KHARTOUM: The graffiti that symbolized Sudan’s uprising are being painted over across the capital Khartoum, protest leaders complained Wednesday, urging the military authorities to stop their whitewashing.
The Alliance for Freedom and Change that led the months-long protest movement that brought down longtime ruler Omar Al-Bashir said the “enemies of the revolution” had been systematically erasing murals.
“We see this as an ugly act and a pathetic attempt to suppress the beauty, the letter and the spirit of the revolution,” it said a statement.
In recent days some of the colorful murals and slogans that appeared on the walls of the capital during the early stages of the protest that ousted Omar Al-Bashir were painted over.
Together with music, these murals had become a symbol of the popular nature of an uprising that was led by young activists rather than engineered by political opposition.
Most of the murals and graffiti could be found on walls outside of the army headquarters in Khartoum, where protesters camped out for weeks on end.
“This is an absurd measure and shows the inability of the enemies of the revolution to recognize its roots and its realization in people’s hearts,” the statement said.
It called on graffiti artists to “continue painting murals and exercise all their freedom of expression rights.”
A mass protest this spring led to the ouster of Omar Al-Bashir, an Islamist general who had ruled Sudan since 1989.
Continued mobilization and a deadly crackdown on a sit-in on June 3 led to a phase of negotiations that yielded a transition agreement to be officially signed on Saturday.
The deal agreed by Sudan’s generals and protest leaders provides for a power-sharing period of 39 months meant to pave the way for elections and civilian rule.
Some members of the protest camp however were displeased with an agreement they fear could allow those forces accused of brutal repression during the uprising to maintain their grip on power.
One graffiti artist contacted by AFP said that the decision to remove murals from Khartoum’s walls was evidence that the military establishment was reverting to its old ways.
“When I saw this I felt very disappointed because when we did these murals we were expressing the feeling that the times were changing,” Lotfy Abdel Fattah said.
“And now the signals we are getting tell us that there is no real change, no real freedom,” he said.
Speaking to AFP at the height of the protests in April, he had predicted that the murals might not all stay forever but he argued now that they should remain as a testament to a pivotal moment in Sudan’s history.
Some of the murals also honor protesters who were killed by security forces.
“I don’t know exactly who is doing this but it’s definitely someone with an agenda against change, because what we did was a beautiful thing,” Abdel Fattah said.
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Leave our graffiti on the walls, say Sudan protesters
Leave our graffiti on the walls, say Sudan protesters
- In recent days some of the colorful murals and slogans that appeared on the walls of the capital were painted over
Israeli police detain aide to Netanyahu
JERUSALEM: Israeli police said Sunday they detained a senior aide to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu suspected of obstructing an investigation, with local media reporting that it was tied to leaks of military information during the Gaza war.
Police did not name the individual, but Israeli media reported it was Tzachi Braverman, Netanyahu’s current chief of staff, who is designated to be Israel’s next ambassador to the UK.
“This morning, a senior official in the prime minister’s office was detained for questioning... on suspicion of obstructing an investigation,” the police said.
“The suspect... is currently being questioned under caution.”
Former Netanyahu aide Eli Feldstein recently alleged that Braverman tried to obstruct an investigation into a leak of sensitive military information to the foreign press during the war against Hamas in Gaza.
In September 2024, Feldstein leaked a classified document from the Israeli military to the German tabloid Bild, for which he was later arrested and indicted.
The document aimed to prove that Hamas was not interested in a ceasefire deal, and to support Netanyahu’s claim that the hostages captured by Palestinian militants in their October 7, 2023 assault on Israel could only be released through military pressure instead of negotiations.
In an interview with Israel’s public broadcaster KAN, Feldstein said Braverman asked to meet with him soon after the leak.
Braverman informed him that the army had launched a probe into the affair, and said he could “shut down” the investigation, according to Feldstein.
In the same interview, Feldstein said Netanyahu was aware of the leak and was in favor of using the document to drum up public support for the war.
Israeli media reported that police also searched Braverman’s home on Sunday, and that Feldstein was expected to speak with police later in the day regarding Braverman’s suspected involvement in the affair.
Feldstein is also a suspect in the so-called “Qatargate” scandal, in which he and other close associates of Netanyahu are suspected of having been recruited by Qatar to promote the Gulf monarchy’s image in Israel.
Qatar hosts senior Hamas leaders and has played a mediating role between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist movement during the war in Gaza.
An investigation is under way, and Feldstein, together with another Netanyahu aide, was taken into custody in late March.
In response to Braverman’s questioning by the police on Sunday, opposition leader Yair Lapid called to suspend his appointment as ambassador to the UK.
“In light of the new developments in the Qatargate affair, the appointment of Tzachi Braverman as ambassador to Britain must be immediately suspended,” Lapid wrote on X.
“It is unacceptable that someone suspected of involvement in obstructing a serious security investigation should be the face of Israel in one of the most important countries in Europe.”
Braverman is not suspected of direct involvement in the Qatargate affair, according to Israeli media.
Police did not name the individual, but Israeli media reported it was Tzachi Braverman, Netanyahu’s current chief of staff, who is designated to be Israel’s next ambassador to the UK.
“This morning, a senior official in the prime minister’s office was detained for questioning... on suspicion of obstructing an investigation,” the police said.
“The suspect... is currently being questioned under caution.”
Former Netanyahu aide Eli Feldstein recently alleged that Braverman tried to obstruct an investigation into a leak of sensitive military information to the foreign press during the war against Hamas in Gaza.
In September 2024, Feldstein leaked a classified document from the Israeli military to the German tabloid Bild, for which he was later arrested and indicted.
The document aimed to prove that Hamas was not interested in a ceasefire deal, and to support Netanyahu’s claim that the hostages captured by Palestinian militants in their October 7, 2023 assault on Israel could only be released through military pressure instead of negotiations.
In an interview with Israel’s public broadcaster KAN, Feldstein said Braverman asked to meet with him soon after the leak.
Braverman informed him that the army had launched a probe into the affair, and said he could “shut down” the investigation, according to Feldstein.
In the same interview, Feldstein said Netanyahu was aware of the leak and was in favor of using the document to drum up public support for the war.
Israeli media reported that police also searched Braverman’s home on Sunday, and that Feldstein was expected to speak with police later in the day regarding Braverman’s suspected involvement in the affair.
Feldstein is also a suspect in the so-called “Qatargate” scandal, in which he and other close associates of Netanyahu are suspected of having been recruited by Qatar to promote the Gulf monarchy’s image in Israel.
Qatar hosts senior Hamas leaders and has played a mediating role between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist movement during the war in Gaza.
An investigation is under way, and Feldstein, together with another Netanyahu aide, was taken into custody in late March.
In response to Braverman’s questioning by the police on Sunday, opposition leader Yair Lapid called to suspend his appointment as ambassador to the UK.
“In light of the new developments in the Qatargate affair, the appointment of Tzachi Braverman as ambassador to Britain must be immediately suspended,” Lapid wrote on X.
“It is unacceptable that someone suspected of involvement in obstructing a serious security investigation should be the face of Israel in one of the most important countries in Europe.”
Braverman is not suspected of direct involvement in the Qatargate affair, according to Israeli media.
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