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WEEKLY NEWSLETTER
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Sudan
Index
The combination of the south's redivision, the introduction
throughout the country of the sharia, the renewed civil war, and
growing economic problems eventually contributed to Nimeiri's
downfall. On April 6, 1985, a group of military officers, led by
Lieutenant General Abd ar Rahman Siwar adh Dhahab, overthrew
Nimeiri, who took refuge in Egypt. Three days later, Dhahab
authorized the creation of a fifteen-man Transitional Military
Council (TMC) to rule Sudan. During its first few weeks in power,
the TMC suspended the constitution; dissolved the SSU, the secret
police, and the parliament and regional assemblies; dismissed
regional governors and their ministers; and released hundreds of
political detainees from Kober Prison. Dhahab also promised to
negotiate an end to the southern civil war and to relinquish
power to a civilian government in twelve months. The general
populace welcomed and supported the new regime. Despite the TMC's
energetic beginning, it soon became evident that Dhahab lacked
the skills to resolve Sudan's economic problems, restore peace to
the south, and establish national unity.
By the time Dhahab seized power, Sudan's economy was in
shambles. The country's international debt was approximately US$9
billion. Agricultural and industrial projects funded by the
International Monetary Fund
(
IMF--see Glossary)
and the
World Bank (see Glossary)
remained in the planning stages. Most
factories operated at less than 50 percent of capacity, while
agricultural output had dropped by 50 percent since 1960.
Moreover, famine threatened vast areas of southern and western
Sudan.
The TMC lacked a realistic strategy to resolve these
problems. The Dhahab government refused to accept IMF economic
austerity measures. As a result, the IMF, which influenced nearly
all bilateral and multilateral donors, in February 1986, declared
Sudan bankrupt. Efforts to attract a US$6 billion twenty-five-
year investment from the Arab Fund for Economic and Social
Development failed when Sudan mismanaged an initial US$2.3
billion investment. A rapid expansion of the money supply and the
TMC's inability to control prices caused a soaring inflation
rate. Although he appealed to forty donor and relief agencies for
emergency food shipments, Dhahab was unable to prevent famine
from claiming an estimated 400,000 to 500,000 lives. He also
failed to end hostilities in the south, which constituted the
major drain on Sudan's limited resources.
Shortly after taking power, Dhahab adopted a conciliatory
approach toward the south. Among other things, he declared a
unilateral cease-fire, called for direct talks with the SPLM, and
offered an amnesty to rebel fighters. The TMC recognized the need
for special development efforts in the south and proposed a
national conference to review the southern problem. However,
Dhahab's refusal to repeal the sharia negated these overtures and
convinced SPLM leader Garang that the Sudanese government still
wanted to subjugate the south.
Despite this gulf, both sides continued to work for a
peaceful resolution of the southern problem. In March 1986, the
Sudanese government and the SPLM produced the Koka Dam
Declaration, which called for a Sudan "free from racism,
tribalism, sectarianism and all causes of discrimination and
disparity." The declaration also demanded the repeal of the
sharia and the opening of a constitutional conference. All major
political parties and organizations, with the exception of the
Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) and the National Islamic Front
(NIF), supported the Koka Dam Declaration. To avoid a
confrontation with the DUP and the NIF, Dhahab decided to leave
the sharia question to the new civilian government. Meanwhile,
the SPLA kept up the military pressure on the Sudanese
government, especially in Aali an Nil, Bahr al Ghazal, and Al
Istiwai provinces.
The TMC's greatest failure concerned its inability to form a
national political consensus. In late April 1985, negotiations
between the TMC and the Alliance of Professional and Trade Unions
resulted in the establishment of a civilian cabinet under the
direction of Dr. Gazuli Dafalla. The cabinet, which was
subordinate to the TMC, devoted itself to conducting the
government's daily business and to preparing for the election.
Although it contained three southerners who belonged to the newly
formed Southern Sudanese Political Association, the cabinet
failed to win the loyalty of most southerners, who believed the
TMC only reflected the policies of the deposed Nimeiri. As a
result, Sudan remained a divided nation.
The other factor that prevented the emergence of a national
political consensus concerned party factionalism. After sixteen
years of one-party rule, most Sudanese favored the revival of the
multiparty system. In the aftermath of Nimeiri's overthrow,
approximately forty political parties registered with the TMC and
announced their intention to participate in national politics.
The political parties ranged from those committed to
revolutionary socialism to those that supported Islamism. Of
these latter, the NIF had succeeded the Islamic Charter Front as
the main vehicle for the Muslim Brotherhood's political
aspirations. However, policy disagreements over the sharia, the
southern civil war, and the country's future direction
contributed to the confusion that characterized Sudan's national
politics.
In this troubled atmosphere, Dhahab sanctioned the promised
April 1986 general election, which the authorities spread over a
twelve-day period and postponed in thirty-seven southern
constituencies because of the civil war. The Umma Party, headed
by Sadiq al Mahdi, won ninety-nine seats. The DUP, which was led
after the April 1985 uprising by Khatmiyyah leader Muhammad
Uthman al Mirghani, gained sixty-four seats. Dr. Hassan Abd Allah
at Turabi's NIF obtained fifty-one seats. Regional political
parties from the south, the Nuba Mountains, and the Red Sea Hills
won lesser numbers of seats. The Sudanese Communist Party (SCP)
and other radical parties failed to score any significant
victories.
Data as of June 1991
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