Authorities arrest another Communist who met Sudanese rebels

May 22, 2022 (KHARTOUM) – Security forces arrested on Sunday Amal al-Zain a member of the Political Bureau of the Sudanese Communist Party (SCP).

Al Zain was part of the three-member delegation that recently travelled to South Sudan to meet with the holdout rebel leader Abdel Wahid al-Nur before travelling to a rebel-controlled area in South Kordofan to meet with the SPLM-N leader Abdel Aziz al-Hilu.

She was arrested after a press conference she held with the political secretary Mohamed Mokhtar al-Khatib and a member of the Central Committee and Political Bureau Salih Mahmoud.

The two had been arrested after their return on Thursday before their release on Friday.

An SCP Spokesman Hassan Othman told the Sudan Tribune they ignore her whereabouts.

The Communist leaders told reporters they agreed with the two groups to sign a transitional political declaration that establishes a civil and democratic state.

The Sudanese state, according to al-Khatib, will be based on citizenship, respect for diversity, separation of religion from the state, ending the war, dissolution of the Rapid Support Forces and other militias, and heading towards a mixed economy.

They also agreed to hold an intra-Sudanese dialogue before a constitutional conference.

In a related development, the security forces arrested a Sudanese activist Nazim Siraj, who used to provide free medical services to the injured protesters and expose violations against the demonstrators through his Hadherin Organization.

The authorities detain about 130 people, according to the Darfur Bar Association, most of whom are members of the Resistance Committees.

(ST)