Sudanese protest government austerity measures

By Mohammed Amin

KHARTOUM, Sudan (AA) – A number of Sudanese on Monday began a campaign of civil disobedience in Khartoum and other states to protest government austerity measures.

According to an Anadolu Agency correspondent in Khartoum, the campaign partially affected the movement of traffic in the capital.

Activists on social media called for acts of civil disobedience on Monday to protest a recent government decision to lift subsidies on fuel, electricity and medicine.

The campaign is the second of its kind after activists had earlier called on citizens to commit acts of civil disobedience on Nov. 27.

-Govt downplays

The government, for its part, downplayed the effects of the campaign on Monday, saying its council of ministers had reported that all the nation’s public and private institutions were functioning smoothly.

Speaking to Anadolu Agency, Yasser Youssef, minister of state at Sudan’s Information Ministry, described the civil disobedience campaign as a "conspiracy" aimed at undermining the country.

"The civil disobedience has totally failed to achieve its goals," he said. "It didn't even affect 1 percent of the [country’s] vital sectors."

All of Sudan’s public and private institutions, he asserted, "are working at 100 percent capacity".

Since last month, social-media activists have issued calls for a widespread campaign of civil disobedience to protest a government decision earlier this year to lift subsidies on fuel, electricity and medicine.

A number of Sudanese opposition parties and rebel groups have reportedly thrown their support behind the protest calls.

-Row with US

Meanwhile, a diplomatic row appears to have erupted between Khartoum and Washington after the U.S. State Department on Saturday urged the Sudanese government to refrain from using violence against protesters.

Sudan’s Foreign Ministry, for its part, rejected the U.S. statement, describing it as "inaccurate and unjustified".

However, Foreign Ministry spokesman Garib Allah Alkhdidr told Anadolu Agency that Sudan would guarantee citizens’ freedoms.

Earlier this month, President Omar al-Bashir blasted online calls to protest, asserting that social-media activists would fail in their attempts to bring down his government.