Sudan celebrates first anniversary of December revolution

Thousands of Sudanese took to the streets in various parts of the country on Thursday afternoon, commemorating the first anniversary of the December revolution, and calling for the implementation of the goals of the revolution.

At 1 pm, the Marches of Millions started in all major towns of Sudan. The people chanted “Just retribution!”, and other slogans of the revolution. Some of them held pictures of people killed during the uprising.

They expressed their support for the government of Hamdok, demanding the preservation of the gains of the revolution and the accountability of the members of the former regime.

The town of Atbara, where the first large protests against the government of deposed President Omar Al Bashir broke out in mid-December last year, witnessed the largest demonstrations.

Tens of thousands gathered at the Atbara train station to receive people coming from Khartoum in trains and buses, among them several ministers, leaders of the Forces for Freedom and Change, representatives of the European Union, relatives of protesters killed during the uprising, and members of resistance committees.

Speakers addressing the rally praised the role of Atbara in the revolution. They called for “Freedom, Peace, and Justice”, principles more than 200 of demonstrators died for.

The ceremony included the recitation of poems, songs, and sketches in celebration of the December revolution.

Retribution

In Khartoum, various marches moved towards Freedom Square (formerly called Green Square), where families of the people killed during the December revolution gathered. The crowd demanded retribution for the people killed, preservation of the principles of the revolution.

They called for the completion of the dismantling of the defunct regime, chanting “No, no to immunity!”, “Where are the gallows?”, and “Crush the Muslim Brothers!”.

Representatives of families of protesters killed, and the Minister of Cabinet Affairs, Ambassador Omar Manis addressed the rally at Freedom Square.

In El Obeid, capital of North Kordofan, hundreds of thousands of people gathered at the city’s Freedom Square. They chanted slogans of the revolution, and called for retribution for the people killed, in particular the secondary school students who were shot dead during a peaceful demonstration in the city on July 29.

Darfur, White Nile state, El Gezira, El Gedaref, Kassala, Red Sea state, and Northern State all witnessed large rallies in commemoration of the first anniversary of the December revolution.

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