Crisis of citizenship in Sudan
As fighting continues in Kordofan and Darfur, in Sudan, a report by the Kampala-based International Refugee Rights Initiative (IRRI), The disappearance of Sudan? Life in Khartoum for citizens without rights, examines the experiences of people from South Sudan and Western Sudan displaced by war to Sudan's capital, Khartoum. The report argues that at the root of […]
Princeton Lyman Resigns: The Future Of US Diplomacy In The Sudans
Princeton Lyman, US special envoy for Sudan and South Sudan, is stepping down. A White House source characterised Lyman’s departure as “the kind of personnel change that is normal at the end of a president’s first term and start of a second.” President Obama appointed Lyman as special envoy on March 31, 2011. He is […]
Another Coup in Sudan – the Politics of Temptation
By Magdi El Gazouli The contradictions ravaging the Sudanese Islamic Movement (SIM) matured in the folds of its 8th General Conference into an antagonism between loyalists and dissidents, an antagonism that the state attempted to resolve by means of a purge. Media coverage tended to portray the first as 'hardliners' and the second as 'reformers', […]
Oil deal no quick fix for Sudan crisis
The News reported that a last minute oil deal reached between Sudan and South Sudan offers no quick fix for Khartoum’s economic crisis and remains tied to progress on security issues. Analysts said that both sides agreed Juba would pay Khartoum a package amounting to about USD 3 billion as well as a per barrel […]
South Sudanese labour: refill the ‘kambo’
By Magdi El Gazouli Sudan’s major grain producers, the landowners of Gedaref, complained bitterly to the press this week of an acute shortage of labour and warned of yet another failed agricultural season. The local farmers’ union in the state reportedly lobbied the central government to sanction the employment of Ethiopian guest workers in order […]
Abbo: who is the ’revolutionary’?
By Magdi El Gizouli Instead of Sadiq al-Mahdi, the imam of the Ansar, it was Abd al-Mahmoud Abbo, the Secretary General of the Ansar Welfare Association, who led the prayer last Friday in Sayed Abd al-Rahman al-Mahdi mosque in Wad Nubawi, Omdurman. For a few weeks the mosque became a refuge for the Girifna/ChangeNow crowd […]
Book Review: The Sudan Handbook
By Peter Elborn This is a book that is what it says on the label – it is a handbook. But that makes it sound like the dull product of a propaganda ministry and it is far from that. Indeed it is a collection of readable, thought provoking and intelligent essays that provide a thorough […]
Sudan: Reviewing The Addis Ababa Peace Agreements 2012
By Aly Verjee The maxim that the test of any agreement is in its implementation is familiar to those who follow Sudanese politics, even from a distance. This article reviews the latest agreements reached between Sudan and South Sudan on September 27 in Addis Ababa, brokered by the African Union High Level Implementation Panel (AUHIP). […]
South Sudan: can Africa’s problem child grow into a valuable partner?
South Sudan's first year of life has been marred by political uncertainty, lawlessness and an oil dispute. Its east African neighbours are watching for opportunities but wary of investing. … Magdi El Gizouli, a fellow at the Rift Valley Institute, says South Sudan risks becoming a "fulcrum of insecurity" and a conduit for weapons because […]
Sudan: Bashir – Sharia Shopping
By Magdi El Gizouli Obviously challenged by the stubborn show of anger against their long rule in the heartland of the country the high priests of the National Congress Party (NCP) shifted gears from unashamed dismissal to defensive posturing with sharia. “What is happening is a struggle between the camp of sharia and the camp […]