Protests Spread to Sudan

Smaller than Egypt or Tunisia, but discontent growing in Sudan
By Mark Russell,  Newser Staff
Posted Feb 3, 2011 5:32 AM CST
Protests Spread to Sudan
Sudanese riot police hold their shields and sticks as students clashed with police in the capital Khartoum, on Jan. 30. AFP PHOTO/STR   (Getty Images)

For two weeks, calls for the Sudanese to join the growing wave of protests around the Arab region have been going up on Facebook. “Our brothers in Tunisia did it and so did our brothers in Egypt," said one message. "It is about time for us.” Protesters in Sudan may not be turning out in the overwhelming numbers that they are in Egypt, but they are braving their infamously repressive government to turn out in pockets around Sudan, reports the New York Times. “There is a rising conscience in the region,” said an amateur filmmaker who joined a recent protest in Khartoum. “So why not go for it?”

The Sudanese government is quick to quell Egypt comparisons. “The situation in Egypt is different than the situation of Sudan,” said a government spokesman. “We don’t have one small group that controls everything. Wealth is distributed equally. We’ve given power to the states.” The looming secession of the oil-producing southern section of the country might fan the fire, but analysts agree that the Sudanese are less ready to riot. “There is certainly discontent with the regime, but it’s unclear if enough of the right factors are present to complete the equation in Khartoum,” says one Sudan analyst. "But given what we’ve seen in Egypt, nothing can be ruled out.”
(More Sudan stories.)

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