Sudan’s Protesters Announce Two-day General Strike Next Tuesday

May 24, 2019 (KHARTOUM) - Sudanese Professionals Association (SPA) Friday has called for a two-day general strike in a bid to put pressure on the military council which refuses to cede the leadership of the Sovereign Council for civilians.

Talks over the collegial leadership council are stalled for more than two weeks now, the Transitional Military Council (TMC) and the Forces for Freedom and Change (FFC) both claim the chairmanship and the majority of the Council’s seats.

In a statement released on Friday, the SPA which overseen the over 4-month protests that toppled the regime of Omer al-Bashir last April announced a series of actions to mobilize the Sudanese street ahead of a general strike on Tuesday.

"At this moment in the life of the country, there is no longer any alternative to the general strike weapon to rectify the course of the revolution and complete the journey we have begun," further stressed the statement.

According to the statement, the two-day general strike will end on Thursday where the SPA plans to stage nationwide protests in the capital Khartoum and the other regions to demonstrate the popular support for a civilian-led rule during the three-year transitional period.

The military council says they want to ensure that the civilian-led transition will be comprehensive and lead to restoring democratic rule in Sudan.

But the opposition says they want the army to be tasked with the security and border protection leaving public affairs for politicians.

Also, analysts in Khartoum point to the growing mistrust between the civilian opposition and the army which is suspected of being infiltrated by the Islamists.

(ST)