SUDAN INSIGHT ALERT: al-Sudani - Shocks continue as fuel prices rise

10/6/2021: al-Sudani - Shocks continue as fuel prices rise, by al-Tayib Ali

Al-Sudani feature piece provided insights on the fuel price increases.

Dr. Asawar Adam, a leader of the Economic Alliance for the Forces of the December Revolution, called for peaceful protests against the fuel price increases, alleging that the 2021 budget shows that the government reaps huge profits from selling fuel, as the government “resorts to the pockets of the downtrodden citizens to spend on their bloated government apparatus [while] they gave infrastructure, education and agriculture 3, 16 and 11 billion respectively. 

Former Energy Minister (resigned in 2020), Adel Ali Ibrahim, suggests that the government should have worked to stabilise the exchange rate before resorting to the latest increase.

Economic analyst Dr. Abdelazim Al-Mahal said that the decision to raise prices reflects a disconnect in the decision-making, procedures, policies and plans between the citizen and the rules, who “do not feel what the citizen feels”.

SUDAN INSIGHT ALERT: Assayha - Adjusting fuel prices...increasing suffering

10/6/2021: Assayha - Adjusting fuel prices...increasing suffering, by Jum'ah Abdallah

Assayha’s feature piece on the fuel price increases quotes economic experts.

Economist Dr. Mohammed al-Nayer said the decision proved fears that the government will return from Paris and conduct “shocking decisions”, adding that the state should prioritise achieving economic stability before lifting subsidies, citing the domino effect of fuel price increases on higher costs for the agricultural and transport sectors.

Dr. Adel Abdelaziz defended the increases, arguing that they will hinder smuggling to countries where fuel is more expensive and provide budget surpluses to fund development, health and education. To mitigate their impact, he called for the government to provide low-cost public transportation by exploiting railways, passenger buses of large loads, and cancelling duties on bikes and motorbikes to encourage their usage.

Economist Dr. Mahjoub Abdallah criticised Hamdok’s government for implementing the World Bank’s programme without mitigating measures, warning that they will culminate in insecurity via protests and increased crime.

SUDAN INSIGHT ALERT: al-Jareeda - Theatrical economic reform

10/6/2021: al-Jareeda - Theatrical economic reform, by Zuhair al-Siraj

Zuhair al-Siraj robustly criticises Finance Minister Jibril Ibrahim’s announcement on increased fuel prices.  

Al-Siraj labels Ibrahim’s claim that Sudan is the sixth cheapest of 42 African countries for fuel prices “an outright lie,” as the comparison fails to take into account factors such as the standard of living, per capita income and minimum wages, which culminate in fuel “not constituting a burden” on citizens from wealthier countries as it would in Sudan.

With Ibrahim stating that the raising of fuel prices is part of economic reforms to facilitate engagement with international financial institutions, al-Siraj questions “what is the policy, and what plans as the government set to implement it?...Unless it is to submit to the conditions of the [IMF]  without getting anything in return”.

Al-Siraj concludes “it is naive and stupid to agree to conditions and start implementing them before you get a return”.

SUDAN INSIGHT ALERT: al-Jareeda - The rise in fuel prices, and more!

10/6/2021: al-Jareeda - The rise in fuel prices, and more! by Sabah Mohammed al-Hassan

Columnist Sabah Mohammed al-Hassan argues that the government’s decision to raise fuel prices “will have catastrophic repercussions on the citizen,” noting that they will be directly reflected in the cost of transportation, and thereby the prices of basic goods and services, which will “paralyse the entire life of the citizen”.

Al-Hassan questions whether the government considered, before initiating its decision, the income of the citizen, “and that many with limited incomes may not be able to go to work” due to rising fuel or public transport costs.

Moreover, amid public “suffering to provide basic needs…and severe economic difficulties”, al-Hassan questions how the rates of increases reach “an unreasonable level,” which “will not stop the rise in inflation rates”, and could lead businesses to leave the production cycle.

Thus, al-Hassan asks: “where is the government heading with its reform policies”?

SUDAN INSIGHT ALERT: Voice of America - Sudanese Protest Lifting of Fuel Subsidies

10/6/2021: Voice of America - Sudanese Protest Lifting of Fuel Subsidies, by Michael Atit 

Voice of America report that Sudanese protesters burned tires in Khartoum after the government lifted all subsidies on gasoline and diesel.   Sudan has been moving to implement IMF-monitored financial reforms in order to attract foreign financing.

Amu Adil, an electronic technician, said the fuel price hike will lead to higher prices for other basic commodities.  “Fuel is connected to all sorts of lives. Traders will charge any single cost of transportation they paid during the process of transporting goods. They will be forced to put that cost on the commodities and ordinary [citizens] will pay the cost,” he said.

Hajir al-Sir al-Awad, a business administration student, said that lifting fuel subsidies as Sudan faces serious economic challenges is a bad decision.  “I expect [the price of] everything to increase. My family will be forced to look for other sources of income to allow me go to college,” she said.

SUDAN NEWS ALERT: AP - UN: Sudan’s military demands UN-AU force hand over premises

10/6/19: AP – UN: Sudan’s military demands UN-AU force hand over premises

 AP reports that the United Nations says Sudan’s transitional military council has issued a decree demanding that the joint U.N.-African Union peacekeeping force in Darfur hand over its premises as part of its withdrawal next year.

 But U.N. associate spokesperson Eri Kaneko said Monday that the decree “is not in keeping with our existing agreement with the Sudanese government and our insistence that the facilities be used solely for civilian purposes.”

 Kaneko said the U.N. and African Union have made clear that peacekeeping installations should be used to benefit all people and build peace in Darfur.

SUDAN INSIGHT ALERT: Independent - As Sudan falls deeper into crisis, it’s increasingly clear what’s missing: support from the international community

10/6/19: Independent – As Sudan falls deeper into crisis, it’s increasingly clear what’s missing: support from the international community, by Paula Akpan

 Paula Akpan calls for the international community to “raise awareness and continue sharing information as widely as possible,” amid the internet blackout in Sudan which “aims to stifle, suppress and silence the Sudanese people.”

 Noting that a reported €1bn was pledged towards repairing the Notre Dame, while messages of solidarity rushed in from politicians around the world, Akpan questions where there was such “dismay and uproar,” arguing that “it would appear that architecture holds more value than the lives of Sudanese civilians.”

 Akpan highlights the importance of hashtags suchs #IamTheSudanRevolution and #SudanUprising “as a vehicle to post updates on the situation, signal support for protestors and raise awareness in the face of silence from the global community.”

SUDAN INSIGHT ALERT: Independent - Bloated bodies in the Nile show Sudan protesters were right to fear the arrival of Saudi and UAE money

10/6/19: Independent -  Bloated bodies in the Nile show Sudan protesters were right to fear the arrival of Saudi and UAE money, by Robert Fisk

 Robert Fisk argues that the dozens of waterlogged bodies being dragged from the Nile should focus attention on Emirati and “especially” Saudi support for the Sudanese “pseudo-transitional military government.”

 Fisk highlights Saudi motivations for ensuring that the Sudanese revolution fails, citing a Saudi tendency to resolve political problems by “cruel death,” reflected by the murder of Jamal Khashoggi and “slaughter” in Yemen.

 Fisk then goes to note Saudi-Emirati support for Abdulfattah Al Sisi’s coup in Egypt as an indicator of the keenness to suppress democracy in the region, as well as Himedti and Al Burhan’s role in the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen.

Fisk concludes by attributing US President Trump administration lack of a “serious policy statement on the massive upheaval in Sudan,” to how Trump’s “perverse view of the world regards the Saudi crown prince as a trusted ally.”

SUDAN NEWS ALERT: AFP - Life limps back to Sudan capital on day 2 of civil campaign

10/6/19: AFP - Life limps back to Sudan capital on day 2 of civil campaign

 AFP reports that several shops, fuel stations and branches of private banks opened, and buses plied the streets Monday as life limped back to the Sudanese capital on the second day of a nationwide civil disobedience campaign.

 The timid return to normalcy came as the ruling military council announced that security forces on the streets would be boosted, after four people were killed in the first day of the campaign.

 "If I work it does not mean that I don't support the revolution," said bus driver Abdulmajid Mohamed.

 "I have to work to support my family or else we will have no money,” he added.

SUDAN NEWS ALERT: AFP - 4 dead in Sudan a week after bloody crackdown

10/6/19: AFP – 4 dead in Sudan a week after bloody crackdown

 AFP reports that four people were killed as Sudanese security forces moved to quell a civil disobedience campaign launched Sunday.

 A doctors' committee linked to the demonstrators said two people had been killed in clashes in the capital, while two others died in its twin city of Omdurman, just across the Nile.

 The Central Committee for Sudanese Doctors blamed forces supporting the ruling military council for the deaths, which it said took the overall toll to 118 since a June 3 crackdown to disperse a sit-in by protesters outside army headquarters.

SUDAN NEWS ALERT: AP - Sudan's military blames protest leaders for escalation

10/6/19: AP – Sudan’s military blames protest leaders for escalation, by Bassam Hatoum and Samy Magdy

 AP reports that Sudan’s ruling military “latest harsh words” - blaming Sudanese protest movement for an escalation – “reflected that the ruling generals are hardening their stance.”

 As the Sudanese Professionals Association called the civil disobedience campaign, including closing up roads, Lt. Gen. Jamaleddine Omar, from the ruling military council, said late Sunday that by closing roads and setting up barricades, the protesters committed a crime, “as it deprives people from being able to go about their normal life.”

 Omar blamed the protesters for “all the regrettable events” of the past days, saying that they “crossed the line of peaceful practices…and have become a major liability for the country and the people’s security.”

 Omar added that the military and the RSF have beefed up their presence across Sudan “to restore life back to normal.”

SUDAN NEWS ALERT: Multiple sources - Sudan rebel chief Arman, in Juba, says deported by Khartoum

10/6/19: Multiple sources – Sudan rebel chief Arman, in Juba, says deported by Khartoum

• AFP

• Reuters, by Khalid Abdelaziz

 Sudanese rebel chief Yassir Arman he was deported from Khartoum to South Sudan with two comrades, hours after authorities claimed to have released the three men from detention.

 Arman, deputy chief of the Sudan People's Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N), tweeted that that he had been "deported against my will by a military helicopter from Khartoum to Juba.”

 "I was not aware of where they were taking me. I asked them many times," he added, alleging that he, and his “comrades” Ismail Khamis Jalab and Mubarak Ardol had been tied up for their flight.

 The previously exiled Arman returned to Khartoum in late May to take part in talks with a military council. His SPLM-North is the political wing of a rebel movement that has fought against Sudanese security forces in Blue Nile and South Kordofan states for much of the last decade.

SUDAN NEWS ALERT: AFP – Internet blackout hits Sudan capital

10/6/19: AFP – Internet blackout hits Sudan capital

 AFP reports that landline internet connections were down across Khartoum on Monday, creating a digital blackout in the Sudanese capital a week after mobile online services were largely cut following a deadly crackdown on protesters.

 Internet lines from the country's main provider Sudatel stopped working in the early afternoon, an AFP correspondent said, adding the outage had affected embassies, luxury hotels and offices.

 The landline outage was also affecting cities and towns outside the capital, an AFP correspondent said.