Sudan Revolts

For over 20 days now anti-austerity protests that have initially broke out in Khartoum continue to spread in other cities across the country, led mostly by educated elite and young university students. The protests were spurred by the recent decision of President Omar Al-Bashir’s authoritarian government to end fuel subsidies, leaving the already impoverished Sudanese masses enraged.  But with a civil war, poor economy, an authoritarian regime and very little media attention given to the revolt, it is hard to predict the Sudanese future. Al-Bashir has been in power since 1989 and has been governing the country with a tight grip with the help of the ruling National Congress Party (NCP). He took over presidency through a military coup that was backed by Islamists. In 2010, the International Criminal Court has charged Al-Bashir with three counts of genocide in Darfur. Much like the country’s Arab counterparts, the Sudanese protests were faced with severe police force crackdowns, tear gas, rubber bullets and mass arrests of activists, bloggers and journalists. Egyptian journalist Salma al Wardani was among those arrested, although she was deported after being held for one day, while Shaimaa Adel has been detained in Sudan for a week now. According to several human rights groups, those detained are being subjected to torture. But Sudan has been struggling with its inner turmoil far longer than any of its neighboring countries and various possible uprising were successfully suppressed before. On July 3, violence broke out between Sudan’s forces and rebels in the Blue Nile state. Unity against tyranny  Critics had been skeptic of whether a real revolution against the regime would be able to effectively mobilize the masses or not given the severe government’s repression and long-time division among Sudan’s opposition factions. It seems that this time, however, the opposition bloc is looking to defy this division for the first time. Opposition forces are currently working on a document of how the country will be managed, if Al-Bashir’ s regime got toppled, according to Al Jazeera, July 3. "We need to prevent chaos and a power vacuum once the regime falls, so that is why we are working on agreeing on a transitional phase," Bashir Adam Rahma, foreign relations secretary of the opposition Popular Congress, told Al Jazeera. Social media to the rescue This shows a change in the dynamics of how the opposition is planning to cooperate throughout the upcoming period. But will it be easy to overcome a shrinking economy, oil wars on the borders between North and South Sudan as well as an authoritarian regime to achieve a successful revolution with little coverage by international media? The answer is hard to predict at the moment, but if the media continues to ignore Sudan’s uprising, the Sudanese people are keen to report what’s happening every minute on social media. Here’s what some had to say on twitter under the hashtag #SudanRevolts: “The revolution will go on, with or without you #sudanrevolts,” tweeted mighty_mo_1. “Little media attention was given to #SudanRevolts Shaimaa Adel was in #Sudan to give it a voice now she is detained for a week #FreeShaimaa,” tweeted Doaa Abdelaal. “Dr Abwabi now announcing Drs Union support [to] ongoing protests in front of 100s near KRT hospital [with] loads of cheering #SudanRevolts,” tweeted @NubianNomad. “Today, [is] the [23rd] birthday of Sudan Doctors Union. God bless our revolution, God bless Sudan #SudanRevolts,” tweeted Ahmed Abdel Kereem, who goes with the twitter handle @Galaxy717. “We don't really need the acknowledgment of [news channels] like AlJazeera to prove #SudanRevolts is happening because it is, [with or without] coverage,” tweeted @MimzicalMimz and Ahmad Mohamed, who goes with the twitter handle @AhmadMohamed10.