Spiga

Another North-South Sudanese Conflict?

Wednesday, June 4, 2008 at 4:13 PM Posted by Simmons

BBC: Armies ‘head for central Sudan’

Background
Sudan has been a nation of conflict ever since it gained independence from Great Britain. First, it was the north versus the south. The south, which is mostly Christian and animistic, fought two incredibly bloody civil wars to gain autonomy from the government-controlling, Sharia law-imposing, Muslim and ‘more Arab’ north. The conflict finally ended in 2005 after the Comprehensive Peace Agreement was signed, giving the South more autonomy and the possibility of secession after a referendum in 2011. However, more recently, genocide backed by Khartoum in the western region of Sudan, Darfur, has received much more media attention. That does not mean the conflict between the North and South did not continue – far from it.

Recent escalations have occurred after new fighting in Abyei, an oil rich region. Control over the region has been a major point of conflict between the North and the South since the peace agreement was signed.

What can be done?
Well, not a lot, sadly. Buy a hybrid!

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1 comments:

  InternationalTraveler

February 17, 2009 at 12:59 PM

Much can be done, but with little will little will be done. We can all, even we who read this blog, do our best to have our governments and financial institutions divest from the capital of this murderous regime (http://www.sudandivestment.org/home.asp). It is easy really: go to your bank; ask if they can provide you with a list of investment options for Sudan; take the list and check online if it contains companies that indirectly or directly affect the genocide; go back to the bank and say that they should take those companies off their list; if they won't (which is where the little will to do anything comes in) go to universities, magazines, professors, any influential person you know and have them sign a petition you create and write articles about the bank and how it encourages genocide (someone at the top of the mountain in these banks knows where their investments are and have them because they make a profit out of it).
In addition to targeted divestment, make sure you sign every petition Amnesty International sends to Bashir as well as write your own letters of grievance to the president (the more polite, but still stern, the better, no need for foul language). In that way maybe you can free some of those people who work for justice to prevail and the demise of impunity (like Mohammed al-Sari Ibrahim and Daoud Hari).
These are just two things you as a person reading this blog can do. Then there are multiple options for governments to step in and improve UNAMIDs mandate or after Bashir is indicted imprison him.

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