No freedom of speech in Sudan

The head of the politburo of Sudan's National Ummah Party (NUP), Sara Abdullah Abdelrahman, on Sunday filed a complaint against security forces, whom she said attacked her house last Friday using about 20 teargas shells and rubber bullets. "There are three aged women who have heart disease in the house, as well as my brother Naqdullah who has been ailing for nine years and the teargas entered his room," Abdelrahman said to Arabstoday. "I know my complaint will probably never amount to anything. There is no freedom of speech in Sudan, nor even the right of litigation is guaranteed," she added. On the continuous protests which broke out against President Omar al-Bashir's regime more than three weeks ago, Abderahman said: "There are signs that the country is on the verge of collapse, as the ruling party officials are not willing to settle for dialogue with any Sudanese political force, so there is no possibility for a peaceful exit from the current crises witnessed in the country." The leading NUP official played down statements by the regime's leaders in which some of them described the protesters as a minority, while others said the Sudanese opposition doesn't have the ability to gather a large numbers of protesters against the regime. "It is not too difficult to allege, they can say whatever they want, but if the protests are that minor so why they face it that harshly?," she asked. "The Sudanese opposition parties are well ingrained within the society, despite the fact that Sudan has always been ruled by dictatorial regimes since its independence in 1956," she added. President Omar al-Bashir on Saturday met with South Sudan's President Salva Kiir for the first time since the military clashes that took place between the two neighbours in the oil rich Heglig region in April. Observers have said it may help ease tension between the two countries, especially regarding the border and security disputes as well as oil revenues, however, the NUP politburo head was not very optimistic. "They can sign a new agreement, but previous agreements were signed, like the one of 2005, but that didn't solve the pending issues between the two states." Abdelrahman said President Bashir's regime was responsible for the secession of South Sudan, which saw a third of Sudan's total area being carved out. "And the rest of our lands live in nonstop wars and conflicts," she added. However, Abdelrahman expected that the recent economic and financial crises suffered by both states might push them to compromise. he referred to an initiative suggested by her party to help the two states reaching a settlement before a UN Security Council deadline comes into force on August 2. "The NUP called for a peace conference between political forces in both countries to discuss reasonable solutions for the pending problems between Sudan and South Sudan, this could avoid us a lot of dangerous consequences, foreign intervention is one of them," she concluded.