Sudan could see the next Arab revolution because anger is rising over an economic crisis and government repression worse than in Egypt before the ousting of Hosni Mubarak, an opposition leader said on Nov 14. “The regime is doomed … We as opposition agreed that it cannot be reformed. You need to change, to overthrow the regime,” said Farouk Abu Issa, head of the National Consensus Forces, an umbrella group of Sudan’s main opposition parties.
Sudan has seen a series of small protests in the capital Khartoum and the undeveloped east against sharp rises in food prices. Many demonstrators say they have been inspired by “Arab Spring” uprisings in Egypt and Tunisia but have been quickly dispersed by security forces. President Omar Hassan Al-Bashir has been battling a severe economic crisis since South Sudan took most of the oil production – the lifeline of the economy – when it split away as an independent country in July, as agreed under a 2005 peace deal.
Bashir is expected to unveil a new cabinet soon to bring in fresh faces after southern ministers left with Juba’s independence. Government officials say the uprisings in Egypt and Tunisia will not be repeated in Sudan and the country will be able to overcome the loss of oil revenues by expanding gold exports and developing the agricultural sector.