Sudan opposition welcome US sanctions against Central Reserve Police

The Khartoum Resistance Committees and the Forces for Freedom and Change have welcomed the announcement on Monday of US Treasury sanctions against the Sudan Central Reserve Police (CRP) for serious human rights abuses. The US Treasury listed the excessively violent repression of peaceful pro-democracy protests by the security forces as the main reason.

The spokesperson for the Khartoum Resistance Committees, Fadul Omar, told the Sudan Today programme on Radio Dabanga that they welcome the US sanctions and called for them to be applied stringently, to stop the violations against the demonstrators.

Bushra El Sayem, leading member of the opposition Forces for Freedom and Change-Central Council (FFC-CC), described the sanctions as “a precursor to other penalties that will include the chain of command in the current coup authority”.

El Sayem told Sudan Today that he believes that the sanctions against the paramilitary CRP might have an impact on the supply of rubber bullets, “and the rest of the tools of repression used by the police”.

As reported by Radio Dabanga yesterday, a statement by the US Treasury on Monday highlights that “the Central Reserve Police has used excessive force against pro-democracy protesters peacefully demonstrating against the military-led overthrow of the civilian-led transitional government in Sudan”.

“Since the October 25 military takeover, Sudan’s Central Reserve Police has used excessive force and violence intended to silence civilian activists and protesters”, said Under Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Brian E. Nelson when announcing the decision.

“We condemn Sudan’s security services for killing, harassing, and intimidating Sudanese citizens. These actions are exacerbating the crisis in Sudan and are a direct contradiction to the Sudanese security services’ stated commitment to participate constructively in a facilitated process to resolve Sudan’s political crisis and return to a democratic transition…

“The United States seeks to impose tangible and significant consequences on those who commit serious human rights abuse or engage in corruption, as well as to protect the financial system of the United States from abuse by these same persons”, the statement said.