Sudan's numerous conflicts are not isolated but are a direct result of the policies of Khartoum

Last week, 62 US Representatives signed a letter urging the Obama administration to change it's policy towards Sudan to reflect the fact that each individual conflict in the country cannot be viewed or dealt with in isolation; rather each conflict must be seen as a symptom of a larger problem- the repressive policies of the Khartoum government.

The British Sudanese writer Jamal al-Mahjoub once said that to understand Sudan you need a layered map like an old cellophone digaram once found in encyclopedias. The journalist Deborah Scroggings furthered this theory in her enlightening book Emma's War, " As you peeled away the top piece of cellophone labelled 'Sudan', you would find a succession of maps lying underneath. A map of languages, for example, and under that a map of ethnic groups and under that a map of ancient kingdoms..." 
 
Using the same idea of a layered map, Scroggings describes Sudan's long running civil was as thus "A surface map of political conflict- the northern government versus the southern rebels and under that a layer of religous conflcit- Muslim versus Christian versus Pagan; and under that a map of all the sectarian divisions within those categories; and under that a layer of ethnic divisions; then a layer of tribal subdivisions; then linguistic conflicts; beneath that still, economic divisions..."


Scroggins description is dense but apt; the decades long interconnected conflicts in Sudan are dense and cannot be simplified down to one neat reason that can be solved by George Clooney paying for a satellite to monitor the region (helpful as that gesture is for monitoring the situation in Darfur.) US policy makers seem to be relying on humanitarian actors, like George Clooney and his satellite, to promote a public image of acting or having done something, when really at a political level, there has been nothing substantial done to address the real issues in Sudan.

Humanitarian actors are essential to address certain issues in the region but they do not have the capacity or the power to effectively change the political situation and the political situation is the problem; the largely Arab north has historically been exerted power over the South of the country and abused souths inhabitants to extract its vast natural resources.

There are a number of reasons that explain why the northern part of Sudan has the advantage over the south. First of all, the sheer size of Sudan (approximately equal to Western Europe, before secession of the South) means there is huge differences and varieties in culture, politics and education caused by such a large geographical spread and differing influences. The predominently Muslim people of north Sudan tended to be better educated with higher levels of literacy than their Southern counterparts; this was due to the influence of Islam and also it's colonial past when British and Egyptian administrators favoured Sudanese Arabs over Black Sudanese. This legacy was still a huge factor in Sudanese politics in the 80s and continues to be to a lesser extent today; it enabled the Khartoum government to impose their policies as there was a distinct lack of capable Southerners to take over the administration and running of their own region.

The Souths rich mineral resources, coupled with its lack of educated, capable leadership effectively turned it into little more than a producer of raw materials that enriched the north; southern Sudanese became labourers and often slaves who kept the North running. Meanwhile southern Sudan saw little or no investment in education, industry or infrastructre. Famine consistently raged through the region in the 80s; as well as being neglected by Khartoum, people of the South also suffered at the hands of their own rebel groups who often seized humanitarian aid and sold it off for their own profit.

The genocide in Darfur galvinised global popular opinion and mobilised a new generation of activists to try and halt the atrocities being committed. It focused an unflattering spotlight on Khartoum and its policies; an concentrated international effort was made to address the issue and, soon after, to address the issue of southern Sudan, resulting in the secession of the South this summer.

But the rather thorny issue of the three disputed border states, South Kordofan, Blue Nile and Abyei, was simply left to one side. The inhabitants of these states were not given a referendum for self determination; the mineral and oil deposits their land sits on was simply too valuable for Khartoum to lose, on top of losing the Souths oil reserves. The south was proving too troublesome to keep and international pressure meant Sudan had to let it go; but the International Community seems wearied by the constant waves of conflict engulfing the country and Khartoum bet they would be reluctant to act or intervene in yet another conflict.

They were right. Responses to the atrocities carried out by Khartoum in these resisting states has been half hearted at best. The International Community is failing to grasp that Khartoum is effecting a policy of ethnic cleansing (at the very least; further research and documentation is needed to investigate claims of genocide), to clear these valuable lands of troublesome black, mostly Christian or Pagan residents who resist Khartoums' efforts to impose Sharia law and are anxious to see the benefits of their own lands resources.

It's easy to criticize the International Community's current response to the situation in Sudan but harder to know what the next step should be; such a complicated conflict does not present any easy solutions. But at the very least, a policy change by the US would be the first step towards properly addressing the numerous conflicts in the country and perhaps, finally, bringing them to conclusion.

Impunity for crimes against Journalists: A Global Scourge

Yesterday, November 23rd, marked the International Day to End Impunity, a day to demand justice for the hundreds of journalists worldwide who have been murdered because of their work. A free and open press is vital for the growth and development of a democratic society.

Sudan is notorious for its lack of free speech. One of the most high profile cases to emerge in recent years was the case of Lubna Hussein in 2009; though Lubna is a journalist, she was arrested by Sudan's Pulbic Order Regime police for wearing trousers and sentenced to forty lashes after refusing on principle to pay a fine. Ten journalists who reported Lubna's case inside Sudan were subsequently imprisoned also.  

The worlds newest state, South Sudan, a mere five months old, is already displaying a worrying tendency to imprison journalists critical of the government. Only this week, two journalists were released after being imprisoned for two weeks, just for writing an editorial which criticised the South Sudanese President.

There are many more cases, too numerous to cite here, of journalists being persecuted and prosecuted for merely doing their job and carrying out an invaluable democratic service. We should all defend press freedom; without it, we have no society.

US warns South Sudan against supporting SPLM-N; meanwhile Congress representatives call for policy shift towards Sudan

Yesterday the US demanded South Sudan cease giving any assistance or support to the SPLM-N, who are fighting against the Republic of Sudan in South Kordofan and Blue Nile.

The message came during a visit to Juba and Khartoum by the White House Deputy National Security Advisor Denis Mc Donough which began last week. A statement released by the National Security Council furthered it was neccessary for South Sudan to respect the sovereignty of the Republic of Sudan and not provoke an inter-state conflict by providing support to rebel groups fighting within another state.

  
White House Deputy National Security Advisor, Denis McDonough 

Khartoum has already lodged two complaints with the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) that Juba has been providing support to rebel groups fighting against it; this latest statement by the US will provide a certain level of justification for those claims.

Khartoum is not fully embracing the US however and has accused it of "conspiring" against it with the government of South Sudan, after the UN said this month that Sudan was responsible for the bombing of a refugee camp within South Sudan.

Staying with the US, this week a bipartisan group of 62 members of Congress sent a letter to President Obama, calling on the administration to recalibrate US policy towards Sudan, taking into account the most recent eruption of violence and the ensuing humanitarian crisis.

The representatives argue that the conflicts in Sudan can no longer be views as distinct entities but must be seen as the result of a consistent, centralised policy of political and economic marginalisation of peripheral areas by Khartoum.

What's going on in South Kordofan?

Not quite sure what's going on?



If you're new to the issues surrounding the conflict in South Kordofan, visit our page Why is there conflict in South Kordofan? for a simple and accessible history to the conflict.

Nuba Diaspora urged to mobilise and US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton calls for "Action, not words" in Sudan

Mohammed Yassin, on behalf of Nuab Diaspora and in coalition with a number of Italian NGOs, has released an appeal to halt the violence in the Nuba Mountain region. The appeal calls on the wider Numba diaspora and INGOs to mobilise efforts to lobby the international community and Khartoum to act in order to save lives.

The document details the recent escalation of violence by the Khartoum government and lists a litany of human rights abuses directed at the people of South Kordofan, including political, cultural and social oppression. It calls on the NGO community to act now to save lives.

The appeal is an attempt to replicate, in part, the highly successful "Darfur Consortium" , a coalition of African based and/or focused NGOs who began to work together in 2004 to mobilise the general public and lobby policymakers for action in Darfur.

From their vocal condemnations, it would seem the current US administration is eager to act on Sudan; they have been overt in their calls for action on the Sudan issue. But they themselves are not acting on the issue. Former member of US Congress, Tom Andrews, writes an interesting piece on the issue in the Huffington Post http://www.huffingtonpost.com/tom-andrews/sec-clinton-action-not-wo_b_1100110.html, in which he lays out five simple steps the US administration could take to help end the violence.

 The US Administration has consistently failed to act upon their calls for peace in Sudan.  

UN Peacekeeping Chief labels Sudan rebel alliance as "counter-productive"

Herve Ladsous, head of the UN Department of Peacekeeping Operations, has condemned an alliance between rebel groups from Darfur, South Kordofan and Blue Nile, calling it "counter-productive"

  The UN has called for an official inquiry into the bombing of a South Sudan refugee camp.

Ladsous made the comments in an effort to calm the political situation in the region, which is tense following the bombing of a refugee camp in South Sudan by Sudan government forces. The most recent conflict in South Kordofan and Blue Nile erupted in June of this year and has continued since; violence is once again occurring in Darfur and with South Sudan claiming it is ready for a war with Sudan, the situation is extremely fragile.

Ladsous stressed the need for calm and warned against any moves by leading political figures which could spark more violence.

He was referring to the alliance announced last week by rebel leaders in the troubled east and south regions of Sudan, who called for the government of Omar Al-Bashir to be overthrown and replaced with a "democratic regime"


Refugee camp in South Sudan

Staff Profiles

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Genocide in South Kordofan?

Type "genocide Sudan" into Google and all that appears are articles about Darfur. If Google doesn't acknowlege something, does it exist?

Back in August, a senior US lawmaker urged the US government to immediately deploy peacekeepers in South Kordofan due to an imminent threat of genocide (find an enlightening report on this here http://jonestream.blogspot.com/2011/08/sudan-south-kordofan.html); nothing happened, despite an emergency congressional hearing being called by House Foreign Affairs Committee. The International Community is either unconvinced of a real threat of genocide in the region, or unwilling politically and militarily to intervene, exhausted by previous interventions in Darfur and Chad.

Operation Broken Silence, an NGO dedicated to ending mass atrocities and modern slavery, is convinced the situation in South Kordofan merits the term genocide and has been trying to mobilise a civil society campaign on the issue in the US and Europe: http://www.operationbrokensilence.org/?p=6395

Despite these few campaigners, there is a complete lack of recognition, or even debate, within the International Community about genocide or the threat of genocide in South Kordofan. Perhaps they're suffering from genocide fatigue?

Situation remains tense as Sudan rebels form alliance to oust President Bashir

Rebels in Darfur, South Kordofan and Blue Nile State have formed an alliance to overthrow the government of President Omar al-Bashir. The Alliance, named the Sudanese Revolutionary Front, purports to aim to implement a democratic political system instead of the current authoritarian regime.

Al-Jazeera report on this story: http://www.aljazeera.com/news/africa/2011/11/2011111313442277256.html

Ru'ya Executive Director, Zeinab Blandia talks about the plight of the women of South Kordofan

Our Executive Director (and founder) Zeinab Blandia spoke to Amel Gorani about the situation of women in South Kordofan. Find the article for 50.50  here http://www.opendemocracy.net/5050/amel-gorani/on-record-women-in-south-kordofan

South Sudan Refugee Camp Bombing

Tensions are high between the Sudan and South Sudan, after Sudan majorly escalated the ongoing conflict in South Kordofan and Blue Nile by bombing a refugee camp in South Sudan. The camp was home to residents of the two embattled states who had fled the recent conflict.

Sudan denies carrying out the aerial attack on the Yida camp, in Unity state, just over the border from South Kordofan and Blue Nile. BBC Correspondent James Copnall was actually present at the camp at the time of the bombing and reported at least 12 people were killed and over 20 injured, many seriously.

Find the BBCs extensive report on the attack here http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-15678261

Ongoing violence in South Kordofan

Violent conflict continues in South Kordofan and neighbouring Blue Nile State.

SPLA-N rebels claim to have destroyed four government tanks near Kadugli town. Refugees who have fled across the borders to South Sudan and Ethiopia accuse government forces of mass killings and rape (although these claims has not, of yet been independently verified).

SPLA leaders have asked the International Community to withhold humanitarian aid from Sudan until it halts its assault of the resource rich rebel states (find a more detailed description of their appeal here: http://www.sudantribune.com/Arman-says-economic-assistance-to,40575)

There has been little in the Western Press about the violence, although Reuters and AFP have been releasing regular (if sparsely detailed) updates. The New York Times however carried an interesting profile of an American aid worker who has built a life in the region and has refused to flee the recent violence http://www.sudantribune.com/Arman-says-economic-assistance-to,40575

Not on Our Watch- Decide for yourself what's really going on!

Following on from our debate about if the conflict in South Kordofan amounts to genocide, Not on Our Watch  http://notonourwatchproject.org/ keeps track of troop movements in the region, using a satellite (funded by George Clooney and some of his altruistic Hollywood pals) to produce irrefutable evidence of what is really happening.

 Visit their website for accurate updates and decide for yourself what's really going on!

Heavy Clashes in South Kordofan this week

Find here http://www.sudantribune.com/Sudan-army-confirms-heavy-clashes,40594, an article by the Sudan Tribune on recent heavy clashes in the region.

The Sudan military claims there is no violence occurring but there are conflicting accounts, as reported in a Ugandan newspaper today here: http://www.newvision.co.ug/news/18875-rebels-say-still-fighting-in-sudan-oil-state.html

BBC News Africa on Tuesday carried a good article on the recent spate of violence : http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-15529551 On their website you will also find a good archive of past articles and fact sheets which provide some background information.

Does the conflict in South Kordofan amount to a genocide?

Although relatively unknown to the outside world, dwarfed by the ongoing conflict in Darfur and overshadowed by the expectations of the new state of South Sudan, there are many who believe that genocide is occurring in South Kordofan. The conflict there is often referred to as "genocide by attrition". This would seem an apt description for the relentless and exhaustive assaults which have been waged against the regions residents, some directly sanctioned by the state and carried out by state agents, others occurring as an indirect consequence of the states policies.

But Genocide is a term which is used far too commonly; genocide is the most heinous of crimes- the attempt to erase or eradicate an entire race of people. The UN Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the crime of Genocide (December 1948) defines genocide as "any number of acts committed with the intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnic, racial or religious group," Therefore, conflict or violence based on ethnicity does not always qualify as genocide as there is no ulterior plan to eradicate the targeted racial group; however, the convention specifically refers to "in whole or in part", which complicates the issue somewhat.

The Sudanese government may not be attempting to eradicate the entire Nuba people (by whom we refer to all residents of the Nuba Mountain region, including those who don't specifically identify themselves as being ethnically Nuba) but a case can certainly be made that their actions are commited with the intent of destroying "in part" the Nuba ethnicity. The motive behind this is to gain control of the abundence of natural resources which South Kordofan possesses.

In the coming weeks, we will be discussing the conflict in South Kordofan, debating if it is a genocide or indeed, discussing if labeling it as such even matters. Check back here regularly to keep up with the debate!