‘SPA is sole legitimate representative of the Sudanese people’

The opposition Sudanese Professionals Association (SPA), the driving force behind the current popular uprising, has urged the international community to recognise it as “the sole legitimate representative of the Sudanese people”. It also urged the Sudanese public not to heed messages from the loudspeakers of some mosques calling on people to protect themselves with firearms.

Reports say that some of these messages purport to be in the name of the SPA. The association strongly denies this and urges the public to do the opposite.

“The regular forces, most of all the police, are tasked with protecting civilians. So please turn to them in case of an emergency”, the SPA said in an audio message on Wednesday. “Never buy weapons yourselves.”

It is known that ‘agents provocateurs’ are keen to see peaceful protests provoked to violence, and to bring the declared peaceful revolution into disrepute.

International community

In a separate statement today, the SPA Foreign Relations Committee alerts the international community to the escalating crisis in Sudan.

“The full scale of the massacre is still unknown yet the latest figures from the Sudanese Doctors’ Association confirm at least 100 civilians have been killed and over 700 wounded. The number of casualties is likely to rise given the high number of missing protestors. In addition, the Janjaweed militias have taken full control of greater Khartoum and have been terrorising its populations , including through attacks on healthcare professionals, extra judicial killings and rapes.”

Internet blackout

These atrocities are occurring while Sudan is subject to a deliberate and near total internet blackout to disguise the scale of human rights and humanitarian law violations and abuses, the latest SPA statement reads.

“The chilling reports that have so far escaped the blackout confirm widespread and systematic callous attacks by the Janjaweed who are holding the entire population hostage. Our initial legal assessment confirms that international crimes such as crimes against humanity and war crimes  have been committed in Sudan in a systematic and widespread manner (including acts of murder, torture, rape, , enforced disappearances, and other inhumane and degrading treatment.”

Major humanitarian disaster

The situation is highly explosive and has many grave ramifications in Sudan and beyond, the SPA sys. “We fear that the deteriorating crisis will result in a major humanitarian disaster, particularly as food and medical supplies run short. In addition, given Sudan’s porous borders and the dedication of the security forces to the brutal repression of civilians, we have reason to believe that illegal trafficking of both weapons and humans as well as illegal migration will dramatically increase. More ominously terrorist groups such as ISIS and Boko Haram will likely exploit the security vacuum and set a stronghold in Sudan.”

The SPA calls upon the international community to demand the immediate cessation of all atrocities and human rights and humanitarian law violations; to demand the immediate withdrawal of the RSF militias from Khartoum and major cities and towns; to unequivocally hold the Transitional Military Council responsible for the massacre and ongoing crimes against humanity and war crimes committed in various parts of the Sudan; to call on the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights at the Human Rights Council (HRC) to set up a fact-finding mission to monitor, verify and report on the situation in Sudan with a view to making recommendations on preventing further violations and abuses.

International Criminal Court

The SPA further calls on the international community to refer the situation in Sudan to the International Criminal Court through the UN SC to investigate documented crimes against humanity and war crimes and to bring those responsible to justice; to recognize the SPA /FCF as the sole legitimate representative of the Sudanese people and demand the immediate transfer of power to a civilian government led by the FCF; to work with other partners to prevent the humanitarian crises in Sudan; and to respect Sudan’s sovereignty and refrain from any interferences in Sudan’s internal affairs that may lead to further escalation of violence.

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