Freedom in the World 2001 - Sudan

2001 Scores

Status: Not Free
Freedom Rating: 7.0
Civil Liberties: 7
Political Rights: 7

Overview

Sudan's 18-year-old civil war continued in 2000 with no end in sight as African- and Arab-sponsored peace initiatives produced no substantial agreements. In a power struggle that erupted in December 1999 with the dissolution of parliament and the imposition of a state of emergency, President Omar al-Bashir succeeded in sidelining the Islamist ideologue and head of the ruling National Congress (NC) party, Hassan al-Turabi. Al-Bashir spent most of 2000 consolidating his power and trying to mend diplomatic relations with neighboring states.

Africa's largest country has been embroiled in civil wars for 34 of its 44 years as an independent state. It achieved independence in 1956 after nearly 80 years of British rule. The Anyanya movement, representing mainly Christian and animist black Africans in southern Sudan, battled Arab Muslim government forces from 1956 to 1972. The south gained extensive autonomy under a 1972 accord, and for the next decade, an uneasy peace prevailed. In 1983, General Jafar Numeiri, who had toppled an elected government in 1969, restricted southern autonomy and imposed Sharia (Islamic law). Opposition led again to civil war, and Numeiri was overthrown in 1985. Civilian rule was restored in 1986 with an election that resulted in a government led by Sadiq al-Mahdi of the moderate Islamist Ummah party, but war continued. Lieutenant General Omar al-Bashir ousted al-Mahdi in a 1989 coup, and the latter spent seven years in prison or under house arrest before fleeing to Eritrea. Until 1999 al-Bashir ruled through a military-civilian regime backed by senior Muslim clerics including al-Turabi, who wielded considerable power as NC leader and speaker of the 400-member national assembly.

The current conflict broadly pits the country's Arab Muslim north against the black African animist and Christian south. Some pro-democracy northerners, however, have allied themselves with southern rebels, led by the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA), to form the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), while northern rebels of the Sudan Allied Forces have staged attacks in northeastern Sudan. Some southern Sudanese groups have signed peace pacts with the government, and there is fighting among rival southern militias. A convoluted mix of historical, religious, ethnic, and cultural tensions makes peace elusive, while competition for economic resources fuels the conflict.

Despite a declared unilateral ceasefire, the government continued to bomb civilian and military targets, and to arm tribal militias as proxy fighting forces. Tens of thousands of people were displaced by fighting among various government and rebel factions, and international humanitarian efforts were hampered by ceasefire violations. Eleven major aid agencies, including Oxfam, CARE, and Save the Children, evacuated Sudan in March after refusing to sign an agreement with the SPLA that would have given the rebels significant control over their operations.

Peace talks hosted by Kenya under the auspices of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) between the government and the SPLA focused on the questions of southern self-determination, borders, and the application of Sharia in the south. Other initiatives included a joint Libyan-Egyptian plan, supported by the NDA, for a permanent ceasefire and a reconciliation process. However, neither initiative has produced significant results. In March, Ummah withdrew from the NDA, claiming that changes in the Sudanese political situation have permitted a reconciliation and a chance for Ummah to work within the political system. This move was seen as a boost for the government, as it leaves only one Muslim rebel group in the NDA. About 300 Ummah members returned to Khartoum from exile, including the party's leader, former prime minister Sadiq al-Mahdi. In September, al-Bashir traveled to Eritrea for an unprecedented meeting with exiled NDA leader Mohammad Osman al-Mirghani. They agreed to hold direct talks in the future.

The inauguration of a 950-mile oil pipeline from the Muglad basin to the Red Sea in May 1999 lent increased urgency to peace efforts. Built by a consortium of Chinese, Canadian, Malaysian, and Sudanese companies, the pipeline represents a threat to rebels, who regard it as increased government funding of the war against them. Rebels bombed the pipeline in September 1999, and fighting is reportedly more intense in oil-producing regions of the country.

Ongoing tensions between al-Turabi and al-Bashir escalated in December 1999. On the eve of a parliamentary vote on a plan by al-Turabi to curb al-Bashir's power, the president dissolved parliament, effectively neutralizing al-Turabi, and declared a three-month state of emergency. In subsequent moves to consolidate his power, al-Bashir replaced cabinet members with supporters, extended the state of emergency until the end of 2000, introduced a law allowing the formation of political parties, and called for presidential and parliamentary elections in December 2000. In May, he fired al-Turabi from his position as secretary-general of the NC, accusing him of undermining the party and harming Sudan's foreign relations. al-Turabi and several of his deputies were barred from political activities, but al-Turabi formed his own party, the Popular National Congress, in June, and vowed to continue in politics.

Al-Turabi launched a campaign of public speeches against al-Bashir, calling the president's "coup" a detriment to democracy, accusing al-Bashir of betraying the Islamist movement, and accusing the government of rampant corruption. But al-Bashir has maintained the support of the military, opposition parties, his cabinet, the media, and regional leaders who accuse al-Turabi of supporting radical Islamists in their own countries. Despite the fact that the Islamist nature of the government has not changed, al-Bashir was able to repair relations with several countries, including Eritrea, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia, Iran, and the United States, which resumed consular activities in Khartoum and lifted a ban on Sudanese imports of railway spare parts and foodstuffs. However, Sudan's alleged involvement in terrorism and its abominable human rights record cost it a revolving African seat on the UN Security Council in October. Members voted to grant Mauritius the seat instead.

As expected, al-Bashir and the NC won the overwhelming majority in December 2000 general elections. His challengers in the presidential race were former president Numeiri and three relative unknowns. Al-Bashir took 86 percent of the vote, while Numeiri took 9.6 percent. NC candidates stood uncontested for nearly a third of parliamentary seats, while over 100 seats are reserved for presidential appointees. Most opposition parties, including the NDA and Ummah, boycotted the polls, calling for a postponement until a political solution to the civil war is found and the constitution is reformed. Voting did not take place in some 17 rebel-held constituencies, and government claims of 66 percent voter turnout in some states were denounced as fictitious. The civil war, economic conditions, and the opposition boycott made the election irrelevant to most voters. A UN source predicted that given al-Bashir's reelection, "the situation in Sudan will remain exactly the same as it was before the election."

Political Rights and Civil Liberties

The Sudanese cannot change their government democratically. The December 2000 presidential and parliamentary elections cannot credibly be said to have reflected the will of the Sudanese people. The major opposition parties, which are believed to have the support of most Sudanese, boycotted in protest of what they called an attempt by a totalitarian regime to impart the appearance of fairness. The European Union declined an invitation to monitor the polls in order not to bestow legitimacy on the outcome. In March, Sudan adopted a law on political parties that permits any 100 eligible voters to form a political party. Parties may operate without being registered with the government, but must register in order to contest elections. Opposition groups rejected the law, saying that it maintains the government's authority to suspend party activity at will.

Serious human rights abuses by nearly every faction involved in the war have been reported. Secret police operate "ghost houses," or detention and torture centers, in several cities. As part of the government's war against Christians and African traditional believers, armed forces routinely raid villages, burn homes, kill men, and abduct women and children to be used as slaves in the north. Though the government has not claimed responsibility for slavery in Sudan, in May 1999 it acknowledged the "problem of abduction and forced labor of women and children" and set up a committee to address it. The committee has not reported so far. Relief agencies have liberated thousands of slaves by purchasing them from captors in the north and returning them to the south. The government continued its deliberate bombing of civilian installations and relief sites, including two bombings in February and March that targeted hospitals and school children. Two CARE International relief workers were killed by rebels in an ambush in southern Sudan in January.

Although there has been no organized effort to compile casualty statistics in southern Sudan since 1994, the total number of people killed in the conflict is believed to exceed two million. According to the U.S. Committee for Refugees, some four million Sudanese were internally displaced at the end of 1999. The war's devastation has been compounded by famine and disease, much of which is man-made. Distribution of food and medical relief is hampered by fighting as well as by the government's deliberate blockage of aid shipments. A dispute between aid organizations and the SPLA resulted in the withdrawal of 11 major relief NGOs in March 2000.

The judiciary is not independent. The chief justice of the supreme court, who presides over the judiciary, is government-appointed. Regular courts provide some due process safeguards, but special security and military courts are used to punish political opponents of the government. Criminal law is based on Sharia and provides for punishments that include flogging, amputation, crucifixion, and execution. Ten southern, predominantly non-Muslim states are exempt from parts of the criminal code. Security forces act with impunity, and arbitrary arrest, detention, and torture are widespread. Prison conditions do not meet international standards.

The government has gradually eased press restrictions since 1997, but journalists practice self-censorship to avoid harassment, arrest, and closure of publications. There are reportedly nine daily newspapers and a wide variety of Arabic- and English-language publications. All of these are subject to censorship. Penalties apply to journalists who allegedly harm the nation or economy or violate national security. A press law provision adopted in 1999 imposes penalties for "professional errors." Five journalists from the independent As-Sahafa daily were arrested in March for the publication of a series of articles by opponents of the regime. Editions of four dailies in Khartoum were seized for carrying statements by Hassan al-Turabi and his aides in May. In August, one journalist was fined for defamation and one arrested for criticizing the government's handling of corruption cases. Independent journalist Mohammad Taha was apparently the victim of an assassination attempt in September after writing an article that allegedly defamed al-Turabi. The National Press Council prohibited the media from covering the attack. Broadcast media are government controlled and present only NC views. Despite restrictions on ownership of satellite dishes, citizens use them to access a variety of foreign media.

Emergency law severely restricts freedom of assembly and association. Four students were arrested following clashes with police at the University of Khartoum in April. The students were protesting a university decision to reorganize semesters. In June, one student was killed in clashes with authorities who blocked a seminar where an opposition human rights lawyer was scheduled to speak. Al-Turabi's Popular National Congress reported that dozens of its members had been arrested in various parts of the country after al-Bashir blamed the party for student protests in September that left at least three dead and many others injured.

The government treats Islam as the state religion, and the constitution claims Sharia as the source of its legislation. At least 75 percent of Sudanese are Muslim, though most southern Sudanese adhere to Christian or traditional indigenous beliefs. The overwhelming majority of those displaced or killed by war and famine in Sudan have been non-Muslims, and many starve because of a policy under which food is withheld pending conversion to Islam. Officials have used the word jihad, meaning a holy war against nonbelievers, to describe the government's campaign against the opposition, including forced conversion to Islam, and its policy of "depopulating" the Nuba mountains, a 30,000-square-mile area in the heart of Sudan and home to almost a million black Sudanese. Under the 1994 Societies Registration Act, religious groups must register in order to gather legally. Registration is reportedly difficult to obtain. The government denies the Roman Catholic Church permission to build churches while it destroys Christian schools, churches, and centers. Catholic priests face random detention and interrogation by police. Organizations associated with the banned Islamic Ummah and Democratic Unionist parties are regularly denied permission to hold public gatherings. Apostasy is a capital crime.

Women face discrimination in family matters such as marriage, divorce, and inheritance, which are governed by Sharia. Public order police frequently harass women and monitor their dress for adherence to Islamic standards of modesty. Female genital mutilation occurs despite legal prohibition, and rape is reportedly routine in war zones. In September, the governor of Khartoum banned women from working in public places where they come into contact with men. The ban was suspended by the constitutional court pending a ruling on complaints from the Sudanese Women's Union and the Lawyers Union.

There are no independent trade unions. The Sudan Workers Trade Unions Federation is the main labor organization, with about 800,000 members. Local union elections in 1992 and 1997 were rigged to ensure the election of government-approved candidates. A lack of labor legislation limits the freedom of workers to organize and to bargain collectively.