A pro-democracy alliance in Sudan is calling for another campaign of civil disobedience on Sunday and Monday in a renewed bid to force the generals to restore the country’s transition to democratic rule.
The call by the Association of Sudanese Professionals follows the release from detention on Thursday of four Cabinet ministers. The released ministers are believed to be among at least eight Cabinet members arrested by the military shortly after army chief Gen Abdel Fattah Al Burhan announced the coup.
The call for civil disobedience would be the second since the October 25 coup. The first had paralysed life in the capital Khartoum for days and as it waned, life in Khartoum began to return to normal, with banks, some government offices and petrol stations reopening for business.
“We renew the call for a civil disobedience campaign on Sunday and Monday after we suspended it on the recommendation of some professional unions in view of well-known economic factors,” the Association of Professional Unions, the main force behind the street protests that forced the military to oust Al Bashir in 2019, said.
Meanwhile, ousted prime minister Abdalla Hamdok remains under house arrest. The military has also declared a state of emergency and suspended the work of a committee mandated with dismantling the legacy of ousted dictator Omar Al Bashir.
The military responded to last week’s wave of strikes by arresting some of the organisers.
It has also brought back from retirement senior managers to run key state facilities. Some of those are Al Bashir loyalists who had been fired over their close links to the toppled regime, pro-democracy activists claim.
The military has also arrested three senior members of the Forces of Freedom and Change, a pro-democracy alliance that had served as the powerbase or the political patron of Mr Hamdok’s government. They are Taha Osman Isahaq, Sharif Mohamed Osman and Hamza Farouk, all influential figures in the Forces of Freedom and Change.
The top UN representative in Sudan, Volker Perthes, strongly criticised the arrest of the three immediately after he met them in Khartoum.
“We call upon the military leadership to cease arresting politicians and activists and to stop committing further human rights violations,” Perthes said in a statement. “These arrests which took place after a meeting on our premises undermines our good office’s role.”
Separately, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet, called on the military “to step back in order to allow the country to return to the path of progress towards institutional and legal reforms”.
She said those arrested since the coup included government ministers, members of political parties, lawyers, civil society activists, journalists, human rights defenders and protest leaders.
Resistance committees in residential neighbourhoods are voicing their opposition to contacts with the military and are vowing never to allow the generals a share of power. They are also demanding the leaders of the power-grab be put on trial.
The committees played a key role in the street protests against Al Bashir’s 29-year rule in 2018-19 and were instrumental in organising mass demonstrations against the latest takeover despite telephone and internet services being cut.
“We never were or will be a part of any group that advocates a settlement with the coupists,” said the association of resistance committees in Umm Durman, one of the capital’s three boroughs and a major hotbed of dissent. “There will be no negotiations or dialogue and no authority is above the will of the people.”
A senior member of the Forces of Freedom and Change, meanwhile, laid out some of the problems that lie ahead even if a settlement was reached.
Al Wathiq Al Berier, also general secretary of the large Umma Party, said a government that takes office as a result of the ongoing mediations would be beholden to the generals who allowed its creation.
There have been daily demonstrations calling for the military to step down and allow the transition process to resume.
The coup and the violence that followed have been met with strong international condemnations. The US and the World Bank suspended vital aid worth hundreds of millions of dollars in response to the coup.
BORDERLANDS
Starring: Cate Blanchett, Kevin Hart, Jamie Lee Curtis
Director: Eli Roth
Rating: 0/5
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
If you go...
Etihad Airways flies from Abu Dhabi to Kuala Lumpur, from about Dh3,600. Air Asia currently flies from Kuala Lumpur to Terengganu, with Berjaya Hotels & Resorts planning to launch direct chartered flights to Redang Island in the near future. Rooms at The Taaras Beach and Spa Resort start from 680RM (Dh597).
Frankenstein in Baghdad
Ahmed Saadawi
Penguin Press
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Dr Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League, Group B
Barcelona v Inter Milan
Camp Nou, Barcelona
Wednesday, 11pm (UAE)
Women & Power: A Manifesto
Mary Beard
Profile Books and London Review of Books
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
The biog
Siblings: five brothers and one sister
Education: Bachelors in Political Science at the University of Minnesota
Interests: Swimming, tennis and the gym
Favourite place: UAE
Favourite packet food on the trip: pasta primavera
What he did to pass the time during the trip: listen to audio books
if you go
The flights
The closest international airport to the TMB trail is Geneva (just over an hour’s drive from the French ski town of Chamonix where most people start and end the walk). Direct flights from the UAE to Geneva are available with Etihad and Emirates from about Dh2,790 including taxes.
The trek
The Tour du Mont Blanc takes about 10 to 14 days to complete if walked in its entirety, but by using the services of a tour operator such as Raw Travel, a shorter “highlights” version allows you to complete the best of the route in a week, from Dh6,750 per person. The trails are blocked by snow from about late October to early May. Most people walk in July and August, but be warned that trails are often uncomfortably busy at this time and it can be very hot. The prime months are June and September.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
ULTRA PROCESSED FOODS
- Carbonated drinks, sweet or savoury packaged snacks, confectionery, mass-produced packaged breads and buns
- margarines and spreads; cookies, biscuits, pastries, cakes, and cake mixes, breakfast cereals, cereal and energy bars;
- energy drinks, milk drinks, fruit yoghurts and fruit drinks, cocoa drinks, meat and chicken extracts and instant sauces
- infant formulas and follow-on milks, health and slimming products such as powdered or fortified meal and dish substitutes,
- many ready-to-heat products including pre-prepared pies and pasta and pizza dishes, poultry and fish nuggets and sticks, sausages, burgers, hot dogs, and other reconstituted meat products, powdered and packaged instant soups, noodles and desserts.
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League, semi-final result:
Liverpool 4-0 Barcelona
Liverpool win 4-3 on aggregate
Champions Legaue final: June 1, Madrid
Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ETHE%20SPECS%3C%2Fstrong%3E%0D%3Cbr%3EEngine%3A%203.5-litre%20V6%0D%3Cbr%3ETransmission%3A%209-speed%20automatc%0D%3Cbr%3EPower%3A%20279hp%0D%3Cbr%3ETorque%3A%20350Nm%0D%3Cbr%3EPrice%3A%20From%20Dh250%2C000%0D%3Cbr%3EOn%20sale%3A%20Now%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
'THE WORST THING YOU CAN EAT'
Trans fat is typically found in fried and baked goods, but you may be consuming more than you think.
Powdered coffee creamer, microwave popcorn and virtually anything processed with a crust is likely to contain it, as this guide from Mayo Clinic outlines:
Baked goods - Most cakes, cookies, pie crusts and crackers contain shortening, which is usually made from partially hydrogenated vegetable oil. Ready-made frosting is another source of trans fat.
Snacks - Potato, corn and tortilla chips often contain trans fat. And while popcorn can be a healthy snack, many types of packaged or microwave popcorn use trans fat to help cook or flavour the popcorn.
Fried food - Foods that require deep frying — french fries, doughnuts and fried chicken — can contain trans fat from the oil used in the cooking process.
Refrigerator dough - Products such as canned biscuits and cinnamon rolls often contain trans fat, as do frozen pizza crusts.
Creamer and margarine - Nondairy coffee creamer and stick margarines also may contain partially hydrogenated vegetable oils.
More from Rashmee Roshan Lall
Pharaoh's curse
British aristocrat Lord Carnarvon, who funded the expedition to find the Tutankhamun tomb, died in a Cairo hotel four months after the crypt was opened.
He had been in poor health for many years after a car crash, and a mosquito bite made worse by a shaving cut led to blood poisoning and pneumonia.
Reports at the time said Lord Carnarvon suffered from “pain as the inflammation affected the nasal passages and eyes”.
Decades later, scientists contended he had died of aspergillosis after inhaling spores of the fungus aspergillus in the tomb, which can lie dormant for months. The fact several others who entered were also found dead withiin a short time led to the myth of the curse.
