El Mahdi: ‘Sudan’s opposition opts for silent uprising’

The Sudanese opposition forces in the French capital last week agreed on a ‘silent intifada’, says the head of the National Umma Party (NUP).

According to NUP president El Sadig El Mahdi “those who are against resolving the crises in Sudan and expected that the Paris meeting would turn into internal conflicts, proved to be wrong. On the contrary, the meeting constitutes a victory for the will of change”.

In an interview with Radio Dabanga on Sunday, El Mahdi pointed to the nationwide protests against the lifting of the fuel subsidies and the ensuing price rises in September-October 2013. “The uprising at that time was confronted with extreme violence. More than 200 protesters were killed by live bullets. We do not want this to be repeated,” he said.

“In the Paris meeting, we agreed on a silent uprising. It can be considered as a major development in the strategy of the national opposition forces that prefer democracy and peaceful transformation.”

The outcomes of the meeting will be presented in detail to the AU mediation team, he added.

Barred, questioned

The signatories of the Sudan Appeal, a political communiqué calling for regime change, democracy, and equal citizenship, agreed on in Addis Ababa on 3 December last year, invited the members of the Sudanese opposition to the Paris meeting last week.

When the head of the National Alliance Party, Kamal Ismail, returned from the French capital on Sunday, security officers at Khartoum airport briefly detained and questioned him about the meeting.

On 8 November, the secretary-general and a senior member of the Communist Party of Sudan and the head of the Unified Federal Party were barred from travelling to Paris by the security apparatus.