“Making Sense of Sudan”
On the eve of the fifth anniversary of the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement, and one year before the scheduled date of the referendum on unity or secession in southern Sudan, this blog is renamed “Making Sense of Sudan.” This reflects both the way in which the center of gravity of Sudan’s problems has shifted to the CPA rather than Darfur, and the fact that the Darfur crisis was, all along, the Sudanese national crisis as manifest in Darfur.
Without doubt, the coming twelve months will be the most momentous in Sudan’s history. The year is likely to be tumultuous as well. This site will not attempt to keep track of the many developments as they unfold, but rather to continue to provide a forum for informed discussion on key issues for Sudan, including of course Darfur. In particular, we shall follow the debates of the “˜Sudan-Sudan Dialogue’, a project of citizens’ discussion on the future of the nation envisaged eleven years ago by Justice Africa in the February 1999 Kampala Conference on “˜human rights and the transition in Sudan’, but which is only now being implemented. Amidst all the sound and fury concerning Sudan, it is crucial that the voices of the Sudanese people themselves are not drowned out.
The year 2010 should, by all rights, be the year of democracy in Sudan. It is the year of the first multi-party elections since 1986, and potentially the first-ever elections that cover the entire territory of Sudan, given that in the 1960s and 1980s, many southerners could not vote because of the war. It is the year in which the people of Abyei, of South Kordofan and Blue Nile should have the opportunity to decide on their future. It is the year in which the debate on unity or secession should be conducted, fairly and openly. The calendar is tight, and much has been left until the last moment. But, like the market tailor on the day before the Eid, it is quite possible that everything will be sewn up just in time.
As before, informed and civil contributions are welcome to this blog.
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Dear Alex.
This is great idea, I hope Sudanese themselves raise up tp the challenges and make sense of problems facing Sudan, the solution for the problems Sudan if facing now will come from Sudanese , with some support from friends abroad but until they all realise that changes must happened sooner.
As you mentioned in your posting, the importance of 2010, most of the Sudanese elites realised that in the last 3 months, as time is getting shorter and a lot remain to be done, and the danger of south Sudan secession is looming, just like the tailor and the Eid, story but most of the time you take a material to the tailor to design it for you, you might need to take it back to him again for adjustment as it might not fit in with you from the first time, we always leave things to the last minutes. As a close observer to Sudanese politics I think everyone recognised the dangers facing the country and the need to do something about it, even with the NCP many of them realised that, and looking for away out of the current deadlock and that is good news.
I think the Sudan Sudan Dialogue will play big role in bring all Sudanese together to discuss those issues and reach a peaceful and successful conclusion, it is desperately needed, in the last two months I have spoken to many Sudanese from different political parties, tribes, regions, women groups, students and youth group, they all want to be seriously engaged on what is going on in Sudan.
Justice Africa Sudan is carrying activities on a small scale related to the issues of democracy, economic and social rights, poverty eradication, devolution of power, religious and state and the challenges of unity and secession and other issues.
I know time is short but late but than never and I hope that make everyone do the maximum to achieve the needed changes which bring peace, prosperity and unity to the country.
No doubt that 2010 and 2011 will be the most crucial years in the entire history of Sudan. Sudanese people and their friends worldwide should join hands to ensure that Sudan incurs as less losses as possible as it trudges into this decisive period of its history.
As we extrapolate the possible scenarios of the upcoming period, we must keep in mind that the forthcoming general-elections, despite the inconducive environment under which they are set to be held, represent the only way out for establishing the pillars of democratic transformation in the country.
I find the new blog’s name to be more comprehensive. Keep up the good work.
MO
Tides are certainly changing and attention is finally being put on all of Sudan rather than on just one of its component issues: Darfur. The name change is a welcome alteration that reflects the importance of the CPA, its implementation and the efforts needed to cling to the tenuous peace and reinforce it.
You write that the name change “reflects both the way in which the center of gravity of Sudan’s problems has shifted to the CPA rather than Darfur, and the fact that the Darfur crisis was, all along, the Sudanese national crisis as manifest in Darfur.” Perhaps many people became interested in Sudan via the Darfur conflict without really knowing or understanding the larger conflict, civil war and CPA.
It is somewhat unfortunate that CPA implementation was left to the way side because of all the focus on Darfur. Everything is behind schedule and the CPA’s six-year interim period is one year to expiration with still so much to do. Had the international stakeholders, those who were in attendance at the signing ceremony of the CPA in 2005, paid more attention to the CPA itself these last five years, perhaps the volatility in Southern Sudan would resemble a firecracker rather than a powderkeg.
I became particularly interested in Sudan only about 1.5 years ago after meeting a (now) friend who worked for the UN in Southern Sudan. He introduced me to the CPA and other information that was hidden out of view in most media by the focus on Darfur. I visited the South for seven weeks last March and April, and am trying to get back for there for the elections. I am certainly no expert but have been following South Sudan information with a near obsessive passion that I write about on my own blog (http://southsudaninfo.net). It is my way of collecting information in one place, sharing my observations with others and bringing issues facing Sudan to those that, like me, thought it was only about Darfur.
I will continue to read, with pleasure and attention, the post on this renamed and informative blog.