AMNA NAWAZ: We return to the coup in Sudan, ending the 30-year rule of Omar al-Bashir.
Sudan lies at the crossroads of sub-Saharan Africa, Northern Africa and the Middle East.
Its fate will have implications for international migration, counterterrorism and regional stability.
As Nick Schifrin reports now, protesters helped to end one reign of oppression, but they fear
another could be on the way.
NICK SCHIFRIN: At the end of the largest peaceful demonstrations in a generation, at the end
of 30 years of authoritarian rule, there was jubilation in the streets for the protesters
who helped depose a despot.
They held aloft a young soldier who sided with them against the regime.
They pulled down Omar al-Bashir's face from ubiquitous posters.
And they didn't care if they were sitting in traffic, as long as they could declare
V for victory.
They expressed hope that today marked a new beginning.
MAHA HUSSEIN, Sudan (through translator): We have been under his rule for 30 years and
feel this step came too late, but what is important is that everyone is happy now.
HIND MOHAMED ALY, Sudan (through translator): Everyone will now work for a better, united
Sudan.
NICK SCHIFRIN: Since 1989, 75-year-old Omar al-Bashir forcibly united Sudan by waging
wars while wearing a smile.
In Southern Sudan and Darfur, his militias scorched earth and massacred his enemies.
Hundreds of thousands died, and suffered from famine.
He was indicted for war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide.
And in the 1990s, he hosted Osama bin Laden.
He led thanks to military support, but today the military removed him and promised a two-year
transition government, administered by the military, and declared by Defense Minister
Awad Mohamed Ibn Auf.
AWAD MOHAMED AHMED IBN AUF, Sudanese Defense Minister (through translator): We announce
a complete cease-fire, and the release of all prisoners immediately, providing an atmosphere
for a peaceful transition of power, building political parties, holding free and fair elections
by the end of the transitional period, and introducing a permanent constitution.
NICK SCHIFRIN: But for the hundreds of thousands who protested a regime and its military, that
wasn't good enough.
Immediately after the announcement, protesters surrounded an army general's vehicle and demanded
a transition to democracy.
They called Defense Minister Ibn Auf a regime crony.
The U.S. still has sanctions against him.
MUAWIA SHADDAD, University of Khartoum: It was a massive disappointment.
People shouted in anger.
We do not accept this, because they haven't done anything, no change, no real change.
NICK SCHIFRIN: Muawia Shaddad is a University of Khartoum professor and member of the Civil
Society Alliances Forces that helped lead the protests.
He says the demonstrations will continue until their demands are all met.
MUAWIA SHADDAD: We need full democracy, with all the principles and pillars of good governance.
We want a representation of the people.
We want to survive from the economic collapse.
We also would like to ensure human rights for all, and also this should be done by a
governing structure that is truly civilian.
NICK SCHIFRIN: The demonstrations began in December as protests against increased food
prices, but they quickly became political.
They took over intersections and overpasses, chanting the people want to build a new Sudan
day and night.
They drafted a nationalist message, and demanded the man who himself took power in a military
takeover finally cede power.
Bashir has survived prior protests, but these were different.
They peaked in Khartoum, the traditional base of his power.
Protesters included opposition figures, working class, and the elite, including the children
of regime members.
And the majority were women.
In an extremely patriarchal society, women helped lead the movement, and 22-year-old
Alaa Salah became its icon.
She wore the uniform of working Sudanese women with touches of tradition.
And where previous protests died out, female protesters provided staying power, especially
as dozens of protesters were killed.
Today, they are vowing to keep protesting.
They say they may have won today's battle, but they are fighting a war that is far from
over.
And tonight in Sudan, protesters remain in the streets, in defiance of a curfew that
began at 10:00 a.m. local.
For more, we turn to Khalid Medani, associate professor and chair of the African Studies
Department at McGill University in Montreal.
Welcome to the "NewsHour."
The military is talking about a two-year transition.
Protesters say that's not enough.
Are we on the road for continuing protests and a continuation of a regime, just without
Bashir?
KHALID MEDANI, McGill University: Absolutely, I think there's no question we're on the way
to continuing protests.
I think this is essentially an internal coup, replacing one military leader, you know, with
another.
And, of course, it's been very clear with respect to the position of the opposition
that this is unacceptable.
Their demand is very straightforward, very clear, and that is a transition to a civilian
government that is overseen perhaps by the military, basically just as a kind of caretaker,
but composed of a number of different technocrats and representatives of the different opposition
groups, in addition to representatives of those who have taken to the streets over these
four months.
So, the protests, as you probably have been looking at in terms of the news, will continue
and will be sustained by the opposition.
They have come out with statements, very strong statements today, saying that they will not
tolerate this kind of continuation of the military regime.
And they don't find the military transitional council legitimate, because their demand is
not only to get rid of Bashir, which has been successful, of course, but also to really
dismantle the regime.
And, of course, the acting head of state at the moment, the former -- or the defense minister,
is really just another member or personnel of that of that regime.
NICK SCHIFRIN: So is the fear that the problems will persist?
We're talking about now a divide between the military, the intelligence services, and the
militias.
We're talking about the economic crisis that sparked these protests.
I mean, will today solve any of those problems at all?
KHALID MEDANI: No, absolutely not.
I mean, that is really the central question, that is, that the economic crisis is so deep.
You have an inflation rate of over 60 percent.
You have, of course, a great deal of unemployment.
Basically, the economy is really under bankruptcy, which is really problematic.
So the economic crisis cannot be resolved through military means.
And the reason that this internal coup has happened, and the reason that Bashir has been
ousted, basically is because of divisions within the military itself, in particular
divisions and differences between the top brass of the military, including Awad Ibn
Auf, who currently, of course, is the head of government, and middle- and lower-ranking
soldiers who have taken the side, essentially, with the protesters.
And that really is the catalyst for why Bashir was ousted by his former loyalist and defense
minister.
And so the internal rift is the reason for this internal coup, but this is by no means
going to solve the deep economic crisis and the grievances that have really propelled
these protests, which, of course, are unprecedented in Sudan's history, since they are not only
the largest protests across the country, across social groups, but also they're very sustained
over four months.
So they're basically the longest protests that we have seen in the history of Sudan.
And the protests will, in fact, continue.
Protesters at the moment are saying that they're going to continue their sit-ins in the hundreds
of thousands until the real kind of regime falls, or a new transition to civilian government
occurs.
NICK SCHIFRIN: Let's just quickly try to get through U.S. actions and interests here.
Over the last few years with Sudan, the U.S. has been normalizing relations.
In 2017, the U.S. lifted sanctions.
Today, the State Department released a statement calling for a -- quote -- "speedy transition
to a civilian-led government."
Will the protesters consider that statement supportive of their demands?
KHALID MEDANI: Absolutely.
I think that the statement that came out on April 9 that was released by the United States,
Norway and the United Kingdom, the troika, was very positive with respect on the part
of the protesters in terms of the support for a transition to democracy and rule of
law.
That is really important.
It's very clear that the United States is sending signals that it's very, very interested
in a democratic transition.
So it's indirectly -- of course, indirectly supporting the protesters.
Of course, what the protesters and the opposition, led by the Sudanese professional associations,
would like is increasing pressure by the United States and other Western allies towards the
Bashir -- to this present regime, in order to speed up the democratic process.
What they're demanding very specifically at the moment is to negotiate with segments of
the military to immediately have a civilian government or interim government that is manned
by civilians to oversee a four-year transition period to multiparty democracy.
NICK SCHIFRIN: Professor Khalid Medani, we will have to leave it there.
Thank you so much.
KHALID MEDANI: OK.
You're welcome.
Thank you.