Press Release

June 20, 2005

On the government-supported violence at the Ahliya Campus, Omdurman

Wednesday the 15th of June, students supporting the ruling National Congress Party exercised acts of violence in the Omdurman Ahliya University against students supporting democratic organizations, as well as faculty members. Tens of people were gravely hurt; major university premises were illegally demolished, including offices of the president, the vice-president, dean of students, registrar of the faculty of economics and administrative sciences, environmental studies, university security, and the computer lab. Students supporting the ruling party aimed intentionally to stop elections of the Student Union that had been earlier suspended by the authorities eight years ago.

Regrettable reports indicated that the large destruction of the Ahlia University was carried out before eyes of the police and the security forces that did not move in any possible way to prevent the crime commission until a number of students and a few faculty members tried their best to stop the aggression. Strangely enough, the police force arrested a number of these students and staff members, including student Adison Joseph Garang and the faculty members Tariq Osman and Abd al-Rafi’ Mustafa who were further battered and abandoned in a remote area in the suburbs of Khartoum.

“The transgressors included 100 persons who were not members of the university,” stated the University Council lately in a press release. “The attack was launched by three cars that did not have traffic identification. They were also armed with fire arms.”

Students supporting the government had earlier paraded with iron rods, chains, and heavy sticks on Tuesday June the 19th in the university campus. They told the students, the faculty, and other members of the staff that they would stop the scheduled elections. This occurred as soon as an election committee composed of the deans and political representatives of the university campus had been appointed by the University Council.

The students’ union had been suspended by the government since 1996 in response to the failure of government-supported students to control the union. The authorities reiterated the same measure in the other universities.

SHRO-Cairo is deeply concerned for the violence in the Ahliya campus this past week. The Organization strongly condemns:

The escalated violence and fanaticism, and the spread of fire arms among the government-supported students.

The partisan stand of the police and the security forces that openly betrayed their legal obligation to prevent the aggression, despite the planning and the subsequent commission of violence.

The arrest of students and faculty who supposedly should have been firmly protected from aggression.

The Organization calls on the authority to conduct a principled judicial investigation on these regrettable events. All individuals or parties involved in the violence should be legally prosecuted.

SHRO-Cairo asks for the immediate release of the students and the faculty members who were arbitrarily detained.

The Ahliya University should resume its academic activities with full compensation for the destruction of the campus buildings and the loss of office materials. Ahlia campus and all other universities should be enabled to pursue educational programs with democratic rights and academic freedoms. All acts of terrorism and/or authority intrusions must cease to occur in institutions of education.