Pro-govt. parties stress importance of State of Emergency

The State of Emergency should not reflect negatively on civic freedoms and political actions in Sudan, President Omar Al Bashir told political parties on Thursday. His government has been criticised by national and international voices for its restrictions and the Emergency Courts.

A meeting in a guest house in Khartoum on Thursday between the president and a number of political parties concluded in an agreement between them that the State of Emergency, imposed on February 22 in the wake of an ongoing popular uprising in Sudan that has continued unabated since mid-December.

The meeting recommended that the State of Emergency should not reflect negatively on civic freedoms and political actions. Head of the political forces committee that has been installed to deal with the developments, Bahar Abugarda, said in a press statement that their meeting discussed the decisions he had taken recently.

Abugarda explained that the meeting with the president has stressed “the importance of the process of creating a conducive climate through the release of political activists and detainees, and creating a climate for the refusers”.

Under the decision fall the newly established Emergency Courts, which are to deal with related cases. The first trials against people who participated in or organised protests, have begun, and deal with violations of the Emergency Orders that have been issued since February 25.

The State of Emergency has been rejected by opposition groups, civil society actors and 52 international activists of the Peace and Reform Initiative. The declaration was made “without the necessary constitutional justification”, they explained last week.

Also opposition parties including the Popular Congress Party and the Democratic Unionist Party have rejected the measures.