A LIVELY demonstration of over 500 Sudanese and their supporters marched from Marble Arch to Downing Street on Saturday.
It was organised by London for Sudan to mark two years of a war which has cost hundreds of thousands of lives and displaced 14 million people under conditions of disease and famine.
Marchers held a rally before setting off opened by Mariam who said: ‘Today we march in remembrance. We march in resistance. We march in love and in rage. We carry the torch passed on by the brave souls of the 2018 Revolution and by those who have fought every day since.
‘The revolution lives on with every step we take.
‘This counter-revolutionary war seeks to undermine civilian rule and democracy, but our collective spirit remains unshaken.
‘What we are witnessing in Sudan is a bloody fight for control; of resources, of territory, of ideology. This is an attack on Sudanese bodies, souls and spirits. But we will not take this quietly.
‘No matter how long it takes, no matter who tries to silence or intimidate us, we will not stop until Sudan is free. Because time moves forward – and so must we. The time to act is not tomorrow. It is now. And it is every day after.
‘Sudan lives in us. The revolution lives on. Long live Sudan, and the revolutionaries.
‘So what can you do after you leave today?
‘Scan the QR code on the leaflet or head to the linktree in our bio, where you can take action by lobbying your MP and the UK government. Supporting grassroots organisations and individual fundraisers. Continue to learn about Sudan and educate others. And finally, keep showing up!’
Khaled Sidahmed, a member of the Unite union and vice-chair of Portsmouth Trades Council, said: ‘Both sides in the war are two faces of the old regime, they are equally criminal.
‘The RSF (Rapid Support Forces) are a creation of the Sudanese army supported and funded by the European Union under their ‘Khartoum Process.’
‘This is a disaster created by the British government as everywhere you look Palestine, Syria and Yemen.’
Sofia Abusham, Sudanese actress and poet said that the two years of war had brought two years of unity for many Sudanese and read a couple of poems that were well received by the crowd.
Also speaking were Nagat Margani and Khadiga Karar from the Sudanese Women for Peace.
The only solution for Sudan is to continue the revolution.
Shouts of ‘Who are we – Sudanese – What do we want peace and Justice!’ and Keir Starmer You can’t hide – We charge you with genocide!’ rang out attracting support of shoppers along the busy Oxford and Regent Streets.
The march was joined by a number of youth and those out on the streets as it passed by.
Opposite Downing Street, the marchers held another rally
Nazar Yousifi, who spoke on behalf of the Sudanese Initiative Against War, told the crowd: ‘We must turn around Sudan, defeat the militia and overthrow the army.
‘They are all the same, looting our gold.’
Othaylat Suliman, speaking on behalf of the coordination of Sudanese Unions, Associations, and professional Federations, said the latest attack on the Zamzam Camp had killed nine medical staff.
‘This runaway train of violence is killing thousands of civilians.
‘Eighty per cent of hospitals are damaged, with 195 doctors killed.
‘Twenty eight journalists have been killed and ninety eight per cent of newspaper outlets shut down.
‘What is needed is a negotiated ceasefire and a negotiated peace.’
Maysoon Matar from the UK Branch of Sudanese Women’s Union and Jaohar Bani from the Mena Solidarity network also spoke.
Poems were read by Mohamed Gaafar, a civil engineer by background, and songs by Jomanah both well received by the audience.
The rally was concluded by Mariam Arman who said: ‘The revolution lives on in every step we take.
‘We will not stop until Sudan is Free.’
After the rally, Khaled Sidahmed, who is also from the Sudanese Alliance for the Restoration of Trade Unions in Sudan told News Line about the background of the crisis..
‘The Sudanese Armed Forces parades its capture of areas in Khartoum as a military victory, yet the documented reality is that RSF has withdrawn from these zones under the watch of SAF (The Sudanese Armed Forces).
‘This is a counter-revolutionary war for power and wealth waged by military militias of the old regime, backed by global imperialism at the expense of the people.
‘Fourteen of Sudan’s eighteen states are now – or were – battlefields since war erupted in April 2023. Thirteen million displaced and hundreds of thousands killed. Schools, hospitals, and infrastructure lie in ruins.
‘Famine is no longer a threat – it is reality, with twenty-five million facing starvation. Children are either forced into militias or left to die from hunger.
‘Women’s bodies, food, and medicine are used as weapons of war.
‘Museums, research centres, and ministries looted and destroyed.
‘Since Sudan’s so-called independence from British colonial rule in 1956, the country has endured seventeen military coups – the highest number in Africa.
‘The most devastating came in 1989, when General Omar al-Bashir and the Sudanese Islamic Front overthrew a short-lived civilian government and imposed a reign of terror.
‘From that moment, resistance never ceased. In 2018, millions of Sudanese flooded the streets, launching a revolution that aimed to dismantle military rule once and for all.
‘In 2019, Western and regional imperialists sabotaged the revolution by forcing a power-sharing agreement between civilians and the very military forces they had risen against.
‘The 2019 Constitutional Declaration was a death sentence for Sudanese democracy.
‘By 2021, both militias staged a coup against civilian ministers, crushing the democratic transition. By 2023, SAF and RSF had formally declared war on each other, but their true enemy remained the same – the revolutionary movement of 2018.
‘Both militias – SAF and RSF – are equally criminal and enemies of the people’s revolution and will. They must be punished for their crimes, and a democratically elected civilian government must be established and supported.
‘The death and displacement of Sudanese people enrich imperialist arms dealers, multinational corporations, and complicit governments.
‘Sudan’s wealth – gold, oil, uranium, Arabic gum, strategic maritime routes, and fertile land – has become a curse, plundered by foreign powers while the people suffer.
‘The same imperialist states – US, UK, EU, Israel, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and the African Union – that sought to crush the 2018 revolution now fuel the war with weapons and political backing.
‘SAF’s recent advances rely on Turkish military support, while Turkey shelters old regime figures and launders billions through investments, deepening Sudan’s exploitation.
‘This is not just a Sudanese war – it is also an imperialist war, waged on Sudanese soil by Sudanese militias.’
After the rally one of the marchers, Moiz Ibrahim told News Line: ‘The demonstration is to highlight the complicity of authoritarian regimes against the Sudanese people’s right to self determination and path to freedom, peace and justice for all, something that is considered by myself and others to be a global conspiracy.
‘This conspiracy has protracted the Sudanese path to revolution and is done in large part by the United Kingdom’s and United States’ state profiteering of terrorism through arms sales to repressive regimes such as the United Arab Emirates, who have purchased £530 million and $3 billion worth of arms from these imperialist countries respectively.
‘Hence, this is why we must demonstrate in the UK, with it being a monetary benefactor of the Sudanese genocide.’
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