Sudan Follow-Up: More Protests on Monday, Big March Called for Thursday
Tuesday, February 1, 2011 at 6:26
Scott Lucas in Africa, EA Global, Mohamed Abdelrahman, Sudan

UPDATE 2045 GMT: About 200 students demonstrated outside al-Nilein university in Khartoum today before hundreds of police beat them back and surrounded the university buildings with 20 vehicles.

After Sunday's protests of hundreds throughout Sudan, with at least one student dying in clashes, some developments on Monday....

Journalists said security forces prevented the opposition Ajras al-Huriya and the independent al-Sahafa newspapers from being distributed after they wrote about the protests.

A Facebook hub for the opposition posted messages of demonstrations such as "Launched demonstrations now in Kosti". Later postings spoke of a protest, starting from Jackson Square in Khartoum, honouring the funeral of Mohamed Abdelrahman, the demonstrator killed on Sunday. There were claims, via a Twitter activist and via Facebook, of beatings by police and more detentions in both Kosti and Khartoum.

The activists have now called for marches on Thursday, posting the following message:

We are young men and women of Sudan

We call on all to bring down the system, which has become an obstacle to the development of the country and we demand a pluralistic democratic system...for all states of Sudan, finding a just and comprehensive solution to the issue of Darfur and holding accountable perpetrators of crimes in this region.

We call on citizens to live with a decent resolution of economic hardship and for the alleviation of the suffering with an adjustment of prices and an end to unemployment.

We call on the junta to try to end corrupt and recover the people's money and to restore freedom and the dignity of our citizens.

The main image on the Facebook site mobilising protest has altered, featuring this message, "We won't let you die in vain --- Mohammad Abdel Rahman, martyr of the popular intifada. May God have mercy on his soul."

Article originally appeared on EA WorldView (http://www.enduringamerica.com/).
See website for complete article licensing information.