‘We are the victims of our own corrupt government’ – life as an activist in Sudan
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Version 0 of 1. Sudan is a very vulnerable nation. Twenty-five years ago, the Sudanese president Omar al-Bashir overthrew a democratic transitional government through a military coup, and has ruled ever since. But in recent years, the people of Sudan have become extremely frustrated with the low standard of living and the daily human rights violations they face – from corruption, unemployment, inflation, to the ongoing conflicts in Darfur, South Kordofan, and the Blue Nile. The Sudanese government routinely silences the peoples’ dissent. Human Rights Watch recently reported that Bashir’s government frequently detains without charge anyone who opposes it “whether through political declarations, protests, articles, or simply attending events.” In the past six months, the government has tried to wipe out their opposition In the past six months, the government has tried to wipe out their opposition. After signing the Paris Declaration in August 2014, which called for political reform and a transitional government, Mariam al-Sadiq al-Mahdi, the deputy chair of the National Umma Party was detained for month without charge. This followed the harsh police response to a peaceful protest organised by the party in July, where it was reported that al-Mahdi’s five daughters were arrested, along with many activists and party members. Soon after, in September, the National Intelligence Secret Services (Niss) arrested dozens who had assembled to honour the killing of more than 170 people during the anti-austerity protests that swept the country in September 2013. For my father, Dr Amin Mekki Medani, this dire situation has been particularly close to his heart. After a long and remarkable career in human rights, he is currently the president of Sudan’s Confederation of Civil Society Organisations, an umbrella gathering of activists and politicians across the country. On 6 December 2014, my 75-year-old father, who suffers from diabetes and high blood pressure, was taken from our house in Khartoum to a secret location by Niss, who had no warrant for his arrest. My father had recently returned from Addis Ababa, where he had signed a landmark document called The Sudan Call, a declaration uniting the country’s formerly fragmented political and armed opposition “calling for peace and popular democratic transformation.” In response, Bashir’s government called it “treason”. Two other Sudan Call participants were arrested at the same time: Farouq Abu Eissa, also in his seventies, chair of the opposition National Consensus Forces, and Dr Farah Ibrahim Mohamed Alagar. For the first 18 days of his detention, we had no clue about his whereabouts My father’s commitment to protecting human rights has been central to his decades-long and impressive career. In his role as regional representative to the UN’s Commissioner for Human Rights between 2002 and 2004, he served in places as diverse as Afghanistan, Gaza, Croatia, Iraq and Lebanon. These visits provided him with unique insight into the reality of human rights situations across the world, and the challenges faced by countries undergoing conflict and transition. For the first 18 days of his detention, we had no clue about his whereabouts. We were not allowed to bring him food for diabetics, nor could we visit him. Fortunately, after a lot of local, regional and international pressure – in particular the tabling of a motion by the European Parliament’s on my father’s case – the authorities finally allowed us access. But despite widespread calls for his release, the government continues to detain him without charge, meaning he is unable to fight his case in court. This new imprisonment brings back terrible memories, but it also brings great anger against those that took him from us 25 years ago This isn’t been the first time Niss have detained my father. When the coup d’état was launched by Bashir in 1989, my father was was minister in the cabinet for peace, reconciliation and elections. In the middle of the night, he was taken away and incarcerated for more than a year. I was only eight years-old. At the time of my father’s first arrest, my mother was 39 and had five children to look after. She didn’t know what to tell us when we woke up for school the next day. When my father was finally released we were forced to leave the country abruptly, while the government seized our property and froze our bank accounts. I am very close to my father. I miss him deeply. This new imprisonment brings back terrible memories, but it also brings great anger against those that took him from us 25 years ago – and now again today. These human rights violations need to stop, and the government of Sudan needs to be held accountable for its actions. My family and countless others grew up as strangers to our country, and we continue to all be the victims of our own corrupt government. |