Peace in Sudan
The issue of peace between different people is the most important issue dominating the past and present since war destroys countries & its centres of economy, and hundreds of thousands of people die because of it. The need for peace is substantial.
It is a very strange thing that each country of this world has engaged in some wars or even several wars, whether it was civil or a foreign war, and that the basic reason for these wars is a conflict of interest. There may be additional, secondary reasons as in the underdeveloped countries such as dignity, pride and racism.
My main discussion of peace is going to focus on Sudan, a country in North Africa that speaks Arabic as well as some other African and Nubian languages. Sudan is one of the former colonies of England, having gained its independence in 1956. Sudan is known as the heart of Africa, because it used to be the link between the Arabian Peninsula and central Africa, particularly in matters of trade. It also used to be a place of transit for African Muslims going to do a pilgrimage to Mecca.
In 2011 Sudan separated into two nations, Sudan and South Sudan. This separation shocked some of us who have very good personal relations with friends from South Sudan.
The conflicts in Sudan are not confined to South Sudan only, but in many areas, especially the region of Darfur in the western part of Sudan.
History of Sudan's Conflicts and Wars
The name and the entity of Sudan (North and South Sudan) were formed in 1821 after the Ottoman conquest of the sultanates that existed in it at that time. The Ottomans discovered that Sudan has a lot of resources, especially gold, as it was called in the ancient time "the land of gold", and was named the Kingdom of Kush (kush is a Nubian word meaning gold). Another reason that led the Ottoman to invade Sudan was that its soil was arable, and the country could provide extra soldiers to the Ottoman army to fight in their wars.
In the past, Sudan was the land of several separate sultanates, including Al-Funj Sultanate, Darfur Sultanate, Waddai Sultanate, Al-Musabba'at and the Shilluk Kingdom in South Sudan. The largest of these was Al-Funj Sultanate.
Since the beginning of these sultanates, they battled for power and trade routes in addition to other reasons. Some of the sultanates would help one another in their wars; for instance, the Shilluk Kingdom supported Darfur Sultanate in its war against Al-Funj, and again in their war against the Dinka tribe in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries (the Dinka tribe is the largest tribe in Sudan, and maybe in Africa). In 1630 CE the Shilluk Kingdom invaded the southern borders of the Al-Funj sultanate for political reasons.
There were also heavy wars over the Al-Musabba'at sultanate, which meant one day it was under the rule of Al-Funj, one day under Darfur and another day under their own sultanate.
Even before the Islamic sultanates, there were wars between the Christian kingdoms: Nubattiya, Alawa and Al-Magarra.
Also, Sudan was not safe from wars with Egypt, some revealed by history and others hidden in its cages.
After the Ottomans broke down both Al-Funj and Darfur in the years 1821 and 1874 respectively, Sudan came under a Turko-Egyptian rule, during which the concept of slavery spread in Sudan, especially in South Sudan, which led to the birth of grudges between the tribes and the Turko-Egyptian rulers.
Some tribes supported this rule, but heavy taxes were imposed in that era, which eventually led to the Mahadists resistance led by Mohammed Ahmed bin Abdullah in 1885, who was able to unite many tribes towards a single goal, which is ending the Turko-Egyptian rule. The Mahdist supporters included some South Sudanese groups in their battles against the colonists, and they fought many successful battles until England involved itself in Sudan trying to restore Sudan to the Ottomans. But no one really knew the real agenda of the empire that the sun never set on its colonies.
England asked to be involved in ruling Sudan in return, for the British soldiers who fell in the war. After defeating the Mahadists in the battle of Om-Dbikrat in 1899. The new government of Sudan was under Anglo-Egyptian rule, and the British did not stop at that point, they took sole control of the country after Sir Lee Stack was killed in 1924 in Egypt.
The rule of Britain in Sudan was not an improvement on its predecessor, as it vandalized Sudan politically. They structured in that period three basic problems that ultimately paved the way for the separation of Sudan. These were represented in issues related to language, religion, and ethnic strife. One of the policies that were founded by the British and harmed the development of Sudan, was the policy of closed areas, which prevented the Arab and Islamic cultures from spreading in South Sudan, the Nuba Mountains and the southern state of Blue Nile. This policy was enforced at the end of the twenties during both Mac Michaels and Robertson period.
The British also imposed the following policies:
1. Trade between the Arabs and southern Sudanese tribes was prevented.
2. South Sudan was opened for the Christian missionaries while the Muslim ones were prevented.
3. Education was limited in South Sudan and was taught under Christian missionaries in the English language.
4. Arabic names were prohibited.
5. They attempted to link southern Sudan to eastern Africa and separate it from the rest of Sudan.
Also during the British rule in Sudan, there was no development in the region of Darfur. The asphalt roads and railways were not linked, and the education in Darfur was not given any attention.
It is worth mentioning that the era of British rule saw many achievements in Sudan, including the establishment of Gordon Memorial College in 1902, which later became the University of Khartoum; a remarkable expansion of girls’ education; the establishment of Al-Gezira agricultural project and the teaching of modern methods for cultivating cotton; introduction of the telegraph, railways, river transportation, some new industries and finally strengthening of the armed forces of Sudan.
A year prior to the independence of Sudan in 1956, the Anyanya movement was founded In southern Sudan, calling for the liberation of southern Sudan. The word Ananya means the poison of the black snake in the Madi tribe’s language. The Anyanya movement represented the first civil war in the history of modern Sudan and was led by Emilio Tacanq at that time.
The movement fought many battles against northern Sudan, and found support from both Uganda and Israel, in addition to some European mercenaries, particularly from Germany. In 1970 Joseph Lagu took over the leadership of the movement and coordinated with the Sudan Liberation Movement. In the same year, Sudan’sarmed forces were able to freeze the Anyanya movement, which led to the end of the peace negotiations between the two parties under the auspices of the World Council of Churches and the Emperor of Ethiopia, Haile Selassie. This in turn paved the way for the Addis Ababa Agreement on 3 March 1972, which granted southern Sudan autonomy Sudan. The Anyanya movement was obstructed and Joseph Lagu was appointed as a vice-president to Sudanese President Nimeiri. This agreement represented the end of the first civil war in modern Sudan.
The Addis Ababa Agreement collapsed after 10 years by the establishment of Anyanya 2 by some insurgents in southern Sudan. The reasons Anyanya 2 formed included the corruption of the ruling elite of southern Sudan, delayed development as well as political and tribal conflict between two parties in southern Sudan: advocates of the division of the south into regions that govern itself, and advocates of maintaining the unity of the southern region. The political situation was worsened when Nimeiry’s government adopted the idea of division - which violated the provisions of the convention.
The Anyanya 2 represented the beginning of the second civil war in Sudan involving the SPLM (Sudan People's Liberation Movement) led by John Garang. The two movements were in an intense conflict of who should represent southern Sudan, which ended with the victory of the SPLM.
In 1984 the SPLM attacked Nimeiry’s government. Its basic demand was to reformulate the approach of governance in Sudan - not the separation of the south. The conflicts and wars between the SPLM and the successive governments continued from 1983 and only ended in 2005 with the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement in Naivasha, Kenya. In 2011 South Sudan decided to hold a referendum on the right of self-determination, ending in the separation of South Sudan.
The secession of South Sudan was not a happy ending, as there are still some issues between the two countries, one being the issue of Abyei, an area situated on the border between Sudan and South Sudan. Both sides claim Abyei is inside its borders.
The area of Abyei is very rich in natural gases, groundwater and, most importantly, abundant in oil accounting for one-third of Sudan's production. The number of oil wells is 103 with an annual value of seven hundred million dollars, and of course, oil is the main root cause of conflict there.
The issue of Abyei attracts foreign intervention, especially from great countries like the USA, which wants to inflict the region to South Sudan and create more conflict.
The Geographical and Tribal Dimension of the Abyei Region
Abyei is located in the southwestern part of the state of West Kordofan in an area of about 35 square kilometres. The largest bodies of water in this region are the Arabian Sea and the Kerr River (Dinka language) that divides the area of Abyei into two parts: a disputed area in the northern part and the other in the southern part relates to South Sudan.
Among other problems that threaten the security of Sudan and the Sudanese is the presence of a number of armed movements in it, including:
1. Sudan Liberation Movement, led by Abdel-Wahid Nur, a movement to change the status of the system in Sudan by all possible means. Western countries call Abdel-Wahid “Mister No.”
2. Justice and Equality Movement, one of the rebel movements in Darfur. Mainly made up of the Zaghawa tribe, this paramilitary was created because of the injustice in Darfur and other marginalised areas, under the slogan of "no marginalization and injustice."
3. Sudan People's Liberation Movement-North, which is headed by Malik Agar and his deputy, Yasir Arman.
There is also another group called the Sudan Revolutionary Front led by Malik Agar, which includes many armed movements from different parts of Sudan.
After this brief overview of the historical and current situation of Sudan and its conflicts and issues, we now know that Sudan has lost a lot of blood, resources and a very large amount of expenses in these wars. Is it not time to stop? Is it not time for Sudanese people to live happily without wars? There is a remaining question in our minds that is repeated and repeated, when will all of this stop? And when will we get to live healthy and prosperous lives without having concerns about losing our lives or the lives of our beloved ones.
Now if we agree that Sudan is in dire need of peace, this is what I will focus on in the following paragraphs. If you do not agree with me (in the need of peace), then at least I have the right to present my opinion and know your opinion and reasons.
Peace
There are several issues that I would like to discuss here related to making peace. These issues are divided into two parts:
1- Governmental
2- Non-Governmental
The role of government includes the following:
1- Justice
2- Education
3- Welfare
4- Negotiations
5- Implementation
Non-governmental work for peace includes:
1- The role of civil society organizations
2- The role of the people
3- The role of women
The Role of Government in Peace
Two steps before everything:
- The first step is, to be honest about your willingness to make peace, not just by showing the media and the world that you are striving for peace, but by making honest steps towards peace.
- Define where, when and with whom we want to make peace, and then gather all the groups you defined to discuss and make peace.
First:
The five branches of peace begin with justice, because it is the main cause of war and conflict, exactly like what happened in South Sudan. People felt sad when they found out that their petroleum is used to develop northern Sudan, and did not see any development in Southern Sudan - no roads, no railways and no modern airports, making them feel very angry.
Justice differs from one culture to another, as cultures are usually dependent upon a shared history, mythology or religion. Each culture's ethics create values that influence the notion of justice. Although there can be found some principles of justice that are one and the same in all or most cultures, these are insufficient to create a unitary justice apprehension. So the government must study the case and decide how it can implement the basics of justice.
Second
Second of all, we must also focus on the matter of education, a very important weapon for a peaceful nation. As Malala Yousifzai said: "by using guns we can kill terrorists, but by using education we can kill terrorism".
Education is also very important in developing countries like Sudan, where the government easily misleads people, who then get involved with paramilitaries that threaten normal civilians. This is illustrated by an incident in Abkarshaola in 2013, in the northeastern of the city of Kurdufan.
Third
The third important factor that the government should consider in making peace is improving welfare in the rural areas in Sudan. The most important part of welfare is water (some think that water is the number one cause of war), and sooner or later the countries of the world are going to fight each other in order to guarantee sources of water for themselves, with the strongest dominating. This is already happening between Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan.
People are tired of suffering every day, people are tired of walking for 10 kilometres every day in order to get water for their families. When they see others in the main cities living well with water connected to their homes they immediately become refugees searching for a better place, so why not improve the rural areas and avoid the problems that can occur to the refugees such as dying on the way or getting lost or whatever can happen to them when moving from one place to another.
Fourth
The fourth important thing that can be done in Sudan to support peace is to create a dialogue between different parties, including the paramilitaries as well, to define their demands, know why are they angry and know-how can the government help them.
Also, there are three questions that should be asked before the negotiation process, which are:
1- Who is at the table of peace?
2- What is the input at that table?
3- Is everybody feeling that they have something to say, introduce or even complain about at this table?
After these three questions, we will be ready for discussing peace.
So in order to make peace,we have to negotiate with the parties mentioned earlier - the paramilitaries in Darfur and the South Sudan government - but negotiations are not that simple. There are three types of negotiations, which include:
1- Strategic negotiations
2- Tactical negotiations
3- The inclusivity of negotiations
Personally, I think the third type is the most appropriate type for Sudan. The inclusivity of negotiations requires the following:
- Civil society must be involved in the negotiation process
- The social and economic benefits of your society have to be taken under serious consideration
- On the human dimension of peace reconsideration is very important (the other side is just as important as you)
- Emphasize values, mostly human rights
- Include the young generation in the second track of negotiations; they should know how peace is important for everything
I think this is the best way for negotiations in Sudan, but negotiating is not as simple as I mentioned. It also requires a very good negotiator, and he/she/they should be able to do the following:
1- Be honest in representing his/her/their leaders
2- Convince the other side that the negotiator and his/her/their leaders want peace
The inclusivity of negotiations and the manners of the negotiator are also not enough for a good negotiation. There are also several factors that need to be present, which are:
- The need to reach an agreement
- The atmosphere of the negotiation should ease the way for the agreement
- Nobody should accept a dictating peace
- The concept of "if a conflict continues without a solution it will complicate the situation in the future"
- The goal is for the new generation to live in peace and prosperity
- In order to live in peace the new generation should support the cause of peace
Fifth
After these four considerations have been met comes the implementation of what they seek in these negotiations, improvement of welfare and doing it with justice. The implementation of these things should happen immediately, to show the people that you are honest and willing to do more.
