Sudan’s opposition hope for peace and freedom in 2015

On the occasion of Independence Day, celebrated in Sudan today, National Umma Party leader El Sadig El Mahdi, and several other opposition leaders expressed their hope that 2015 will bring freedom and democracy to the Sudanese.

El Mahdi conveyed through Radio Dabanga his best wishes for the people of Sudan. “On 1 January, Sudan is commemorating its declaration of independence, 59 years ago. Yet, the people are now living under the yoke of a brutal domestic occupation,” he said. “I hope that 2015 will be the year in which all Sudanese will enjoy freedom, dignity, prosperity, and social justice”.

The chairman of the Committee of Solidarity with the Victims of the September Demonstrations, Siddig Yousef, also congratulated the people of Sudan with the 59^th Independence Day.

“For all these years, we have been struggling to establish democracy, stop the wars, and achieve a sustainable peace and development. We now all hope that the new year will witness the fall of the ruling regime in Khartoum, which will open the door for a genuine democratic development, and a just and comprehensive peace,” Yousef stressed.

“The signing of the Sudan Appeal in Addis Ababa early December is the starting point for broader actions of the opposition forces,” he said, calling on “all forces of change to line up for the fall of the regime, the release of the political detainees, and full compensation for all those affected by the policies of the ruling National Congress Party”.

“Sudan used to be a prosperous country. Now, life has become unbearable.”

Mohamed Abdallah El Doma, the chairman of the Darfur Bar Association, commented to Radio Dabanga that “what happened to Sudan after its independence, was much worse than before”.

“The Sudanese politicians did not fulfil the population’s aspirations for freedom and dignity. Sudan used to be a prosperous country. Now we are doing far more badly than ever expected. Life has become unbearable, with a total lack of freedoms for the citizens, the press, and the opposition parties, and the huge spread of arms in the hands of militias and tribes.”

The coordinator of the camps for the displaced in North Darfur, Omda Ahmed Ateem, congratulated all the displaced and refugees with the beginning of the new year, wishing “peace and stability for all the people in Sudan, especially in Darfur, South Kordofan, and the Blue Nile”.

He stressed that “key issues have to be tackled first”, to achieve a full and comprehensive peace in these war-torn regions. “The most important one is bringing the criminals to justice. When this is not done, the crimes against civilians will simply continue.”

“Key issues have to be tackled first.”

Ateem called on the Sudanese people to unite against the injustice done to them, defend their freedom and dignity, and overthrow the Sudanese government.

In eastern Sudan, the Beja Congress congratulated the Sudanese on the anniversary of the Independence Day, “after a bitter struggle for peace, justice, prosperity, and love”. In a statement, the Beja Congress stresses that the country “returned to backwardness, disintegration, racism, totalitarianism, corruption, banditry, and destruction”.

“Since 1956, the opportunistic capitalistic policies, adopted by the successive civil and military governments, who only took the interests of the upper classes into account, have led to the huge crises we now have to live in.”

The Beja Congress leaders appeal in their statement to “all revolutionary forces to step up their struggle, and organise committees in villages, towns, districts, and in schools and universities, to prepare for a peaceful uprising to topple the regime in Khartoum”.