Listen to Part I above! Nearly three decades after Omar Al Bashir came to power, the Sudanese regime is facing a formidable challenge posed by a fresh wave of unrest, which started in the northeastern city of Atbara on December 19. Protests which first erupted over a government decision to triple the price of bread have swiftly escalated into anti-government rallies, marches and work stoppages that have rocked several cities and towns.
Who are the protestors? What are their demands? What role do the civil society groups play in these protests? What has been the regime’s response to the protests? And what is the genesis of the economic crisis that the country is experiencing? Khalid Medani of McGill University tackles these and other questions.
To hear both parts of this podcast, visit Status / الوضع here. Part II can be found here. In the second part of the conversation with VOMENA, Khalid Medani of McGill University goes into greater detail about the regional and international response to the protests in Sudan, the role of women and the future of the uprising.
Khalid Medani is associate professor of political science and Islamic Studies at McGill University.
For more Status / الوضع, visit www.statushour.com and subscribe to the podcast on iTunes!
[Courtesy of Voices of the Middle East and North Africa, VOMENA]