Online-Organised Protests Cannot Succed In Sudan, Says Political Analyst

15 February 2011 – (Khartoum) – A Sudanese political analyst downplays online-organized public uprisings that overthrew the regimes in Tunisia and Egypt, as being inapplicable to Sudan.

Professor El-Tayib Zain el-Abdin thinks that chances of overthrowing the government in Sudan through a public uprising are slim due to what he called “immature political atmosphere” in Sudan.

Zain el-Abdin spoke to SRS from Khartoum on Tuesday.

[El-Tayib Zain el-Abdin]: “Despite the fact that Sudan was ahead of Tunisia and Egypt in organizing revolutions in October 1964 and April 1985, the current atmosphere in Sudan is not politically mature that can create a youth revolution against the government in huge numbers. Yes, there were demonstrations in Sudan but in small numbers, and it happened many times for different reasons. However, if the youth uprisings are not in tens of thousands like what happened in Tunisia and Egypt, it will not realize the desired effect.”

On 30th January, a group of Sudanese activists and political opposition figures organized a protest in Khartoum and other parts of the country, against worsening economic conditions aggravated by the secession of south Sudan.

However, the online-organized protests were crushed by the police who used teargas and batons, and arrested dozens of demonstrators.