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WEEKLY NEWSLETTER
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Sudan
Index
A population divided among nearly 600 ethnic groups and
tribal units and a conspicuous split between a largely Arab
population in the north and black, non-Muslim southerners meant
that Sudan's government had a high potential for instability.
Political movements based on these regional, tribal, religious,
and socioeconomic divisions have been responsible for numerous
breakdowns of authority. Nimeiri's autonomy solution for the
south in 1972 ended the first civil war. His decision in 1981 to
abolish the Southern Regional Assembly and the later redivision
of the south into three regions, however, revived southern
opposition and helped to reignite the southern insurgency.
Dissatisfaction with Nimeiri's rule also grew in the north as
economic distress became more acute. The 1985 military coup that
ousted Nimeiri was preceded by massive demonstrations in Khartoum
triggered by price increases of food staples. The traditional
political parties that dominated civilian politics reemerged in
1986 after a year of transitional military rule. Most parties
continued to reflect sectarian loyalties rather than to promote
national interests. Unable to function effectively through
shifting political coalitions and unable to end the war in the
south, civilian authority was again overturned, to be replaced by
the authoritarian rule of Bashir on June 30, 1989.
The new military government immediately invoked emergency
legislation banning strikes and other work stoppages as well as
unauthorized political meetings. Political parties and trade
unions were dissolved and their property frozen or seized.
Leading members of the main political parties were arrested, as
were senior members of the Sudan Bar Association and other
prominent figures thought to be unfriendly to the new regime.
More than 100 trade unionists were detained, while others were
dismissed from the civil service, the army, and the police.
Although some political prisoners had been released by early
1990, evidence of continued opposition to the military government
brought harsh repressive measures. In December 1989, a prominent
physician was sentenced to death (later commuted to imprisonment)
for organizing a doctors' strike. Another doctor was sentenced to
fifteen years' imprisonment. In March 1990, the government
announced that it had crushed a coup conspiracy, arresting
prominent members of the Umma Party and military officers. Less
than a month later, the regime alleged that it had discovered
another coup plot among the military and executed twenty-eight
high-ranking officers whom it claimed were implicated.
Although the military government was widely unpopular, its
ruthless suppression of any manifestation of discontent appeared
to have frightened the internal opposition into silence. A number
of exiled politicians active in the previous Sadiq al Mahdi
government announced the formation of an opposition organization,
the National Democratic Alliance, in early 1990. The SPLA radio
station in Ethiopia allotted broadcasting time to the alliance,
but the group, brought together by political expediency, had
difficulty organizing effective opposition to the Bashir regime.
Former armed forces chief of staff, Lieutenant General Fathi
Ahmad Ali, was among the exiled dissidents and became head of the
National Democratic Alliance. Military purges, however, had left
the majority of active officers silent for fear of dismissal and
loss of their commands. Infiltration of informers into the SPAF
made any form of dissident activity risky. Curfews were imposed,
and detachments of troops guarding bridges and other key points
minimized the possibility of military action to topple the
regime. At the Khartoum International Airport, the Airborne
Division, which was considered loyal to the government was
available at short notice to help repel a coup attempt.
The presence of as many as 1 million refugees from southern
Sudan in the vicinity of Khartoum was potentially destabilizing,
but the refugees were weak and too divided into ethnic and
regional groups to be a political threat. Student groups had in
the past been involved in demonstrations that contributed to the
downfall of unpopular governments, but the loyalty of the
majority of students was uncertain.
The small communist movement, with considerable support among
educated Sudanese and involvement in student and union
organizations, was among the opposition elements to the Bashir
government. The Sudanese Communist Party (SCP) played an
important role in the first years of Nimeiri's rule but was
harshly suppressed and forced underground after participation in
the unsuccessful coup against Nimeiri in 1971. Although Nimeiri's
campaign of reconciliation with his political opponents in 1977
enabled some prominent SCP members to resurface, communists
arrested for organizing strikes and demonstrations comprised the
largest single group of political prisoners. The SCP's role in
the urban demonstrations of 1985 contributed to Nimeiri's
overthrow. The SCP became active in parliamentary politics in
1986 but was among the political groups banned by the Bashir
regime. It joined with other parties in underground opposition to
the military government. Several communists were rounded up and
detained without charge after the 1989 coup, allegedly for
instigating a protest against the government among students at
the University of Khartoum.
Data as of June 1991
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