What will happen in Sudan following al-Bashir’s declaration of “Emergency”?
Eric Reeves | February 22, 2019
The “state of emergency” declared on national television today by Omar al-Bashir, head of the National Congress Party junta, is nothing more or less than his acknowledgement that violence deployed against those demonstrating for peace, freedom, and justice in Sudan has failed. It has not silenced the voices of the people, and cannot do so. The only “emergency” is the threat to the National Islamic Front/National Congress Party and its thirty-year tyrannical grip on national power and wealth.
But al-Bashir’s declaration, and the dissolution of the “government,” is nonetheless ominous in the extreme. The yearlong duration for “emergency” powers, and his appointment of Sudan Armed Forces officers to central and regional governing positions, signals a commitment to use even more force against demonstrators…a commitment to use this coming year to bring a final end to the aspirations of the vast majority of Sudan’s people. Lethal force is likely to be used more indiscriminately; more substantial armed forces—security, police, and army—will be deployed against demonstrators, with more latitude in the “rules of engagement.”
Without strong pressure from the international community, there will be no dissuading al-Bashir from this extremely dangerous course of action. We must hear the voices of powerful international actors now!
(More to follow)