Sudan:Sudan:Civil War, Independence Civil War, Independence

& Darfur & Darfur

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-12115013

MAPS as of 7/2011MAPS as of 7/2011

South SudanSouth SudanRepublic of SudanRepublic of Sudan

-1899-1956: Egypt and UK have joint authority on Sudan (Egypt- North, UK- South) -Independence 1956 from UK-UK gave power to Islamic Khartoum…

• 1956-1972• Cause

– General Ibrahim Abboud tried to Islamize South• Police force/ guerilla forces Anya-Nya (snake poison)

resisted

– 1969: Jaafar al-Nimeiri military coup in North– Cold War

• USSR-North, USA-South

• Peace– 1972– Addis Ababa Peace Agreement

• Power sharing between North and South• BUT wealth and power in the NORTH

11stst Civil Civil WarWar

• Years: 1983-2002(3)• Cause:

– Nimeiri-• Encouraged forced Islam-ization of South and allowed exiled Islamic leaders &

terrorists back in country.• Issued the “September Laws”:

– Sudan became an Islamic state (Arabic official language, Sharia Law)

– Oil discovered in South!• Major Players

– SPLA• Major Southern Army/ Resistance group• Sudanese People’s Liberation Army• Led by John Garang of the Dinka Tribe

– Omar Al-Bashir• Sudanese President from 1989-today• Violent crackdown on South

– Lost Boys• Refugees from the 2nd Sudanese Civil War (1980’s)

• Peace Treaty– North/South Peace Process- 2002– Goal was to provide a referendum for Southern Independence

• Effective!– Yes to referendum!– Did NOT address problems of Northern Minorities

22ndnd Civil Civil WarWar

Lost Boys of Sudan• Since 1983, the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) and

the Sudanese Government have been at war in southern Sudan. The conflict has already claimed more than 500,000 lives and displaced huge numbers of people. Among these were at least 20,000 children, mostly boys, between 7 and 17 years of age who were separated from their families. These 'lost boys' of the Sudan trekked enormous distances over a vast unforgiving wilderness, seeking refuge from the fighting. Hungry, frightened and weakened by sleeplessness and disease, they crossed from the Sudan into Ethiopia and back, with many dying along the way. The survivors are now in camps in Kenya, the Sudan and Uganda.

• Documentary• 60 minutes

2002/2003 Peace Agreement2002/2003 Peace AgreementReferendum on Independence…Referendum on Independence…

• South Sudan takes first steps to independence– Historic election is marked by new fears of Khartoum-inspired violence.

Daniel Howden reports from Bor– Monday, 12 April 2010

• Bashir wins Sudan election. Now what?– Sudan announced today that President Omar al-Bashir won the April

11-15 Sudan election n that Critics call a sham. Supporters say it gives the longtime military ruler new legitimacy.

– By Scott Baldauf, Staff writer / April 26, 2010 • Sudan's Bashir promises southern independence vote on time

– Khartoum. Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir vowed a promised referendum on independence for the south will go ahead as planned in January next year after he was declared winner of a landmark national election, AFP reports."I assure (you) the referendum in south Sudan will take place on schedule," Bashir said in an address carried by state television.

– 26 April 2010 | 18:41 | FOCUS News Agency

Independence Independence and beyondand beyond• Important Facts:Important Facts:

– January 9th, 2011: South Sudan begins voting on Independence video

– January 15th, 2011: Voting for independence closes article– February: Independence confirmed article

• Q & A:Q & A: – Article

• Independence July 9th, 2011• TodayToday:

– Brink of war (CNN explains)– The South Sudanese government and military, dominated by the

Dinka ethnic group of President Salva Kiir, is fighting rebels allied with former Vice President Riek Machar of the Nuer ethnic group

– At stake for now is control of oil-rich regions responsible for more than 95% of the country's economy, and perhaps leadership of the country.

Genocide:• UN:UN:

– The government of Sudan and militias have acted together in committing widespread atrocities in Darfur that should be prosecuted by an international war crimes tribunal, but the violent acts do not amount to genocide, a U.N. commission has said. (CNN)

• US:US:– The United States was the first to label the killing

genocide. In Sept. 2004, then-Secretary of State Colin Powell said, "This was a coordinated effort, not just random violence."

Darfur

• The genocide in the Darfur region of western Sudan began in 2003, when the government of Sudan began sponsoring attacks against the people of Darfur. The genocide has claimed 400,000 lives and displaced over 2,500,000 people.

•          About the size of Texas, the Darfur region is home to racially mixed tribes of settled peasants, who identify as African, and nomadic herders, who identify as Arab. The majority of people in both groups are Muslim.

•       In February 2003, frustrated by poverty and neglect from the government in Khartoum (the Sudanese capital), two Darfurian rebel groups launched an uprising against the Khartoum government. Claiming to be putting down the insurrection, the government responded with a scorched-earth campaign against the innocent civilians of Darfur, enlisting the janjaweed, a militia drawn from members of Arab tribes in the region, to perpetrate the attacks.

•        Since February 2003, the government-sponsored Janjaweed have used rape, displacement, organized starvation, threats against aid workers, and mass murder.

           

Refugees in Menawashi, DarfurRefugees in Menawashi, Darfur

TIMELINE:TIMELINE:

•In March 2003, violence broke out  between the government and rebels from Darfur. Nearly 300 thousand people were killed over a decade of fighting and famine.

•In 2009, the rebels signed a peace agreement with the government during talks in the Qatari capital but not everyone accepted the deal.

•April 2013, world leaders begin rebuilding process at a conference in Doha, Qatar

The International Criminal Court is accepting supporting evidence of children's drawings of the alleged crimes committed in Darfur. This sketch by Abdul Maggit depicts a typical scene of destruction.

Omar Al-Bashir*President of Sudan*President of Sudan

*Charged with genocide by ICC*Charged with genocide by ICC

• 2009:2009:

– “We will NOT bow to colonialists!”

• 2011:2011:

– “Conflict in Darfur my responsibility”

• On March 4, 2009 Sudanese President Omar al Bashir, became the first sitting president to be indicted by ICC for directing a campaign of mass killing, rape, and pillage against civilians in Darfur. The arrest warrant for Bashir follows arrest warrants issued by the ICC for former Sudanese Minister of State for the Interior Ahmad Harun and Janjaweed militia leader Ali Kushayb. The government of Sudan has not surrendered either suspect to the ICC.

Doha Doha AccordsAccords• Agreement between JEM (largest rebel group) and Agreement between JEM (largest rebel group) and

Khartoum Feb 2009.Khartoum Feb 2009.– “step in the right direction to ending the six-year conflict, but

there is still a long way to go” – But: “Some experts have serious doubts about whether the

accord can be turned into a significant peace settlement for Darfur”

• "The proof will be in what happens next," says Sudan expert Alex De Waal.

– SLA: “Khartoum wants opposition fragmentation.”• These talks, he claims, are a government tactic to avoid the

International Criminal Court indicting the country's president.

• With the signing of a ceasefire agreement between With the signing of a ceasefire agreement between the Justice and Equality Movement and Sudan's the Justice and Equality Movement and Sudan's president, the BBC's James Copnall considers if president, the BBC's James Copnall considers if Darfur will find real peace.Darfur will find real peace.

Doha 2013Doha 2013• Rebuilding Darfur: Rebuilding Darfur: Should international donations be spent on

building infrastructure or on facilitating peace keeping measures?

• CNN STORYCNN STORY

– Ten years after the start of the fighting in Darfur, world leaders say it is time to rebuild.

– Delegates from around the world have arrived in Doha, Qatar's capital, with the objective to raise billions of dollars to pay for infrastructure, food and clean water.

– The UK took a lead role on Sunday, pledging $16.5m before the conference began but other countries still have a long way to go to reach their goal of more than $7bn.

– The UN says it needs more than $170m a year to provide humanitarian assistance to refugees displaced by the conflict - hundreds of thousands of Darfur refugees are still living in neighbouring Chad. And while many say they dream of going home, they are also afraid of what awaits them. 

• “This conference will address a major question, that after 10 years of war and destruction, let us take Darfur to another step; from relief, from emergency - let them take these people to development, to reconstruction and let them have a positive message [for] the people of Darfur, that the entire world is with you and that through peace and stability you can rebuild your country and you can make Darfur again powerful and prosperous. ”

– Atta al-Mannan Bakhait, the Organisation of Islamic Cooperaton

How to Prevent the Next DarfurHow to Prevent the Next DarfurThe world's worst man-made disaster highlights the potentially catstrophic effects of climate change on Africa (see TIME article)