Opposition forces denounce inauguration of Sudanese president

The opposition forces allied by the Sudan Appeal and the people in Darfur regret the inauguration of President Omar Al Bashir that will take place on Tuesday.

Sarah Nugdallah, the secretary-general of the National Umma Party (NUP) commented to Radio Dabanga by saying that the ruling National Congress Party (NCP) does not seem to be embarrassed or ashamed for the results of the extremely low voter turnout, “though the Sudanese people have taught them a hard lesson, by boycotting the useless election.”

She stressed in an interview with Radio Dabanga, broadcast on Monday, that all the leaders of other countries who will attend the inauguration ceremony tomorrow, “will contribute to the suppression of freedoms, the prolongation of the wars, and the continuation of misery and suffering in Sudan.

“The inauguration of Al Bashir on Tuesday will be a bad theatrical play and a waste of money, and comes at a time of an increasingly worsening economic and security situation, an ongoing war at eight fronts, vicious attacks on the Sudanese press, and Darfuri students.”

According to the NUP secretary-general, the only option for the Sudan Appeal signatories is “to move to the second phase, and stop the war and the oppression by forcing the NCP regime to negotiate a comprehensive solution, or work together to realise an uprising to dismantle this regime”.

Sudan Appeal

The NUP, the Sudan Revolutionary Front rebel alliance, the National Consensus Forces (NCF, a coalition of opposition parties), and the Civil Society Initiative (CSI) signed the Sudan Appeal in Addis Ababa on 3 December last year.

In the two-page communiqué, they call for the ending of the civil wars in the country, the dismantling of the one-party system, and the rebuilding of Sudan based on democratic principles and equal citizenship. The signatories agree that if a peaceful regime change cannot be achieved by a broad national dialogue, it should be enforced by a popular uprising.

While the leaders of the SRF and NUP remain abroad, Faroug Abu Eisa, head of the NCF, and Dr Amin Mekki Madani, chairman of the CSI, were detained by security officers after their return to Khartoum on 6 December. They were charged with released on 9 April, a few days before the start of the general election.

‘Falsehood’

Faroug Abu Eisa also mocked the inauguration. He told Radio Dabanga that the re-election of Al Bashir was based on “a tarnished Constitution. As the 2005 Interim Constitution was reformulated by the NCP, it has become invalid. The Constitution and the election are based on falsehood, as the inauguration of Al Bashir on Tuesday will be too”.

He stressed that it does not matter if the re-election of Al Bashir's will contribute to removing the regime’s external isolation. “Much worse is that the ruling party has become isolated by its own people.”

“Options have become clear,” he said. “After the regime’s insistence on holding the election, we will continue raising awareness among the people, and urge them to launch an uprising that will eliminate the NCP.”

The opposition leader further pointed to the National Dialogue, as proposed by President Al Bashir in January 2014. “Khartoum has closed the door leading to the dialogue by refusing to attend the preparatory conference in Addis Ababa in March, under auspices of the AU High-level Implementation Panel. The door will remain closed, unless the government accepts all the conditions for the dialogue. The alternative is a broad popular uprising, which is preferred by the NCF anyhow.”

‘A sad day’ 

Sheikh Matar Younis, Koran scholar and a prominent native administration leader in Central Darfur, said that the day of the inauguration of Omar Al Bashir will be “a sad day for the people of Sudan”.

“The prolongation of Al Bashir’s rule means another five years of oppression and suffering. After the Sudanese expressed their disapproval of this regime by boycotting the election, the ruling party will continue to attack, kill, and rob civilians, and forcibly evict them from their villages,” he said.

The sheikh blamed the AU, and leaders and officials from Arab and African states for agreeing to attend the “corrupt inauguration of Al Bashir”.

He called on the Sudanese, “at home and abroad”, to stage a sit-in during Al Bashir's inauguration, and appealed to the UN Security Council and the international community to “release the Sudanese people from the grip of this terrorist regime”.