Sudan’s protests are result of armed struggle in marginalized areas: Minnawi
March 10, 2019 (NANTES, France) – The leader of the Sudan Liberation Movement Minni Minnawi (SLM-MM) Saturday said the ongoing peaceful protests in Sudan are a natural consequence of the armed struggle in the in the marginalized areas against the regime of President Omer al-Bashir.
Speaking at a public meeting held in Nantes, France, Minnawi pointed to those who seek to distinguish between the armed action of rebel groups in Darfur region, the Blue Nile, and South Kordofan states and the nationwide protests that have begun in December 2018.
“The main reason for the outbreak of the revolution was the deprivation experienced by the Sudanese people to satisfy needs for food, treatment and education after the regime had used all the resources to finance the war,” said Minnawi.
“From 2003 to 2009, the Darfur war, reportedly, cost the government $ 30.5 billion,” he further said.
He pointed out that the same amount may have been spent on the war in the Blue Nile and South Kordofan states.
“The main reason for this revolution is the margin. The peaceful movement is not isolated from the original (armed) movement. The current revolution is an extension of the existing revolution and launched by the (armed) movements,” he stressed.
“So whatever is said, the (armed) movements are the key to the consciousness of the (Sudanese) society.”
Several opinion articles rec ently emphasized that the popular uprising was the only valid tool to achieve regime change in Sudan, pointing to the previous experiences of 1964 and 1985 when the Sudanese people successfully overthrew Aboud and Neiminri regimes.
Minnawi further pointed that the supporters of his movement and the other armed groups are also taking part in the ongoing peaceful protests to topple down al-Bashir’s regime.
Adding that the ongoing “revolution is the mother of revolutions” in Sudan because it will not only brings a regime change but a radical change in the Sudanese society.
The Sudanese government has been fighting armed movements in the Darfur region since 2003, before to bring a relative stability in most parts of Darfur in the last two years.
However, regional and international efforts continue to achieve a lasting political solution negotiated between the government and the armed groups.
SLM-MM and Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) of Gibril Ibrahim were supposed to engage in a new round of talks last January in Doha but the process was delayed as a result of the protest movement.
(ST)