يوميات الثورة السودانية – الجزء الثانى

Quote: Dear Mr. Baderin, We welcome you once again in Sudan. Since your last visit in early February 2013 the freedoms situation has continued to deteriorate rapidly. Although the international community focuses primarily on the Sudan/South Sudan peace process and the wars raging in Darfur, Blue Nile State and the Nuba Mountains; we believe that without fundamental and basic freedoms, especially freedom of expression and freedom of assembly and association; Sudanese citizens, civil society and youth movements will not be able to be part of the peace process or any political process. There has been a burdensome crackdown on all freedoms recently, which has remarkably reduced the impactful participation of the civil society in its various and diverse forms; for example: Freedom of the press Newspapers continue to be censored. On May 25, 2013; Al-Mehgar Al-Seyasi, an independent daily was suspended for three days. The week following that, Al-Midan was banned from publishing. Al-Midan had just returned to print after almost a year of absence as a result of censorship and confiscations of entire printed issues. On June 4, 2013; Khaled Ahmed, a young journalist, was arrested and held for two days after the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) filed a complaint against him for one of his writings. Rasha Awad, a journalist who is banned from writing in all Sudanese newspapers was stopped at the airport twice in the past few weeks. Another journalist, Amel Habbani, was also stopped at the airport and denied the right to travel to Ethiopia. Freedom of assembly and association A cultural event, Tedx Khartoum, was closed down by the national security on May 11, 2013; for no reason. The event took place twice in Sudan in the past two years and is an international and widely-respected event. On January 20, the security services prevented guests from attending an event at the Mahmoud Muhamad Taha Cultural Center to commemorate the death of Taha. On April 22, the security services banned an event at the same cultural center. From September to December 2012, the security services stopped events from taking place at Al-Khatim Adlan Center as well as the Sudanese Writer’s Union among other institutions. Between November and December 2012, five civil society organizations and cultural centers were shut down by Sudan’s Humanitarian Aid Commission or the Ministry of Culture. The civil society (CS) has still to recover from these closures that touched instrumental actors in its community. A culture of surveillance, harassment and obstruction of even the smallest CS meetings and events prevails in Sudan, and has pushed many members of the CS and youth movements into forced exile outside Sudan. This resulted in a shrinking civil society and fragmented youth and student movements who were instrumental in the peaceful summer protests of June/July 2012. Freedom of expression In October 2012; 3,500 copies of Abdel-Aziz Baraka Sakin’s books were confiscated by security services at the Khartoum International Book Fair. The writer suffered from financial losses and copies had to be sold in the black market. The security service has also confiscated copies of various books from intellectuals including a university professor coming from Cairo during that period of time. In early December 2012, four students at the University of Al-Gazira were tortured to death after taking part in protests against the lack of fee exemption for Darfuri students and for speaking up against paying fees. There has yet to be a transparent investigation by the State into their deaths. Our demands For GIRIFNA and for student and youth movements, civil society groups and individuals; and for Sudan to have active and vibrant voices who call for peace and justice–peacefully– and aim to contribute in the country’s social and political change process, we ask you to press the Government of Sudan to: 1-Immediately uphold freedom of the press and give journalists freedom of expression and freedom after expression; 2-Stop persecuting journalists and allow all journalists to write and stop living in fear; 3-Allow peaceful protests and not subject protesters to arrests or any form of violence; 4-Release all political detainees immediately or charge them and give them access to fair and transparent trials at once. 5-Compensate writers who have lost their livelihoods as a result of confiscations and harassment; 6-Allow political parties, student and youth groups as well as CSOs to freely hold events, workshops, seminars, conferences and even street talks inside Sudan without harassment, closures and detentions; and 7-Allow closed CSOs organizations to reopen and function without hindrance.