Sudan: the whip of the counter-revolution spurs on the revolution
- Details
- Monday, 10 June 2019
- Fred Weston
The number of casualties at the hands of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) militia in Sudan, after they clamped down on the protests last week, has reached 113. But if the people at the top who ordered this butchery thought it would quell the revolt of the Sudanese people, they clearly miscalculated. The counter-revolution has been manoeuvring to try and create a situation of apparent breakdown in social order, using criminal gangs pretending to be revolutionaries. This is a means of provoking open conflicts in which the RSF could step in and claim to be restoring law and order.
Early in the morning of 3 June, the Sudanese armed forces violently raided and cleared the revolutionary sit-in that had camped in front of the Sudanese Ministry of Defence since 6 April. This was only the start of a campaign of terror, organised by the counter-revolutionary Transitional Military Council (TMC). At least 13 have been reported killed and hundreds more injured after the cold-blooded attack on the revolutionary campsite in Khartoum this morning. According to reports, on the previous night, army ranks in the area around the site were partially withdrawn and replaced by the reactionary, tribal-based Rapid Support Forces (RSF) militia and riot police.
Nelson Mandela is no more. At about 8:50pm on Thursday, 5 December, Nelson Rohishlahla Mandela passed away peacefully after a long illness. The news was announced by President Jacob Zuma to a worldwide audience. He was 95 years old.
On the morning of 6th February, the prominent left-wing leader Chokri Belaïd was assassinated in front of his house in Tunis. Thousands have taken to the streets, attacked offices of the ruling Ennahda party, which they consider responsible for the assassination, and a general strike has been called for 8th February. This could be the incident that sparks a much needed second revolution, two years after the overthrow the hated Ben Alí regime.
François Hollande has decided to flex his muscles. Based on the "threat of Islamic terrorism", the French president has deployed 1,700 soldiers in Mali, and another 800 are expected to arrive within a few days. The "international community" has unanimously approved of the intervention. Of course, the French president has said that his country "does not have interests in Mali" and that the action is "exclusively for the purpose of peace." But this is a very small fig leaf covering what is in reality an imperialist intervention to defend the interests of the old colonial power.
This past Saturday, 17th December, marked the first anniversary of the Arab revolution. On this day, one year ago, Mohammad Bouazizi, a young Tunisian fruit vendor, driven by desperation, poverty, and anger, set himself on fire in the city of Sidi Bouzid. The revolutionary wildfire that began after his death — first in southern Tunisia, then the entire country, then erupting across the entire Arab-speaking world—marked a turning point in human history. 
The capture and killing of Colonel Gaddafi has been described in detail by the mass media in all its gory details. With the death of Gaddafi and the taking of Sirte, the National Transitional Council is talking about forming a transitional government. The NTC is recognized by the imperialist powers whose interests it represents. However, many ordinary Libyans look with justified mistrust at the NTC and their imperialist backers. The death of Gaddafi and the final collapse of his regime closes one chapter. However, this merely marks one turning point in the situation. Now that the old regime is finally gone, a struggle will open up over the future of Libya. In this struggle we will see the forces of both revolution and counter-revolution trying to get the upper hand.