FOLLOWING the recent fourth anniversary of the popular uprising in Omdurman in December 2018, which was the spark to a series of events that eventually culminated in the ousting of dictator Omar al-Bashir from power the following spring, Sudan has once more become the scene of major anti-government protests and unrest.

Huge demonstrations have been taking place around the country against the ruling military junta and leaders of the October 2021 coup that saw the suspension of the transition to democracy and threatened a return to outright despotism in Sudan.

These protests have been met with a fierce and violent backlash from the coup authorities — essentially the remnants of the Bashir regime and those seeking to hold on to its last vestiges — via their security forces and assorted militias.

On December 19, the actual anniversary of the start of the popular uprising in Sudan in 2018, the “marches of the millions” took place.

This event saw demonstrators take to the streets in towns and cities across the country to protest against the power-sharing framework agreement previously reached between the junta and right-wing political parties, as well as for the complete overthrow of the leaders of the October 2021 coup and their prosecution thereafter.

The response of the authorities was brutal, with 499 protesters injured in attacks by the security forces in the three cities of Khartoum state alone.

Of these, 226 had to be rushed to hospitals and medical clinics for emergency treatment while others were seen by medical volunteers on the streets, according to the country’s Association of Socialist Doctors.

Another medical group, the Central Committee of Sudanese Doctors (CCSD), estimated that 155 protesters were rushed to hospitals in Khartoum state, adding that two of them required immediate surgery owing to trauma from gunshot wounds. One protester is reported to have lost an eye.

The deliberate targeting of the eye area when firing tear gas canisters directly at protesters’ heads, and the use of stun-grenade attacks on protesters already choking and incapacitated by tear gas were all reported — and appeared to have been systematic, according to the CCSD.

Large demonstrations also took place in at least 16 other cities outside Khartoum state including Wad Madani, capital of al-Jazirah state; Port Sudan, capital of Red Sea state; Atbara in River Nile state, as well as the settlements already affected by civil war in South Kordofan and South Darfur.

Speaking to human rights organisation Liberation, Sudanese progressive politician and peace campaigner, Fathi El-Fadl, provided a commentary on the important developments that have taken place in Sudan in recent weeks.

“The Sudanese masses have once again taken to the streets of the country’s capital, and other cities across the nation, to make clear their defiance and complete rejection of the continued rule of the military junta and their right-wing allies as well as any attempt to either abort or block the hard-won revolutionary advance of the people towards a system of genuine democracy and progress — and one that would provide hope for a better future.

“These fevered reactionary attempts to halt and reverse the tide of progress in Sudan are reflected in the cosy alliance that exists between various foreign powers, internal right-wing forces and the ruling military junta — all disposed towards the current regime’s ultimate consolidation of its grip on state power.

“The framework agreement, signed on December 5 2022, is aimed at achieving that objective — and is therefore reviled by most ordinary people in Sudan, who can see right through the charade it represents.

“The framework agreement was signed by the junta’s generals, the remnants of the Forces for Freedom and Change, and a handful of political and civil organisations which were previously part of the Muslim Brotherhood regime during the Bashir era.

“The recent peaceful demonstrations have been brutally repressed — resulting in at least 130 people being killed, thousands wounded, and hundreds arbitrarily detained by the security forces.

“These mass demonstrations and associated actions are co-ordinated and spearheaded by the local popular resistance committees and are actively supported by the Sudanese Communist Party as well as other progressive and democratic organisations.

“The main battle and struggle is over Sudan’s future course of development and what model that will take. The foreign powers — mainly Britain, the US, EU, and UAE — in co-operation with the UN mission in Sudan, as well as the African Union and their local allies, are engaged in implementing a political settlement that includes the establishment of civilian government, a legislative council and a defence and security council.

“These institutions will rule Sudan for two years after which a national general election will be organised.

“It is important for me to stress here that it has become a habit or a tradition that after each crisis created by the generals, international and regional powers intervene to broker some kind of an agreement which takes effect for a given period thereafter, but which is soon violated by the generals.

“An example of this cycle took place following the massacre in June 2019 when over 300 peaceful demonstrators were brutally killed while occupying the square in front of the military’s headquarters.

“That was followed by the signing of a constitutional document to resolve the ensuing crisis and establish a military-civilian partnership.

“However, the document in question was amended countless times to strengthen the influence of the generals under the proposed arrangement.

“And, eventually, even this heavily amended constitutional document was completely dispensed with by the generals in the aftermath of the October 2021 military coup.

“The military junta has never kept their promises or respected any of the agreements they have signed with civilian groups — and the current framework agreement will be no exception. It includes several clauses which are ambiguous and may be interpreted in different ways.

“These include clauses related to the implementation of justice regarding the crimes committed since April 2019. The junta’s reading of these is that justice means them having to bring to account the officers and soldiers responsible for the violence against protesters.

“However, the victims and their families demand that the real culprits — ie those high-ranking and senior figures who held power, authorised and ordered the violence — should be brought to justice, as opposed to the low-hanging fruit.

“Following the massacre in June 2019, a judicial committee was set up supposedly to pursue and prosecute those behind the violence.

“However, nearly four years have passed and the investigation continues, having produced no concrete results.

“Past experiences prove that the junta have no intention of respecting any agreements they are party to.

“While, on the face of it, the framework agreement paves the way to a form of civil rule, in reality, the main levers of power will remain under the control of the defence and security council — composed of the chiefs of the armed forces, the Rapid Support Forces, and the security agencies.

“Meanwhile, the military junta faces stiff resistance from the masses in the streets and is essentially paralysed and unable to run the country. Today the junta is in power, but there is no government to effectively administer the country.

“The ongoing mass actions in the streets, coupled with the growing strikes by professionals and workers, provide a solid basis for solidarity as well as the grounds for dialogue to agree on a programme and unified leadership to take forward the struggle.

“All forces, under the slogan of ‘no negotiations, no partnership, and no legality’ are moving towards the forming of a broad front that can avoid the mistakes of the past and move to overthrow the junta and establish the rule of people power in its place — thus realising the lofty aspirations and hopes of the courageous people of Sudan when they took to the streets in December 2018.”

Fathi El-Fadl is a Sudanese politician, convenor of the Sudan Peace and Solidarity Council and vice president of the International Centre for Trade Union Rights (ictur.org).

Liberation is an internationalist human rights organisation founded in 1954 as the Movement for Colonial Freedom (liberationorg.co.uk).