In the first of three reports on the NW England Sudan Solidarity Conference sessions we will hear from Osman Sir Elkhatim, representative of the Coordination of the Khartoum State Resistance Committees about how these grassroots revolutionary organisations are developing proposals for an alternative to the current military regime while they continue to mobilise protests and civil disobedience against the generals’ rule. Dr Sara Abdeljalil and Dr Alaaeldin al-Nugoud report on the violence against healthworkers and protesters and the challenges of providing healthcare and medication in the current crisis.

Videos are in English or Arabic with written translation provided below where possible

Osman Sir Elkhatim – Representative of the Coordination of the Khartoum State Resistance Committees

Peace and eternal glory to the martyrs of the December revolution, a wish of speedy recovery to those wounded, and we hope for the swift return of all missing and freedom to all political detainees

My name is Osman Ahmed Sir Al-Khatim, the official spokesman for the Khartoum City Resistance Committees Coordinating Body. 

To begin with, I would like to tell you a bit about the resistance committees. They are formed in neighbourhoods and then regions. Each residential area has a local committee whose members are the residents of the specific area. The members are those who believe in freedom, peace and justice; who believe in a civilian state and a civilian democratic transformation; and who believe in the goals of the glorious December 2018 revolution. Neighbouring areas form coordinating bodies of the resistance committees. Each 8 committees then form bigger regional committees that make up the main coordinating body of the Khartoum resistance committees. This is to say that the representation bodies are horizontal, and representation within them is horizontal. Each of the neighbourhood committees has a representative in the main coordinating body. The coordination of the Khartoum State Resistance Committees includes representatives from all local committees. Khartoum resistance committees coordinating body Office contains representatives of Khartoum State Coordination Committees. The decision within the committees is taken collectively, not in a hierarchical manner, so that the base committees or the district committee contribute their opinion through the majority of votes within the committee. Opinions are merged and the majority opinion is decided based on the opinion of the Khartoum State Committees Coordination Body.

The committees were established in 2018, at the beginning of the December revolution, and the main objective of the resistance committees was to bring down the former regime through leading a peaceful mass movement within the neighbourhoods. This was done through protests, marches, barricades and all methods of peaceful resistance. After that, structural work within the committees progressed after the fall of the regime, and the coordinating bodies of the base committees were formed. Then organisational work continued until the main coordinating body of the state of Khartoum was formed. Even within the local neighbourhood committees, they had a statute or a constitution. And then a constitution for the main coordinating body was established during the past three years. And work continued within the committees to reach a constitution that governs the coordinating body and a statute that governs the neighbourhood committees.

The Khartoum State Coordination Charter followed by merging the Khartoum State charters with the other states’ charters reaching the final draft of the Resistance Committees People’s Authority Charter created by all regions and states in Sudan. The neighbourhood committees in every region are the real stakeholders in change, those affected by the political scene, those affected by the military rule, and those pursuing their demands since 2018 on the streets. 

After the final version of the People’s Authority Charter  is reached, it will be presented to all professional bodies and revolutionary forces present on the Sudanese political scene, including professional bodies, unionists, political parties, armed movements, etc. 

The charter is open for amendments, provided that the amendments do not affect the core issues of the charter, such as 

1. The civilian state 

2. Overthrowing the Military Council and holding it accountable through fair trials 

3. Refusal of any negotiations with those involved directly or indirectly in military coup d’etat.

There will be an agreement on detailed issues and mechanisms for implementing the charter to address the national issues of the Sudanese state. Currently the resistance committees have two main objectives. The first is to fight the October 25 coup, resisting and overthrowing the military coup d’etat. The second is to establish the People’s Authority Charter. The charter contains national issues and issues that address the distortions present in the Sudanese state since the independence of Sudan. The charter aims to resolve the differences that exist between the civilian components such as in the transitional civilian justice, formation of a government, the economy, commissions, etc. There are 12 issues identified by the resistance committees as agreed upon as Sudanese, but our differences are in the mechanisms implementation and other details. 

The committees are now working on including these issues and implementation mechanisms and to reach an agreement about them as Sudanese. So that we are able to form a road map for all Sudanese to stop military coups from happening and to keep the military institution away from the political process and government. So that Sudanese are able to rule without the military institutions’ interference in the rule by force of arms.

Dr Sara Abdeljalil – Governance Programming Organisation and former president, Sudanese Doctors’ Union – UK

كلمة دكتورة سارة عبد الجليل

السكرتير العام لمنظمة برامج الحوكمة

مساء الخير 

منذ يوم ٢٥ أكتوبر، وعقب الانقلاب العسكري والتغييرغير الشرعي للسلطة ضد حقوق الجماهير في السودان تواصلت انتهاكات حقوق الإنسان والتي بكل أسف أدت إلى مقتل ٩١ شخص اكثرهم من الشباب  تحت  الثلاثين عاما، وواحد من كل أربعة من الشهداء أعمارهم أقل ثمانية عشر عاما.حتى الأطفال تم قتلهم بواسطة قوات الأمن. 

نوع الجروح والإصابات في الأساس، هي (اضرب لتقتل) باستعمال الرصاص الحي الذي يوجه الى الرأس والصدر والرقبة وأيضا هنالك استخدام للغاز المسيل للدموع بغزارة، والذي تنتج عنه اصابات خطيرة تشمل حروق الوجه وتلف دائم للعيون والاذنين والأطراف مما يؤدي لبترها. 

يحرم الجرحى من حق الحياة والانعاش والعناية الطبية. قوات الأمن تمنع سيارات الإسعاف وتمنع العاملين بالرعاية الصحية من محاولات انعاش المصابين وذلك باقتحام المستشفيات. هنالك ثمانية وثلاثون حالة مسجلة لاقتحام قوات الأمن للمستشفيات باستخدام الغاز المسيل للدموع داخل غرف العمليات وفي اقسام الطوارئ والقبض والاعتقال للجرحى، رغم حاجتهم العاجلة للعلاج.

 هنالك استخدام متواصل للاعتداءات الجنسية  كسلاح لكسر المقاومة السلمية للثوار داخل الخرطوم والمناطق الأخرى. على سبيل المثال في يوم ١٩ ديسمبر تم الإبلاغ عن ١٣ حالة عنف جنسي في شكل إغتصابات جماعية بواسطة قوات الامن، وهذه الإعتداءات موجهة للرجال والنساء ولكن تستهدف النساء بشكل أساسي. وتستمر الاعتداءات الجنسية أيضا على المعتقلين بما فيهم النساء المحاميات والمعلمات وبائعات الشاي والطبيبات والممرضات. 

يجب أن اترحم على ست النفور بكار الممرضة التي قتلت في يوم ١٧ نوفمبر ٢٠٢١. بفقدنا لروح ست النفور فقد فقدنا أربع حيوات. فقد كانت ممرضة وفنانة وناشطة في حقوق المرأة ومنحازة للديمقراطية. 

على كل حال في غياب الحكومة والحالة الاقتصادية المتردية هنالك معاناة للحصول على الخدمات الصحية ذات الكلفة العالية ونعلم انه في الماضي كان الحصول على الرعاية الصحية الحكومية يدفع المريض حوالي ٨٠٪؜ من تكلفته من جيبه الخاص. وعندما جاء الانقلاب زادت تكلفة للحصول على الخدمات الصحية في جميع انحاء البلاد. وهذا الأمر له آثار خطيرة خاصة فيما يتعلق بحالات الطوارئ، وكذلك أصحاب الحالات المعقدة التي تحتاج لأدوية بشكل مستمر، والطب الوقائي، والحصول على اللقاحات خاصة للأطفال. 

من المهم ان ننتبه للخطرالناجم عن عدم الأمان في الحياء السكنية والمواصلات العامة على سبيل المثال هنالك فتاة تم انزالها من المواصلات العام وتم اغتصابها من رجال الأمن بشكل جماعي.  هنالك أيضا مشكلة انعدام الأمن الغذائي ووجود نسب عالية من حالات سوء التغذية وسط الأطفال والنساء الحوامل. الوضع في كل انحاء السودان وخصوصا في دارفور ينذر بالخطر لذلك من المهم ان يقف المجتمع الدولي لمساندة أهل السودان حيال العنف الذي يكابدونه في ثورتهم السلمية.

Dr Ala’a-al-din al-Nugoud – Sudanese Consultants and Specialists’ Committee