By Any Means Necessary
11
Neighbourhood resistance committees are probably the entities to thank for the success of protests without the convenience of communication through the internet. These committees are mainly youth groups working in community organizing in their own neighbourhoods. At times implementing the instructions of the SPA, and at others disobeying them and enforcing the power of the people. The sit-in was first announced by the SPA as a mass march to the military headquarters. Protestors on the ground under the leadership of neighbourhood resistance committees had decided to stay put after reaching the military headquarters. The SPA then announced the start of the sit-in, but only after it was decided by the people. The mass protests of June 30 were also adopted by the SPA after people on the ground had decided on it and neighbourhood resistance committees began promoting it. The SPA and the DFCF might be the faces of the resistance, but entities working on the ground such as the neighbourhood resistance committees are the soul and body of the movement, and through them the face gains its legitimacy. Following the deal, protests have continued in Sudan’s capital city of Khartoum, and in cit-ies around the country. The July 13 protests that were announced by the SPA prior to the deal, were still being promoted by Resistance committees. The resistance committees of Mamoura and Arkaweet – neighbourhoods in Khartoum – reminded the people that the mass protests planned for July 13 are to commemorate the martyrs of the June 3rd massacre and not to celebrate the deal. While the committees of Bahri issued a newsletter that stated that the deal indicates that the revolution has gained additional points, but it does not mean that it has reached its goals. Even the violence that protestors have been facing since December has not stopped after the deal. Teargas and barbed wire blockades were awaiting the protestors in Khartoum. Confirmed news came out the city of AlSuki of a protestor being shot in the head and killed on July 14. The resistance committees were swifter than the SPA in reacting to the events. After the violent events took place in Alsuki, various resistance committees, within hours, organized vigils and issued statements casting the blame on the military council. While the SPA, many hours later, issued a statement and vaguely pinned the responsibility of the events on “the authorities.” The disappointing deal could lead to a situation where the neighbourhood committees assert their power and remind the leadership that they cannot move forward with decisions that do not satisfy the masses. The power lies in the hands of the people, and that power is demonstrated through efforts of organizing at the grassroots level that can make long-ruling dictatorships and friendly leaderships alike bow to the will of the people. A major lesson learned from the ongoing Sudanese revolution is the importance of organizing based on organic groupings that already exist in the community, such as neighbourhoods. And although in many other places it might be unlikely to face oppression through total Internet blackouts, it might still be worth it to put more emphasis on the real roots while organizing grassroots movements.