Sudan Opposition threatens Govt
SUDAN: Sudan’s opposition threatened on Sunday to take to the
streets if the government did not remove its finance minister and
dismantle parliament over the decision to raise prices on a range of
goods.
Khartoum announced emergency measures earlier this month to redress
its budget deficit, including a reduction in subsidies for petroleum
products and hikes in the price of sugar.
The price increases have sparked student protests in the country’s
northern agricultural heartland.
“We demand the sacking of the finance minister who was not honest in
his budget presentation and dismantling of the parliament which passed
the price rises without even questioning the finance minister,” a
statement from the opposition coalition of around 20 parties said.
Opposition official Kamal Omer said the heads of the parties would
meet on Wednesday to plan the street protests, saying they were “ready
to fight for change and are preparing for our popular revolution.”
The threat comes at a politically sensitive time for the government
of President Omar Hassan al Bashir, who stands to lose control over the
oil-producing south in a referendum agreed as part of a 2005 peace deal
to end a north-south civil war.
Sudan is also suffering from a deep economic crisis. Bashir’s
government has spent heavily on defence, while increasing its debt and
imports to cover a fall in local production, leading to foreign exchange
shortages, rising inflation and a weakening Sudanese pound.
Sudan’s opposition is still smarting from an electios last April
which handed Bashir’s party a major victory and a parliamentary majority
which will allow them to change the constitution if the south secedes.
Most of the opposition boycotted the election, accusing the rulling
National Congress Party (NCP) of widespread fraud. Observers said the
polls did not meet international standards.
The NCP has warned the opposition that street protests will not be
tolerated. Khartoum blames the country’s economic woes on the global
financial crisis and speculation about the south’s secession.
Sudan’s youth, inspired by Tunisia where weeks of popular protests
swept its president from power, on Saturday began a peaceful movement on
social networking sites calling for people to stand outside their houses
everyday at 7 p.m.
The event attracted more than 2,000 members on Facebook in its first
day.
Sudan was the last Arab state to stage a popular uprising in 1985,
toppling former President Jaafar Nimeiri.
Khartoum, Monday, Reuters |