SUDAN: Fearing protests, government arrests opposition leader

Fearing the kind of unrest that toppled the government of Tunisia, security forces in Sudan on Tuesday arrested leading Islamist opposition leader Hassan Turabi after he threatened a popular revolt over rising prices on food and other goods.

Sudanese authorities accused Turabi, leader of the Popular Congress Party, of supporting the heavily armed Justice and Equality Movement, a rebel group battling government forces in the western region of Darfur. The arrest is another indication of the many pitfalls for President Omar Hassan Ahmed Bashir as he faces widening divisions within Africa’s largest nation. 

Bashir’s government is battling inflation and is worried that opposition parties may take to the streets of Khartoum, the capital. Protests have broken out over rising food prices in the farming state of Aljazzera.  Turabi’s party denied government accusations that its leader was abetting the Darfur rebels, saying the charges were trumped up to keep Turabi from organizing demonstrations.  

"We are making preparations for taking to the street to topple the regime," said Abdullah Hassan Ahmed, undersecretary of the Popular Congress Party. Another party official, Mariam Sadig, said opposition parties had faced years of repression and injustice.

But Mandour Mahadi, a leading ruling-party official, blamed Turabi for “maintaining contact” with a rebel group that had rejected dialogue and "chosen military escalation" in the state of Darfur. The crisis in Darfur is further complicated by the likely breakaway of southern Sudan, which voted in an independence referendum this month.

Opposition parties have often threatened street protests to little effect, but now they say they have a strong reason for rallying people. 

"Prices are going up, and people feel that a lot of important commodities are too expensive," Ahmed said. "These issues will bring people into the streets when you call them. There is now reason to go."

-- Alsanosi Ahmed in Khartoum

Photo: Opposition leader Hassan Turabi. Credit: Reuters  

Comments

[sam]

we are all in the same boat as far as prices cost to live, every-thing goes up by the day,and all our countries have problems.all gatherings have the true people who have some-thing to say,but the largest groups are made up of radical touble makers,the people who just joined do not know what its about,and the general trouble makers,who just enjoy getting the fire going they normally end up being guided by the more radical elements.
i can never understand why people wish to destroy every-thing,costing even more cash to put right,either way they foot the bill,even more so if they get their back sides kicked.
it suits very well some elements,to cause as much trouble as they can,and if we dont all watch out radical islam,will start fires all over the place the west should look out as well,as they do and are happy to help fuel trouble every-where, look at the amount of children people bring with them,and do the huge amount of dogs people bring rearly need to be there.
looking at the uk news their student riots were attended by children hardly old enough the 8-12year olds.
of course we must all have our say,but over the years the radical elements have used these events not only to cause problems but to promote them-selves and will because of recent events,cause it where they can.
if the story above,is a good move to stop it before it starts and its good for the people its up to the honest people to decide.
thank you.

[Verballistic]

Sudanese dictator Omar Bashir said when Southern Sudan seceded he would make Sharia Law the OFFICIAL legal system (it was already the de facto system) and Arab the official language of Sudan.

Surely things will "calm down" once he has made such "brilliant" moves...