Magdi Okasha: We want a new state

A new movement of young Sudanese calling itself 'Youth for Change' decided to go out on 21 March demonstrating for toppling al-Bashir’s government. The aim of the movement, called as well 'Spark', is to ignore all the traditional political forces in the country and to provide for a new political discourse. This new discourse aims at establishing new competent institutions, fighting inertia, corruption and guaranteeing general freedoms.

For more background information read "From Bouazizi to Facebook: Reasons differ but the goal is one" by Hassan Farouk

The new movement was organised by young people in and outside Sudan through Facebook. With more than 15,000 members and over eight million visitors, the movement advocates for its ambitious vision. The following interview with the spokesperson of the movement Magdi Okasha took place on the eve of the demonstrations. Hours after this interview, the official site of the movement announced the arrest of Okasha. The place where he is detained remains unknown.

Q: How was this movement formed?

A: The movement is called ‘Youth for Change’. We named it as well 'Spark' to mirror the beginning of the revolution which will lead to change. ’Spark’ did not only rise to topple the National Congress Party (NCP), led by President Omar al-Bashir, but also to bring a new system based on competent institutions to fight unemployment and corruption. We want a new state and not a state trapped in political schemes and games.

Q: Who is the founder of the idea behind this movement?

A: The movement was formed on 16 November 2010 by a group of young people over Facebook. The majority of discussions were about the youth’s situation and their future. We started asking the question on how to effect change. The idea was to start a process of change for the benefit of the youth, but then we considered that the change has to be for the whole nation. This is to be accomplished by bringing the system down and not through negotiating or raising demands.

Q: How popular is the idea of overthrowing the regime among the youth?

A: Change was largely accepted at home and abroad. We are aware of the steps to be taken, so we had to present a tangible and real discourse targeting everyone. One of the most important characteristics of the movement is that it is non-partisan, not adhering to any of the existing political discourses.

Q: Why is it not adhering to any of the existing political discourses?

A: Because we know fully well that all political parties, including the NCP, live in a state of alienation from reality. None of the existing discourses express or relate to our aspirations in any way.

For party profiles check the Electionnaire

Q: So the group does not include youth belonging to political parties?

A: Our idea is for all young people, including those adhering to a political party, but not for the parties themselves. The movement resembles a neutral entity, but with a plan for the future.

Q: Can you influence the Sudanese youth, given that most of them use Facebook in a limited way?
 
A: Facebook has become available for all in Sudan. It is true that there are large numbers of young people who do not use Facebook, but we believe that their problems are our problems, and we will interact with them through personal meetings.

Q: When did the idea of protesting out in the street first arise?

A: We started distributing manifestos, but we found great difficulty because of the security grip and the oppression we were subject to. We organised a large campaign on 30 January, but it was aborted because of the arrests which targeted all people who were gathering on that day. We then started a new dialogue on Facebook to evaluate this experience.

We then decided to present ourselves to the media because we are not hiding, or funded from abroad or by a political party. We are a group of young people who want change to take place. This step helped us to raise our membership in the different states and in the capital Khartoum. We now have more than 15,000 members on Facebook, and the number of visitors to the movement’s page has reached eight million.

Q: Are some of your members currently detained?

A: We have information that there are some detainees, but we do not have confirmation on wether they are from 'Spark' or from other opposition movements.

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Q: Are you ready to go out to the street again?

A: We have united all the groups on Facebook and we discussed making a move in on 21 March through a large campaign including speeches at universities and dialogues with the parties’ youth, in isolation from their parties.

The protests of January 30th, 2011.

Q: Are you not afraid of confrontation with the authorities?

A: We studied all the past experiences concerning street protests and we prepared ourselves well this time.

Q: Has there been any dialogue between you and the NCP's youth?
 
A: We did not find anyone to listen to us. Some of them even wanted to call for a march to support the president. We believe that the majority of the youth’s affiliations with the NCP are not partisan or national but rather for serving their own interests. They have created a group on Facebook called ‘Spark for reform’ but we do not trust them, and we believe that their call is illogical because it came too late.

Q: Do you think the current climate is suitable for a revolution, in light of the political complexities in regard to both the South and Darfur?

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A: Revolutions are not timebound and have nothing to do with the prevailing political climate. We discussed the issue of secession of the South and the situation in Darfur, but waiting until these problems are solved is the logic of NCP and not ours. We have no patience to wait because these problems have been dominating the political situation for long. We do not call for destruction, we want change and reform.

Q: Do you have a vision of the period after toppling the system?

A: We have a preliminary draft of our vision concerning general liberties, the fight against corruption, job creation, and finally the building of institutions on the basis of competence and not on narrow political affiliation. We want to address the issue of how to govern Sudan, not of who governs Sudan.