Sudan
Sudan's population is one of the most diverse on the African
continent. Within two distinct major cultures--Arab and black
African--there are hundreds of ethnic and tribal subdivisions and
language groups, which make effective collaboration among them a
major political challenge.
The northern states cover most of the Sudan and include most of the
urban centers. Most of the 22 million Sudanese who live in this
region are Arabic-speaking Muslims, though the majority also uses a
non-Arabic mother tongue--e.g., Nubian, Beja, Fur, Nuban, Ingessana,
etc. Among these are several distinct tribal groups: the Kababish of
northern Kordofan, a camel-raising people; the Ja'alin and Shaigiyya
groups of settled tribes along the rivers; the semi-nomadic Baggara
of Kordofan and Darfur; the Hamitic Beja in the Red Sea area and
Nubians of the northern Nile areas, some of whom have been resettled
on the Atbara River; and the Nuba of southern Kordofan and Fur in
the western reaches of the country.
The southern region has a population of around 6 million and a
predominantly rural, subsistence economy. Except for a ten-year
hiatus, southern Sudan has been embroiled in conflict, resulting in
major destruction and displacement since independence. The conflict
has severely affected the population of the south, resulting in over
2 million deaths and more than 4 million people displaced. The
southern Sudanese practice mainly indigenous traditional beliefs,
although Christian missionaries have converted some. The south also
contains many tribal groups and many more languages than are used in
the north. The Dinka--whose population is estimated at more than 1
million--is the largest of the many black African tribes in Sudan.
The Shilluk and the Nuer are among the Nilotic tribes. The Azande,
Bor, and Jo Luo are Sudanic tribes in the west, and the Acholi and
Lotuhu live in the extreme south, extending into Uganda.
In 2008, Sudan's population reached an estimated 40.2 million. A new
census was conducted in early 2008. The complete census results are
expected in December 2008 or early 2009. |
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Sudan was a collection of small, independent kingdoms and
principalities from the beginning of the Christian era until
1820-21, when Egypt conquered and unified the northern portion of
the country. However, neither the Egyptian nor the Mahdist state
(1883-1898) had any effective control of the southern region outside
of a few garrisons. Southern Sudan remained an area of fragmented
tribes, subject to frequent attacks by slave raiders.
In 1881, a religious leader named Muhammad ibn Abdalla proclaimed
himself the Mahdi, or the "expected one," and began a religious
crusade to unify the tribes in western and central Sudan. His
followers took on the name "Ansars" (the followers) which they
continue to use today and are associated with the single largest
political grouping, the Umma Party, led by a descendant of the
Mahdi, Sadiq al Mahdi.
Taking advantage of dissatisfaction resulting from Ottoman-Egyptian
exploitation and maladministration, the Mahdi led a nationalist
revolt culminating in the fall of Khartoum in 1885. The Mahdi died
shortly thereafter, but his state survived until overwhelmed by an
invading Anglo-Egyptian force under Lord Kitchener in 1898. While
nominally administered jointly by Egypt and Britain, Britain
exercised control, formulated policies, and supplied most of the top
administrators.
Independence
In February 1953, the United Kingdom and Egypt concluded an
agreement providing for Sudanese self-government and
self-determination. The transitional period toward independence
began with the inauguration of the first parliament in 1954. With
the consent of the British and Egyptian Governments, Sudan achieved
independence on January 1, 1956, under a provisional constitution.
This constitution was silent on two crucial issues for southern
leaders--the secular or Islamic character of the state and its
federal or unitary structure. However, the Arab-led Khartoum
government reneged on promises to southerners to create a federal
system, which led to a mutiny by southern army officers that
launched 17 years of civil war (1955-72).
Sudan has been at war with itself for more than three quarters of
its existence. Since independence, protracted conflict rooted in
deep cultural and religious differences have slowed Sudan's economic
and political development and forced massive internal displacement
of its people. Northerners, who have traditionally controlled the
country, have sought to unify it along the lines of Arabism and
Islam despite the opposition of non-Muslims, southerners, and
marginalized peoples in the west and east. The resultant civil
strife affected Sudan's neighbors, as they alternately sheltered
fleeing refugees or served as operating bases for rebel movements.
In 1958, General Ibrahim Abboud seized power and pursued a policy of
Arabization and Islamicization for both north and south Sudan that
strengthened southern opposition. General Abboud was overthrown in
1964 and a civilian caretaker government assumed control. Southern
leaders eventually divided into two factions, those who advocated a
federal solution and those who argued for self-determination, a
euphemism for secession since it was assumed the south would vote
for independence if given the choice.
Until 1969, there was a succession of governments that proved unable
either to agree on a permanent constitution or to cope with problems
of factionalism, economic stagnation, and ethnic dissidence. These
regimes were dominated by "Arab" Muslims who asserted their
Arab-Islamic agenda and refused any kind of self-determination for
southern Sudan.
In May 1969, a group of communist and socialist officers led by
Colonel Gaafar Muhammad Nimeiri, seized power. A month after coming
to power, Nimeiri proclaimed socialism (instead of Islamism) for the
country and outlined a policy of granting autonomy to the south.
Nimeiri in turn was the target of a coup attempt by communist
members of the government. It failed and Nimeiri ordered a massive
purge of communists. This alienated the Soviet Union, which withdrew
its support.
Already lacking support from the Muslim parties he had chased from
power, Nimeiri could no longer count on the communist faction.
Having alienated the right and the left, Nimeiri turned to the south
as a way of expanding his limited powerbase. He pursued peace
initiatives with Sudan's hostile neighbors, Ethiopia and Uganda,
signing agreements that committed each signatory to withdraw support
for the other's rebel movements. He then initiated negotiations with
the southern rebels and signed an agreement in Addis Ababa in 1972
that granted a measure of autonomy to the south. Southern support
helped him put down two coup attempts, one initiated by officers
from the western regions of Darfur and Kordofan who wanted for their
region the same privileges granted to the south.
However, the Addis Ababa Agreement had no support from either the
secularist or Islamic northern parties. Nimeiri concluded that their
lack of support was more threatening to his regime than lack of
support from the south so he announced a policy of national
reconciliation with all the religious opposition forces. These
parties did not feel bound to observe an agreement they perceived as
an obstacle to furthering an Islamist state. The scales against the
peace agreement were tipped in 1979 when Chevron discovered oil in
the south. Northern pressure built to abrogate those provisions of
the peace treaty granting financial autonomy to the south.
Ultimately in 1983, Nimeiri abolished the southern region, declared
Arabic the official language of the south (instead of English) and
transferred control of southern armed forces to the central
government. This was effectively a unilateral abrogation of the 1972
peace treaty. The second Sudan civil war began in January 1983 when
southern soldiers mutinied rather than follow orders transferring
them to the north.
In September 1983, as part of an Islamicization campaign, President
Nimeiri announced that traditional Islamic punishments drawn from
Shari'a (Islamic Law) would be incorporated into the penal code.
This was controversial even among Muslim groups. Amputations for
theft and public lashings for alcohol possession became common.
Southerners and other non-Muslims living in the north were also
subjected to these punishments.
In April 1985, while out of the country, Nimeiri was overthrown by a
popular uprising in Khartoum provoked by a collapsing economy, the
war in the south, and political repression. Gen. Suwar al-Dahab
headed the transitional government. One of its first acts was to
suspend the 1983 constitution and disband Nimeiri's Sudan Socialist
Union.
Elections were held in April 1986, and a civilian government took
over power. There were tentative moves towards negotiating peace
with the south. However, any proposal to exempt the south from
Islamic law was unacceptable to those who supported Arabic
supremacy. In 1989, an Islamic army faction led by General Umar
al-Bashir mounted a coup and installed the National Islamic Front.
The new government's commitment to the Islamic cause intensified the
north-south conflict.
The Bashir government combined internal political repression with
international Islamist activism. It supported radical Islamist
groups in Algeria and supported Iraq's invasion of Kuwait. Khartoum
was established as a base for militant Islamist groups: radical
movements and terrorist organizations like Osama Bin Laden's al
Qaida were provided a safe haven and logistical aid in return for
financial support. In 1996, the UN imposed sanctions on Sudan for
alleged connections to the assassination attempt on Egyptian
President Mubarak.
Meanwhile, the period of the 1990s saw a growing sense of alienation
in the western and eastern regions of Sudan from the Arab center.
The rulers in Khartoum were seen as less and less responsive to the
concerns and grievances of both Muslim and non-Muslim populations
across the country. Alienation from the "Arab" center caused various
groups to grow sympathetic to the southern rebels led by the Sudan
People's Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM/A), and in some cases,
prompted them to flight alongside it.
The policy of the ruling regime toward the south was to pursue the
war against the rebels while trying to manipulate them by
highlighting tribal divisions. Ultimately, this policy resulted in
the rebels' uniting under the leadership of Colonel John Garang.
During this period, the SPLM/A rebels also enjoyed support from
Ethiopia, Eritrea, and Uganda. The Bashir government's "Pan-Islamic"
foreign policy, which provided support for neighboring radical
Islamist groups, was partly responsible for this support for the
rebels.
The 1990s saw a succession of regional efforts to broker an end to
the Sudanese civil war. Beginning in 1993, the leaders of Eritrea,
Ethiopia, Uganda, and Kenya pursued a peace initiative for the Sudan
under the auspices of the Intergovernmental Authority for
Development (IGAD), but results were mixed. Despite that record, the
IGAD initiative promulgated the 1994 Declaration of Principles (DOP)
that aimed to identify the essential elements necessary to a just
and comprehensive peace settlement; i.e., the relationship between
religion and the state, power sharing, wealth sharing, and the right
of self-determination for the south. The Sudanese Government did not
sign the DOP until 1997 after major battlefield losses to the SPLA.
That year, the Khartoum government signed a series of agreements
with rebel factions under the banner of "Peace from Within." These
included the Khartoum, Nuba Mountains, and Fashoda Agreements that
ended military conflict between the government and significant rebel
factions. Many of those leaders then moved to Khartoum where they
assumed marginal roles in the central government or collaborated
with the government in military engagements against the SPLA. These
three agreements paralleled the terms and conditions of the IGAD
agreement, calling for a degree of autonomy for the south and the
right of self-determination.
End to the Civil War
In July 2002, the Government of Sudan and the SPLM/A reached an
historic agreement on the role of state and religion and the right
of southern Sudan to self-determination. This agreement, known as
the Machakos Protocol and named after the town in Kenya where the
peace talks were held, concluded the first round of talks sponsored
by the IGAD. The effort was mediated by retired Kenyan General
Lazaro Sumbeiywo. Peace talks resumed and continued during 2003,
with discussions focusing on wealth sharing and three contested
areas.
On November 19, 2004, the Government of Sudan and the SPLM/A signed
a declaration committing themselves to conclude a final
comprehensive peace agreement by December 31, 2004, in the context
of an extraordinary session of the United Nations Security Council
(UNSC) in Nairobi, Kenya--only the fifth time the Council has met
outside of New York since its founding. At this session, the UNSC
unanimously adopted Resolution 1574, which welcomed the commitment
of the government and the SPLM/A to achieve agreement by the end of
2004, and underscored the international community's intention to
assist the Sudanese people and support implementation of the
comprehensive peace agreement. In keeping with their commitment to
the UNSC, the Government of Sudan and the SPLM/A initialed the final
elements of the comprehensive agreement on December 31, 2004. The
two parties formally signed the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA)
on January 9, 2005. The U.S. and the international community have
welcomed this decisive step forward for peace in Sudan. |
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