30/12/2021
*Important statement*
*Forces for Freedom and Change Executive Bureau*
During the popular marches on the 30th of December, the coup authorities have directed their forces to fire live bullets on the masses in Banat neighborhood, Omdurman, leading to the premeditated killing of a number of peaceful protesters and injuring more than twenty others, at the time of issuing this statement. We hold the coup leaders responsible for those crimes which will not become obsolete over time, but will rather be added to their long criminal record since the instigation of their coup on the 25th of October.
The coup authorities have blocked roads and bridges, cut communication and the Internet, used disproportionate force to disperse and wound peaceful protesters, chased and arrested resistance committee members, attacked unarmed civilians in their own homes, and they continue to violate the freedom of the media and the press, as well as physically assaulting reporters, obstructing their work, breaking into their offices by force, as was the case with Al-Sharq and Al-Arabiya Al-Hadath TV channels.
Today’s marches -which covered the capital and the various regions of Sudan- reflected determination, persistence, and a sense of inclusiveness that transcended ethnic, geographical, cultural, social, and gender divides. This diversity represents a solid framework within which the Sudan of the future will be formed. The coup leaders’ decision to return to using live bullets will not deter our women and men, and the silence by the executive authority in the face of these violations and crimes is unjustified and it encourages the coup authorities to continue using these methods.
The events of today were reflective of the Youth’s awareness and will to sacrifice as they rushed through the thick smoke and tear gas to put out the fires that raged through several homes in the center of Khartoum. The peaceful revolutionaries build, rather than destroy.
We stand behind our people. With them, we shall continue the struggle until the coup is defeated. We call upon the regional and international communities, as well as all human rights movements, to condemn the violations committed by the coup leaders, and to take practical steps to support the struggle of our people and punish the leaders of the coup. We also urge the Special Representative of the Secretary General of the United Nations to request that the Security Council forms an independent international committee to investigate the murder of more than fifty protesters who were killed by live bullets on the order of the coup leaders, and to work towards protecting civilians in the regions of Darfur and South Kordofan/ Nuba Mountains from gross violations.
*Finally*
The dawn of freedom is upon us. We call upon all the revolutionary and pro-change forces to organize and form an inclusive front to defeat the coup and reaffirm the continuation of resistance in its various forms and tools, until the demands of our people are met.
*Forces for Freedom and Change Executive Bureau*
*Khartoum, Thursday 30 December 2021*
