” he said. “Any intervention by the authorities is an interference to deprive the communist of his constitutional and legal right,” he further said.
The Sudanese Communist Party has been strongly opposed to the President Omer al-Bashir since 1989. The Party calls for a popular uprising to overthrow his regime.
In addition, Youssef said the editor in chief of al-Mindan newspaper, the organ of the Communist Party, received a telephone call from a NISS officer warning her not to criticise the visit of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to Sudan a few days ago.
He said that the party rejected the directives of the security services, pointing that the newspaper expresses the opinion of the Communist Party, which a registered party.
“We told them will not abide by these orders and they can resort to the court,” he said adding they believe all these harassments aim at dissolving the Communist Party to stop its activity.
(ST)