> A Killing by Sudanese Security Forces Stokes the Anger of a Protest > Movement / The New York Times 06.10.13 > By ISMA'IL KUSHKUSH > > > KHARTOUM, Sudan -- The killing of a young pharmacist by Sudanese security > forces during an antigovernment demonstration here has become a rallying > cry for the protest movement that has rocked Sudan for the last two weeks, > threatening the government's grip on power. > > Since the pharmacist, Salah Sanhouri, 28, was shot in the back and killed > last month, crowds have gathered daily outside his house. > > ''Oh, Khartoum, revolt, revolt against those who killed Salah Sanhouri,'' > they chanted on a recent evening. A short documentary about his life and > death titled ''Stairway to Heaven'' has drawn nearly 9,000 views in three > days on YouTube. A Facebook page called ''We are all Salah Sanhouri'' > received 44,000 likes in a single week. > > The title of the Facebook page recalled another one dedicated to Khaled > Said, an Egyptian businessman whose fatal beating by police officers helped > start the Egyptian uprising in 2011. Others here have compared Mr. Sanhouri > to Mohamed Bouazizi, the food vendor whose self-immolation was the catalyst > for the protest movement in Tunisia. > > The demonstrations here in the Sudanese capital began after the government > lifted subsidies on gasoline, nearly doubling the price of fuel overnight > and heralding an inevitable increase in the price of other goods. The > energy crisis compounded an existing economic crisis, with inflation > nearing 40 percent and the value of the Sudanese pound plummeting. > > The government has responded, the authorities said, with ''an iron fist'' > to curtail ''destructive actions.'' Sudan's police forces say 700 people > have been arrested and 33 people have died in the violence, blaming > ''trained elements'' and ''vandals.'' > > But a report by Amnesty International on Wednesday said that 210 were > believed to have been killed in Khartoum, mostly ''due to gunshot wounds to > the chest and head,'' and that at least 800 had been arrested. Security and > police forces have used live ammunition as well as tear gas and batons to > break up the protests. > > Sudan's interior minister, Ibrahim Mahmoud Hamid, said in a statement on > Thursday night that ''armed groups and individuals'' were responsible for > the killing of protesters, according to the Sudanese News Agency. The > government has not claimed responsibility for any of the deaths. > > Among the protesters was Mr. Sanhouri. Born and raised in Abu Dhabi, the > capital of the United Arab Emirates, he belonged to a prominent business > family in Sudan. He studied pharmacology in Pakistan and could have worked > for more money in Abu Dhabi, relatives said, but he chose to return to his > ancestral homeland instead. > > ''He insisted on working in Sudan after graduation,'' said Mohammed Ghazi > el-Bereir, 27, Mr. Sanhouri's cousin. ''He loved his country.'' > > When heavy rains and flash floods hit Sudan last August, Mr. Sanhouri > worked with the medical teams that volunteered with Nafeer, a youth-led aid > group. > > ''He used to provide medical support for Nafeer,'' said Ghazi al-Rayeh, a > coordinator with the group. ''He brought equipment like stethoscopes and > medical solutions.'' > > The economy of Sudan, a strife-torn country with an authoritarian > government, began to unravel after South Sudan split off as a separate > country two years ago, taking nearly 75 percent of the oil revenue the two > countries had shared. The government responded by lifting subsidies on > gasoline and some foods, which concerned Mr. Sanhouri. > > ''He felt that poor people would not be able to take it,'' Mr. Bereir said. > > The night before Mr. Sanhouri's death, he and Mr. Bereir were organizing > young people in their upscale Burri neighborhood. They spent the evening > preparing paper banners. ''Peaceful'' is what Mr. Sanhouri wrote on one > banner, Mr. Bereir said. > > After Friday Prayer on Sept. 27, thousands gathered in Burri and a march > began. ''We met up with another demonstration, and it became huge,'' Mr. > Bereir recalled. ''I couldn't see the end of the demonstration.'' > > The protesters chanted, ''The people want to bring down the regime,'' a > popular chant during the Egyptian uprising, and ''Freedom, peace and > justice, revolution is the path of the people.'' > > Some of the protests earlier in the week had led to the destruction of > public property. The government said that 40 gas stations and scores of > buses had been burned. > > Mr. Sanhouri, however, opposed violence and destruction, Mr. Bereir said. > ''He used to tell everyone at the protest not to throw rocks or burn > anything or use foul language,'' he said. > > As the group marched, they were met by police officers in riot gear firing > tear gas. Mr. Sanhouri and Mr. Bereir were separated. ''The last thing he > told me was take photos, let the world know what's happening,'' Mr. Bereir > said. ''I didn't know these would be the last words I'd hear from him.'' > > Witnesses said that security forces fired live ammunition into the air. The > protesters ran into alleys and houses, covering the back of their heads > with their hands. > > Mr. Sanhouri tried to run into a house, but as he put his first foot inside > he collapsed to the ground. > > ''He was shot,'' said Abdelrahman Ismail, 24, who had run into the same > house. ''The bullet penetrated his back into his heart and went out from > his chest.'' A woman in the house screamed as she saw Mr. Sanhouri's white > shirt turn crimson. Mr. Ismail said he tore Mr. Sanhouri's shirt and placed > his hands on his heart, trying in vain to stop the bleeding. > > He said he and others ran with Mr. Sanhouri's body to the street. A driver > stopped and took them to the hospital. > > When he found out that his cousin had been shot, Mr. Bereir rushed to the > Police Hospital, where Mr. Sanhouri had been taken. As is the practice at > many underfinanced public hospitals in Sudan, nurses asked Mr. Bereir to go > and purchase gauze and other material from a nearby pharmacy for Mr. > Sanhouri's surgery. ''I ran like a madman,'' Mr. Bereir said. ''I was > losing my mind.'' > > He ran to a nearby pharmacy, but it was closed. He ran to another, bought > the supplies and rushed back to the operating room. He begged the nurse to > transfer Mr. Sanhouri to the private Royal Care Hospital, owned by his own > family and considered Khartoum's best, but the nurse said it was too late. > > Scores of people were waiting in the hospital's lobby, waiting to hear from > Mr. Sanhouri's surgeon. At 6 p.m., the doctor announced that he was dead. > > At his funeral procession the next morning, thousands marched, and some > began to chant, ''Martyr, martyr!'' -- the first signs that in death a > modest pharmacist could become a national icon. > > ''He is a symbol of a man full of patriotism who could have just enjoyed > life but wanted to help his country,'' Mr. Ismail said. > > It does not hurt that he was thought handsome and polite. Some admirers > have latched on to his prominent family and medical background to compare > him to the Argentine revolutionary Che Guevara. > > ''His story resembles Che's,'' said Hisham Ahmed, 29, one of the makers of > the YouTube video. ''He was full of humanity. He came from a prominent > family, could have lived an easy life, but chose to help the people.'' > >
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