Cairo's backing for Sudan's embattled president comes with strings attached
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, wary of protests in Khartoum, is backing Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir, but to what extent?
In a March 10 televised address to a military gathering, President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi warned Egyptians against the dangers of protesting. "Protesters elsewhere are ruining their countries," he said. Sisi did not mention the countries by name, but he was clearly unnerved by ongoing mass protests in Sudan and Algeria.
"All this talk [of protests] comes at a price that people are required to pay," he said. "How are tourism or factories or trade supposed to get off the ground? Should we eat or should we say that we are busy protesting?"
On March 11, longtime Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika dropped his re-election bid after three weeks of widespread protests in Algeria. But the mass protests calling for regime change in Sudan continue relentlessly despite the heavy-handed response to the demonstrations by President Omar al-Bashir’s government. The protests in Sudan were triggered by high inflation following the devaluation of the Sudanese currency in October. The uprisings in the two Arab states have emboldened Egyptian activists who in recent days took to the streets calling on Sisi to step down despite a ban on demonstrations in Egypt. The small scattered protests that broke out in various parts of the country were sparked by anger over a recent train blaze in Cairo that left at least 25 people dead. Dozens of protesters were rounded up by security forces and detained.
Fearing a potential ripple effect if the uprising in Sudan succeeds in unseating the long-serving Bashir, Cairo has thrown its weight behind the embattled Sudanese leader.
