The 75-year old Sudan’s president declared the state of emergency in his country where the wave of protests become stronger month to month.
Omar al-Bashir, a long-time Sudanese leader, declared a one-year-old state of emergency, that move became the reaction of his government to the demonstrations were an attempt to destabilise the country from inside. Among other measures, Sudan’s president made several shiftings in the Cabinet. He has appointed this week a new prime minister but left the country’s current defence, foreign and justice ministers in place following the declaration of the state of emergency.
Immediately after announcing that he would dissolve the country’s central and state governments, Omar al-Bashir appointed new state governors who were all from the military. Under crucial circumstances, President Bashir asked parliament to postpone constitutional amendments that would allow him to run for another term. Reiterating that protests were an attempt to destabilise the country, he said: “I announce imposing a state of emergency across the country for one year.”
“I announce dissolving the government at the federal level and at the provincial levels,” al-Bashir added.
Omar al-Bashir intends to make some amendments in the Consitution
In his televised speech, Presiden Bashir said that Sudan passes through a difficult and complicated phase in its national history but that process definitely will be resulted in getting more strength and solidarity. In a rare acknowledgement, the 75-year-old leader described the demands of the protesters as “legitimate” but said there were attempts to exploit the youth protests “to take the country to the unknown”.
The state of emergency will give the security forces a free hand in cracking down on protesters and carrying out detentions and it places heavier restrictions on the press and opposition parties.
Bashir’s term ends in 2020 and he has repeatedly promised not to make new runs for the presidency. Without amending the constitution, he cannot run for a third term. His announcement came days after a parliamentary committee that is amending the constitution to scrap presidential term limits cancelled its meetings.
