‘Repeat last year’s civil disobedience actions’: Sudan activist

Well-known Sudanese activist Dr El Bagir El Afif appealed to all Sudanese people to repeat the peaceful civil protests that were held in Khartoum nearly one year ago.

According to the head of El Khatim Adlan Centre for Enlightenment and Human Development (KACE), Dr El Bagir El Afif, this month is the right moment to evaluate the civil disobedience experiences which he described as "successful". "We may develop it through boycotting the pro-government telecommunication companies."

The civil disobedience actions from 27 to 29 November and on 19 December 2016 were the response of Sudanese people against new austerity measures. These led to huge increases in prices of fuel, electricity, food, and medicines. During the civil strikes, streets of Khartoum remained empty as many shop owners kept their doors closed and people stayed at home.

“The peaceful civil rights movement should demand basic rights in education, treatment, safe water, and environment,” El Bagir told Radio Dabanga in an interview. “For a change of reality we should revive the spirit of the Nubian civilisation, the Sufi spiritual heritage, and rely on them in developing management systems, education and culture.”

He said that the current economic difficulties, the continuation of war and the intellectual bankruptcy of Sudan, adding that a number of students leave Sudan to study or work elsewhere, are evidence that the state “is on the verge of a comprehensive collapse.

“The government demands high fees for providing services such as education, health, and protection, while spending the state's resources on the flaccid government structure and the security and military services.”

El Bagir called for serious action to stop the wars and spread peace and culture around Sudan. “Or else the current situation prompts more young people to immigrate illegally or take up arms to fight alongside Sudanese soldiers in Yemen.”

El Bagir's El Khatim Adlan Centre for Education (KACE) is a pro-democracy NGO that used to be Khartoum’s leading pro-democracy think-tank. The centre was closed on orders of the Sudanese authorities in December 2012 and now operates from abroad to establish long-term peace and stability in Sudan through human rights and human development projects.