More calls to abolish State of Emergency in Kassala

Reactions to the extension of the State of Emergency in Kassala state for the next six months have continued, while the Republican decree on the extension is expected to be submitted to the National Assembly on Monday.

The National Security Party in Kassala announced its categorical rejection of the extension of State of Emergency in the state.

The signatories on the memorandum rejecting the State of Emergency have amounted to more than 300 people.

Secretary General of the Nation Umma Party branch in Kassala Ibrahim Nur told Radio Dabanga that the situation in the state does not necessitate the imposition of a State of Emergency

He explained that the government has taken advantage of the State of Emergency during the past period to silence the political opposition forces and prevent the parties from holding symposia and activities in the public squares.

He pointed to the increasing suffering of the people during the past six months due to the emergency and called on the regular forces to fight crimes of human trafficking and smuggling of goods through normal work rather than through imposition of a State of Emergency.

The Democratic Party of Eastern Sudan member of the governmental National Dialogue alliance has refused the extension of the State of Emergency in Kassala and considered it a violation of the rule of law.

The head of the party and MP Feisal Yasin pointed in a press statement to the suffering of the people of Kassala during the past six months.

He said the party was not allowed to organise political activities in the state since the imposition of the State of Emergency.

Member of the Committee on Security and Defence in the parliament, Police Lt. Col. Osman Fagerei has pointed to the efforts of MPs in parliament to reject the extension of the emergency in Kassala.

He said that the reasons for the emergency have ceased, including the external threats from some neighbouring countries and warned of the use of the State of Emergency to restrict public freedoms.