War & Peace in the Sudan
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
WAR AND PEACE IN SUDAN WAR AND PEACE IN SUDAN A Tale ofTwo Countries MANSOUR KUALID ~ ~~o~;~;n~~;up LONDON AND NEW YORK First published in 2003 by Kegan Paul International This edition first published in 2010 by Routledge 2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, axon, ox14 4RN Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada by Routledge 270 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10016 Routledge is an imprint ofthe Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business © Mansour Khalid, 2003 Transferred to Digital Printing 2010 All rights reserved. No part ofthis book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library ISBN 10: 0-7103-0663-6 (hbk) ISBN 13: 978-0-7103-0663-0 (hbk) Publisher's Note The publisher has gone to great lengths to ensure the quality ofthis reprint but points out that some imperfections in the original copies may be apparent. The publisher has made every effort to contact original copyright holders and would welcome correspondence from those they have been unable to trace. CONTENTS Abbreviations vi Preface x Introduction xix Part One Genesis of Sudan's Multiple Crises 1 Chapter One Fractious Dualities and Colonial Muddle 3 1898-1945 Part Two Betrayal of the Nation's Expectations 37 Chapter Two Sudanese Nationalism: The Special Preserve 39 Of the North 1946-1956 Chapter Three Betrayal of the Nation's Expectations 1956- 69 1965 Part Three Religion, Politics and the State 109 Chapter Four Conversion on the Road to Damascus 1966- 111 1969 Chapter Five Nimeiri Era: From Euphoria to Dementia 133 1969-1985 Chapter Six Civilian Regimes after Nimeiri: Business as 167 Usual 1986-1989 Chapter Seven The NIF Years: Ten Years out of the 197 Twentieth Century 1989-1999 Part Four Toward a National Identity 275 Chapter Eight The Conundrum of Sudanese National 277 Identity Chapter Nine Peace, Mediation and Conflict Resolution 325 Chapter Ten Peace without the NIF 431 Chapter Eleven Conclusion 467 Postscript 479 Appendix 511 Selected Bibliography 517 Index 529 Preface ABBREVIATIONS AACC All Africa Conference of Churches Movement ACNS Advisory Council for Northern Sudan AF/AFP Agence France Press ALC Army Legitimate Command (NDA) AP Associated Press ASPCO Sudan African Peoples Congress DOP Declaration of Principles, IGAD Peace Initiative DUP Democratic Unionist Party FO Foreign Office GGC Governor-General's Council HEC High Executive Council, Regional Government, South Sudan ICF Islamic Charter Front IGAD Intergovernmental Authority on Development IGADD Intergovernmental Authority on Drought and Desertification IHT International Herald Tribune IISS International Institute for Strategic Studies IMF International Monetary Fund INN The International Negotiating Network, Carter Center at Emory University JMC Joint Military Command (NDA) KDD Koka Dam Declaration LC Leadership Council (NDA) MDC National Dialogue Conference NC National Congress NDA National Democratic Alliance, Sudan NDC National Defense Council, Sudan NIF National Islamic Front NSRCC National Salvation Revolution Command Council NSCC New Sudan Council of Churches NUP National Unionist Party OAU Organization of Africa Unity PDF Popular Defence Force PDP People's Democratic Party PNC Popular National Congress PPP People's Progressive Party PRO Public Records Office, London RTC Round Table Conference on South Sudan Conflict,1965 SAC Sudan African Congress SAF Sudanese Alliance Forces SANU Sudan African National Union vi Preface SAPCO Sudan African Peoples' Congress SC Supreme Council SCP Sudan Communist Party SEC US, Securities and Exchange Commission SUNA Sudan News Agency SPFP Sudan Peoples and Federal Party SPLM/A Sudan Peoples Liberation Movement/Army SRCC Salvation Revolution Command Council SSIM/A South Sudan Independence Movement/Army SSLM Southern Sudan Liberation Movement SSPA South Sudan Political Association SSU Sudan Socialist Union TG Transitional Government TMC Transitional Military Council UDSF United Democratic Salvation Front UMC United Military Command (NDA) UNDP United Nations Development Programme UNESCO United Nations Education, Science and Culture Organization USAP Union of African Parties WCC World Council of Churches WFP World Food Programme XINHUA National News Agency, China RED Simplified Linguistic Map of Sudan vii Preface .. I 22- LIBYA ... ~ 14 ... ..- CHAD •r 12 .. ,.. ,.. ,.- ,.- '0- .- ETHIOPIA •. - CENTRAL AFRICA r .. ZAIRE 2- .. ..- ... .. LEG D c=:JTOTAL c=:J_OPeCNPC c=:J STATE PET_ co ~ GPC GPC oPTION c=:J OPEN BlOCK Sudan Oil and Gas Concession Map viii Preface ,i,:,-lIi'E:==:.. 'r .~;;~, ' LiBYA ..,',._--_. I ~\ I I .. 1-: _ ~ , ~~\ .,' "', ",-_.J"'''i E.TH'OP~~ . =i/~.._ t' " J Tribes of Sudan IX PREFACE I have fought against white domination and I have fought against black domination. I have cherished the ideal ofa democratic society in which all persons will live together in harmony and with equal opportunities. Nelson Mandela, Statement in the Dock, 1964 Nearly half a century ago the first flares of Sudan's civil war were enkindled. Today, as the world enters a new century and a new millennium, Sudan's civil war has degenerated into an inferno of carnage and destruction. Despite the trumped-up romanticization of the era of independence, no Sudanese can look back to the last century with pride. If only for the underachievement of their leaders to bring peace and stability to their country, the Sudanese have more to grieve than to sing paeans for. This underachievement is the more deplorable as the last half-century held out numerous routes to peace. That Sudanese leaders have taken an alternative route that woefully induced more carnage and self destruction, should be a matter for serious reflection. The dawn of a new century, therefore, offers us an opportunity to pause, reflect and introspect. Sudan's war, however, is no different from wars elsewhere; it is an entangled political, cultural and social weave with equally intricate international ramifications. Long before Leo Tolstoy wrote War and Peace in 1869, the subject of war was a cause of bewilderment to scholars. Over time, they have developed it into a discipline of great scope. To military theorists like Carl von Clausewitz, war was rationalized as an instrument of diplomacy. On the other side of the globe, Sun Tzu also rationalized war as a tool of policy. He laid down that the art of war and martial prowess was 'a matter of life and death, a road either to safety or ruin'. But nothing in what has been said on the subject of war subtracts from the truth of what Tolstoy wrote about it when he addressed himself to the numerous conflicts of his time in Europe. Tolstoy observed: 'If the aim of the European wars at the beginning of the nineteenth century had been the aggrandizement of Russia, that aim might have been accomplished without all the preceding wars, and without invasion. If the aim was the aggrandizement of France, that might have been attained without either the Revolution or the Empire. If the aim was the dissemination of ideas, the printing press could have accomplished it far better than soldiers. If the aim was the progress of civilization, it was extremely easy to see that there were more expedient ways of propagating civilization than destroying men and their wealth. Why did it happen this way instead of some other way? Because that was how it happened, chance created the Preface situation; genius utilized it.' Leo Tolstoy saw war as an irrational phenomenon, its causes purely opportunistic. In effect, wars had been fought for the ostensible causes of defending national interest or spreading whatever political or religious gospel. But underlying every gracious reason offered, wars were time and again fomented either by the self-centered ambitions of errant politicians or by dogmatic crusaders who have no doubts in their pre ordained missions. Wars were also lashed into fury by self-absorbed groups to sustain a complex array of vested interests, even when those interests were demonstrably ill-begotten. Thus, while one generally agrees with Tolstoy's judgment that wars are a result of chance utilized by genius, one also contends that, for the most part, wars have their root cause in the desire of one leader, group or country to maximize self interest with no regard to, if not to the exclusion of, the interests of others. Nevertheless, as World War II ended in 1945, no one would have imagined that a time would ever come when any man again picked up a gun against a fellow human being in an attempt to resolve a political conflict, nor that a group of people would seek to eradicate another because of ethnic unrelatedness, religious differences or political disparities. The world thought and hoped then, that the monstrosity of the war and genocide it had just endured would be a living lesson against reversion to armed conflict as a solution to political problems. Woe, war between and within states had since then raged on with venom all over the globe. In the case of Sudan, the mainspring of war has been iniquitous attempts by one group to gain immoderate advantage over a presumed rival under the pretence of enhancing 'national' acquirements narrowly perceived. In this light, Sudan's war may fairly be traced to a sense of perverted nationalism that never cared to keep the mean between two extremes. Invariably, perverted nationalisms are driven by a winner-take all inclination. On no account do they put up with relinquishing a little; they always hunger for taking all. This acquisitiveness invites, as a matter of course, retortion by those who suffer most from its consequences either to reparate injuries or end injustices (real or perceived).