About 60 members of the Sudanese community and their supporters rallied on June 15 in solidarity with the democratic uprising in Sudan. The action was called by the Until We Return Cultural Group Australia.
West Australian Greens MLC Alison Xamon read a statement to the protest condemning the murder of peaceful protesters by militias and the Sudanese army linked to the Transitional Military Council (TMC).
The TMC took over after the Omar Al-Bashir regime was toppled by protesters on April 11. The Sudanese movement is demanding a return to civilian rule.
Xamon called on the WA state Labor and federal Coalition governments to condemn the massacre.
Sudanese community activist Rafeef Ismail condemned the TMC for its human rights abuses, such as the massacre on June 2, in which up to 100 protesters were killed in the capital, Khartoum.
Jamal, from Until We Return, called for the TMC to be replaced by a civilian government and for an independent investigation into the killings.
When asked what Australians can do, he said that people can pressure the Australian government to investigate the killings and cut ties with the TMC regime by closing its embassy in Canberra.
These calls were backed by speakers from Amnesty International and the Iraqi community.
After the speeches, protesters marched through Forest Place chanting “Stop the killing in Sudan” and “Stop the war in Darfur”.