In the sixth day of the protests .. Bashir promises the Sudanese economic reforms

Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir on Monday promised "real" economic reforms to end the current cost-of-living crisis as he faces a new phase of protests a week ago.

During a meeting led by the National Security and Intelligence Service, al-Bashir said that the state is continuing to implement economic reforms that will provide a decent life for citizens, according to the Sudanese News Agency reported.

In his first remarks since the outbreak of protests against raising prices for basic commodities, notably bread, Bashir promised concrete and concrete measures to restore the confidence of citizens in the banking sector.

He also urged his citizens not to listen to those who contributed to the rumors, and asked them not to respond to attempts to sow despair and frustration, praising the meantime in coordination between the Sudanese intelligence service and regular forces.

At the same meeting, the head of the Sudanese security service, Salah Qosh, warned that the damage to public property, the intimidation of citizens and the encroachment on their property was a red line. He stressed the commitment of the security apparatus to professional standards and respect for the right to peaceful expression, he said.

The Sudanese president's pledge to address Sudan's economic and financial crisis comes at a time when the methods of protesting against his government's policies are growing and his opponents are openly demanding his departure from the power he has been in for almost three decades.

The Sudanese Professionals' Union held a general strike today, and the Agence France-Presse reported that different sectors had responded to the call. Doctors were among the strikers, but their strike excluded emergency departments, and the strike is scheduled to include pharmacies in Khartoum state on Tuesday.

A march in Khartoum
The gathering of professionals called for a march on Tuesday from Abu Jnezir Square in downtown Khartoum towards the presidential palace to hand over a presidential memorandum demanding the regime be immediately removed.

The group issued a memorandum today calling on President al-Bashir to step down from power and form a transitional government with competencies with specific and consensual tasks between all segments of Sudanese society.

The memo stressed the commitment of the march to peacefulism, starting at one o'clock in the afternoon and moving on Al-Qasr Street in front of Abu Ginzir Square as a main gathering point towards the Presidential Palace to deliver the memorandum addressed to the President of the Republic.

The memorandum urged participants in the march to adhere to peaceful, and to raise banners, slogans, chants and national flags in an expression of unity of the national row on the issue of the departure of the regime.

The call for the march comes as the main cities of Sudan were calm in the sixth day of protests except for limited movements in the Movenpell, Rafa in the state of the island, and Zidab in the Nile state.

In the strongholds of the state of Jazira (150 km south-west of Khartoum) security forces carried out arrests against the background of the protests, including the head of the People's Anti-Corruption Authority Ibrahim Abdel Rahim.

Although the protests are spreading to the island state, the president is scheduled to visit the state on Tuesday. The Sudanese news agency said that Bashir will address in three crowds in three areas, including the capital of the island state, "Wad Madani."

On Sunday night in Omdurman, demonstrations were staged at the Al Hilal football stadium following the match between the Sudanese Hilal and the African Club Africain.

Demonstrators met the streets around the stadium shouting against the government. According to eyewitnesses, police intervened to disperse the demonstrators using tear gas.

Protests began last Wednesday from the city of Atbara (northeast of Khartoum) to demand better economic and living conditions. The intervention of the security forces so far has killed at least ten people, while the leader of the Umma Party Sadiq al-Mahdi two days ago, 22 people were killed.

Opposition is pressing
Parallel to the demonstrations, the Sudanese opposition stepped up pressure on the Authority in an attempt to bring about a deep political change. Earlier, the two biggest opposition coalitions, the Sudan Appeal and the Coalition of Consensus Forces, agreed to support the demonstrations.

In the same context, the president of the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM), Malik al-Saqr, is the first to step down immediately between bloodshed and what he called "the flood that will uproot the National Congress system from its roots."

The leader of the crisis party Sadiq al-Mahdi called Saturday in Khartoum for political transition, saying that the people want a new regime.

In contrast to opposition positions, which are seen as an inevitable result of the failure of the government's economic and social policies, the spokesman of the ruling National Congress Party (NCP) Ibrahim al-Siddiq acknowledged that the reasons for the protests were economic, but said that some used them to serve political agendas.

Sudan is suffering from crises in bread, flour, fuel and cooking gas as a result of the rise of the dollar against the pound in parallel (unofficial) markets to record levels, sometimes exceeding 60 pounds per dollar.