Sit-in lifted in East Darfur

The three week sit-in in Ed Daein, East Darfur, was lifted following the response of Governor Mohamed Eisa to the committee’s demands.

The sit-in began at the start of July in solidarity with the March of the Millions on June 30, which called for civilian rule, peace, retribution for the protestors killed during demonstrations, better living conditions, and dismantling the remnants of the Al Bashir regime.

Yesterday, the sit-in committee said in a press conference that the new governor, appointed on 22 July, had responded to their demands through the dismissal of two general managers and the formation of 11 committees. These committees will be aimed at implementing demands of protestors, including better infrastructure and health services.

Eisa said in a press conference that he would allocate the offices of the dissolved National Congress Party in the state to the Resistance Committees.

The spokesperson for the sit-in committee said that the next step will be to demand participation in "institutional construction" and the removal of "all remnants of the former regime".

For the March of the Millions, Resistance Committees in Ed Daein submitted a memorandum to the acting state governor demanding the dismissal of 13 officials, including directors of ministries. The memorandum also called for a restructuring of the Economic Committee to include the forces of the revolution.

The memorandum demanded the formation of a committee to remove "all remnants of the former regime", and recover stolen endowment funds. It also called for the formation of a legal committee to investigate suspicious or apparently fraudulent rezoning projects.

Previous push-back

The sit-in in Ed Daein witnessed heavy deployment of security forces on 15 July.

The spokesperson for the sit-in leaders expressed his surprise at the attempted raid. “Prior to setting up the sit-in, we notified the regular forces. We handed them a map of the area. Members of the Resistance Committees of Ed Daein are securing the sit-in.”

“Certain parties related to the ousted regime [of Omar Al Bashir] are trying to split the revolutionaries by creating negative public opinions and stirring tribal fanaticism,” he stated. “We organised a peaceful sit-in to lend force to our demands concerning the dismissal of officials affiliated with the regime of Al Bashir and the provision of better services.”

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