EUROPEAN UNION NEWS DIGEST
THURSDAY 03 OCTOBER 2013
Sudan’s Turabi warns of civil war and calls on Bashir to step down
(Sudan Tribune) The leader of Sudan’s opposition Popular Congress Party (PCP), Hassan Al-Turabi, has renewed his warning against the outbreak of a civil war as a result of the current political turmoil and called upon president, Omer Hassan Al-Bashir, to give up power. In an interview with Sky News TV Arabic service on Wednesday, Al-Turabi said that they hope the regime hands over power before people resort to arms leading to civil war, adding that the regime could no longer sustain power through tyrannical means. Turabi who was speaking for the first time since the recent protests in Sudan also warned against the flare-up of total chaos following the overthrow of the regime if the opposition forces fail to prepare the political alternative. On Wednesday, a court in Gezira state capital city of Wad Medani issued sentences including imprisonment, flogging, and fines against 45 demonstrators arrested during the recent protests.
Read More: http://www.sudantribune.com/
Eastern Sudanese United Popular Front joins rebels; Port Sudan detainees on hunger strike
(Radio Dabanga) The United Popular Front (UPF), a coalition of eastern Sudanese factions, officially joined the Sudan Revolutionary Front (SRF) on Wednesday. The Political Secretary of the UPF, El Amin Daoud and Dr Zeinab Kabashi signed the unification agreement on behalf of the UPF at a joint ceremony with the SRF. Daoud, in an interview with Radio Dabanga, said that he considers the merging of his organisation with the SRF a great victory for the people of eastern Sudan. “This unification shows that all Sudanese are united for a comprehensive solution.” It also stresses the UPF’s position towards the Khartoum regime that, according to Daoud, strives to keep the issue of eastern Sudan separated from the other marginalised regions in Sudan.” The Political Secretary added that the regime in Khartoum, after the signing of the Eastern Sudan Peace Agreement, in Asmara in 2006, “completely negated the covenants of the 2006 Agreement. Not a single clause of the agreement has been implemented.”
Read More: https://www.radiodabanga.org/
Sudan: 40 demonstrators sentenced to flogging, fines in Wad Madani
(Radio Dabanga) The Central Regional Court in Wad Madani, the capital of Gezira state, on Wednesday sentenced 40 people charged with protesting against the government’s decision on the removal of subsidies on fuel and demanding the downfall of the regime, to 20 lashes and a fine of SDG150 ($34). The 40 protesters were charged under articles of law related to the fomenting of riots and creating chaos. A remaining 180 protesters have yet to be charged. A number of secondary school students have been transferred to a juvenile court.
Read More: https://www.radiodabanga.org/
Sudan unrest a warning to government to seek dialogue: Britain
(Reuters) A week of deadly unrest in Sudan should serve as a warning to the government to solve conflicts through national dialogue, a senior British official said on Wednesday, in the strongest foreign criticism of Khartoum’s crackdown on protests. “I hope that the answer is that these protests will be a warning to everyone including the government that the situation needs to be addressed,” Simon Fraser, permanent undersecretary in the British Foreign Office, told reporters during a visit to Khartoum to discuss development aid projects.
Read More: http://www.reuters.com/
British Government Affirms its Commitment to Support Sustainable Development in Sudan
(SUNA) The Undersecretaries of the British Foreign Affairs and International Development Ministries, Sir Simon Fraser and mark Lowcock, respectively, held a press conference Wednesday afternoon at the British Embassy to Khartoum by the end of their one-day visit to Khartoum.They congratulated President Omer Al-Bashir, on success of the recent summit between him and the President of South Sudan State, Salva Kiir. The Undersecretary of the British Ministry of International Development, Mark Lowcock has enumerated the contribution of the British government to the peace-keeping in Darfur and Abyei, health and nutrition in Darfur, Kordofan, the Blue Nile and East Sudan.
Read More: http://suna-sd.net/
Sudan social media activist held after fuel price demos
(AFP) A social media activist working for the World Bank has been arrested in Sudan, her husband said Wednesday, part of a crackdown after fuel price hikes sparked deadly protests. Eight security officers took Dalia El Roubi from her family home on Monday, her husband Abdelrahman Elmahdi told AFP. They also detained her friend Rayan Shaker, a fellow activist, but gave no reason for the arrests, Elmahdi said. Elmahdi said his wife, a mother of three, belongs to no political party but is “part of the youth movement,” including a group called Sudan Change Now. Security officers seized a video camera and a small digital camera from El Roubi’s home, her husband added. Sudan’s government says it has arrested hundreds of “criminals” after last week’s protests.
Read More: http://www.foxnews.com/
UK pledges to help Sudan in debt relief
(Sudan Vision) United Kingdom has pledged support to Sudan’s efforts for its foreign debts relief, in addition to pleading with international financial institutions to meet their promised financial support to it, and how Sudan can make use of the Paris club funds. In a related development, the undersecretary of Sudan’s foreign affairs ministry has expressed Sudan’s readiness to develop Sudan-UK bilateral relations in various fields, particularly economic, cultural and investment ones. The undersecretary, while receiving yesterday the British delegation led by the undersecretary of the British foreign office called on the international community to meet its obligations towards Sudan by relief of its debts and lifting of boycott.
Read More: http://news.sudanvisiondaily.com/
Students on Hunger Strike in the Red SeaUniversity
(Radio Dabanga) 16 detained students from the Red Sea University in Port Sudan, capital of the Red Sea state, arrested while protesting against the price hikes, reportedly went on hunger strike on Tuesday evening. A student speaking to Radio Dabanga from Port Sudan said that they demand a fair trial. The student also reported that the security forces in Port Sudan are waging a campaign of arrests among student activists. They raided the house of the student Abdelgadir Mansour in the Taradona neighbourhood and captured him and three other students. The student demanded the authorities to provide the students with a fair trial, in case there are charges against them or to release them immediately.
Read More: https://www.radiodabanga.org/