Sudan Hanging by a Thread

October 13-22, 2009

Call to Emergency Action
If a person sees a sequence of events unfolding that is likely to have a disastrous outcome, it would be imprudent, if not negligent, to wait for the disaster to be a fait accompli to declare the situation an emergency.  After meeting and interviewing over 75 persons in ten days, including distinguished journalists, leaders of political parties, national government ministers, religious leaders and grass roots leaders - I now view the current situation in Sudan as an unfolding emergency.  The potential for the country to fall back into war as a result of the Referendum to be held in Southern Sudan by the end of 2010 under the Comprehensive Peace Agreement is widely acknowledged.  What may not be widely appreciated is that the multi-party elections in Sudan scheduled for April of 2010 and the campaigns preceding them could plunge the country into a renewed civil war.  

The elections will occur in the context of a culture of war and violence.  Most of the political parties that will be campaigning have been formed around tribal, religious and regional divisions across which wars have been fought since Sudan became independent in 1956.  The response to the announcement of winners and losers could be like that after Kenya’s most recent elections when losing parties took to the streets looking for revenge and creating bloodshed.

But a violent response to a divisive election campaign is not inevitable.  While the situation is fraught with peril, the risks of violence and a return to war can be decreased considerably if we act quickly.  The Institute for Sustainable Peace proposes to launch simultaneously in two phases:  1) a public media campaign with respected Islamic and Christian regional leaders calling on the people of Sudan to embrace an ethic of non-violence, as the ethic of non-violence is deeply rooted in both religions and, 2) a conflict transformation process that engages Sudanese thought leaders and political leaders in constructive change. Consultation with one of the most respected public campaign managers in the United States leads me to believe in the efficacy of the first phase.  The overwhelming desire for conflict transformation expressed to me by leaders in Sudan convinces me of the efficacy of the second.

What follows is a more detailed description of my assessment trip and its results.

Purpose of the Trip

In June 2009, the ISP conducted a Leadership Development Workshop focused on leaders in the Sudanese Diaspora in the United States.  Two key leaders from Southern Sudan also participated.  Near the close of that workshop, participants representing all regions of Sudan formed a working group to create an initiative in Sudan in which Sudanese would be trained to conduct similar conflict transformation workshops all over Sudan.  At their invitation, I traveled to Sudan from Oct. 13-22 to meet with leaders in the government, political parties, NGOs and civil society to assess the feasibility of undertaking that project in Sudan in the near future.

Summary of Activities in Sudan

During six days in Khartoum, the capital of Sudan, and four days in Juba, capital of the semi-autonomous region of Southern Sudan, we:

Met at length with leaders of four of the political parties in Sudan: National Congress Party, Sudan People’s Liberation Movement, UMMA party and the Free Lions Party of East Sudan.

Gave a three-hour press conference in Khartoum, which was attended by local and international reporters from seven television stations, seven newspapers, and the Sudan Radio Service. The press conference resulted in stories about the trip and the ISP in both Arabic and English language print and online stories and television news programs including a station associated with the national government in Khartoum.

Visited with two national government Ministers, the Minister of Regional Cooperation of the Government of Southern Sudan (GOSS), the Southern Sudan Peace Commission, the Southern Sudan Human Rights Commission, and the Committee on Peace and Reconciliation of the Legislative Assembly of GOSS.

Attended the historic Signing of the Juba Declaration, that brought together leaders of 27 different political parties and 3 trade unions to address deficiencies in the implementation of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement signed in 2005 and set to expire in January of 2011.

Gave lectures on conflict transformation in Khartoum to 50+ activists from Darfur at the offices of Justice Africa and 40+ activists at the Khatim Adlan Centre and had the opportunity to hear their concerns and perspectives in Q&A sessions following the lectures.

Met on five different occasions with leaders of USAID, NDI, and the State Department who are working in major projects of our country in Sudan.

The trip was capped off with a conversation with the last democratically elected Prime Minister of Sudan, Al Sadig Al Mahdi.

During my ten days in Sudan, in addition to speaking to the 125+ persons attending the lectures and press conference, I met and talked to 75 different people from all regions of Sudan and listened to their perspectives on the problems there and requests for help.  They were government officials, political party leaders, journalists, social activists, and religious leaders (both Muslim and Christian).  In those conversations I heard several distinct themes.

Feedback from Sudanese Leaders

I have already addressed the sense of urgency conveyed by the leaders.  Many said that they wished the ISP had started conflict transformation projects in Sudan two years ago.  In addition to urgency, two subjects came up over and over in our conversations: the need for conflict transformation and for capacity building.

There is a strong desire on the part of the Sudanese people to move from a culture of war to a culture of peace.   One leader in South Sudan spoke of being born into the conflict and then becoming a grandmother in the conflict.  Another told me that it appears that the Europeans and Americans working in Sudan have confused security and humanitarian aid with peace building.   

There was enthusiastic confirmation of the need for projects in which Sudanese are trained to train other Sudanese in conflict transformation principles and skills. With over 25 years of being in a state of war, the Sudanese have lost their ability to move from destructive to constructive dialogue.  The ISP can help cultivate the capacity to see, understand and respond to concerns in the context of relationships and change processes.

Every leader I met spoke of general human capacity building as their top priority.   Sustainable peace cannot be built unless people’s essential needs are being met.  Those needs cannot be met in a sustainable way until more of the Sudanese people have critical education and job skills.  Under the theme of capacity building there were two groups mentioned whose needs are particularly acute: 1) demobilized rebel soldiers, and 2) persons displaced by the wars from the rural villages.

Demobilized rebels soldiers create a huge concern.  Many retain their weapons.  They have little education and no job skills because most spent years in rebel militia groups fighting instead of learning in school.  They have no skills and they have no jobs.  Some are falling into despair and turning to alcohol and drugs, some are turning to criminal activity, some are now engaging in violent inter-tribal conflict, and some, particularly in Eastern Sudan are at risk for recruitment by terrorist groups from outside of Sudan.

Masses of displaced persons left their rural villages because of the wars, moved to the outskirts of Khartoum, Juba, and big towns where they receive food distributions and other minimal forms of aid. Some are able to get menial jobs in the towns and cities, some wash cars on the streets, and some turn to begging.  Many were farmers that need to return to their farms once educated in advanced agriculture methods so that they can grow the food to feed Sudan and export to other countries.  They represent the potential for real economic development in Sudan.  But for the farmers to be successful, the infrastructure of the country must be built up, especially roads that can be used to get their products to market.

Outcomes of Meetings

As a result of the meetings with various leaders, commissions and ministries of government, I returned with several specific commitments and/or invitations.

The Minister of Regional Cooperation of the Government of Southern Sudan requested that the ISP enter into a Memorandum of Understanding with his Ministry that would legally recognize the ISP as an important partner with the government in peace building efforts.

The Southern Sudan Peace Commission has requested that the ISP train its staff in conflict transformation principles and skills.  (One of the commissioners said that she would be the first to sign up for our training.)  The SS Peace Commission offered its offices as a venue for that training.

Six members of the Committee on Peace and Reconciliation of the Legislative Assembly of Southern Sudan invited the ISP to undertake a “train the trainers” project and asked that they be among the first participants in the training.

The Executive Committee of the Youth League of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement has asked to partner with the ISP in helping to coordinate all activities in Southern Sudan.

Three NGOs in Khartoum have asked the ISP to partner with them in offering our conflict transformation training in the capital of Sudan.

A wealthy business woman from Darfur offered to provide financial support if we would conduct a conflict transformation project in El Fasher, Darfur, including constructing an office building there to house the project and an office of the ISP.

The leader of the Free Lions Party of Eastern Sudan has asked us to provide conflict transformation training to 100 of their mid-level party leaders in Eastern Sudan.
Dr. Aggrey A. Majok, President of the John Garang Institute for Science and Technology in Bor, Jonglei State wrote after our meeting:  “I am looking forward to working with you on the project. Peace building, I believe, would be the cornerstone of stability in my country and any help to achieve that is very much welcome. The Dr. John Garang University of Science and Technology in Bor welcomes you with open arms!”

Proposed Projects in Sudan

In short, given the timetable of the upcoming election in April of next year and the Referendum vote on whether regions of Sudan will opt to secede by the end of 2010, we propose initiation of two projects in the first quarter of 2010.  The first project would address the high-risk potential of the election campaigns that are right around the corner through a public relations campaign with respected Islamic and Christian religious leaders that have banded together to appeal for an ethic of non-violence during and after the political campaigns. We have referred this project to an outside consulting group, Outreach Strategists, which has expertise in public awareness and media campaigns.

The second project is to expand the Colorado Leadership Development Workshops into a full-fledged “train the trainers” conflict transformation project in the Sudan.  Over the past three years, ISP has trained members of the Sudanese Diaspora in leadership and conflict transformation in Colorado.  ISP now proposes to bring this training workshop to Sudan to help indigenous Sudanese leaders to develop the needed skills to address long-standing tribal and regional conflicts.  At the ISP workshops, participants undergo personal transformation and receive educational content on leadership, dialogue, and conflict management.  At the personal level, individual participants learn what it means to forgive and be forgiven, and they develop meaningful relationships with people they otherwise view as enemies.  They learn to approach difficult situations with an open mind and an open heart.  At the same time, they learn at a more practical level what it takes to be a leader in today’s world, including an understanding of the systemic nature of conflict and skills necessary for dealing with inevitable conflict.  At the end of each workshop, participants engage in a series of dialogues resulting in creation of concrete initiatives to address important needs that all too often become the source of violent conflict.

Critical to this project’s success will be further training of leaders of the Sudanese Diaspora in the U.S. who have already participated in the Colorado workshops and who have demonstrated a firm grasp of the principles and benefits of the workshop’s teachings. The project will identify the outstanding leaders from these workshops and invite them to participate as Trainer of Trainers in our capacity-building efforts in Sudan.  ISP founder Randall Butler will carry out the training for the first workshop while also preparing the small cadre of Trainer of Trainer leaders to carry out future workshops. The workshop will last fourteen days. The following week will be devoted to a second workshop for just the Trainer of Trainers where they can use real life experiences from the first workshop to hone their training skills for future workshops and delve deeper into content areas.

Workshop participants will be recruited from all political parties and government institutions. The initial workshop will be held in Juba, and attendees will participate in an intense training session led by ISP.  Our training curriculum will offer a more in-depth look at the content material, and will provide a variety of small-group exercises that will foster personal and collective transformation.

ISP strongly believes that the success of this project is dependent on both indigenous and Diaspora Sudanese working together to share knowledge and skills. By training Sudanese leaders to conduct our leadership development workshops, we will ensure that the material is accessible to the Sudanese, both from a language and a cultural perspective.  Creating more trainers on the ground will also facilitate the training of a larger number of Sudanese in conflict transformation processes.