-
Official Name: The Republic of South Sudan
-
Capital and Largest City: Juba.
-
Neighbours: Landlocked South Sudan is bordered by Ethiopia to the east; Kenya to the southeast; Uganda to the south; the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the southwest; the Central African Republic to the west; and Sudan to the north.
Most important Features:
-
The country has vast swamp region of the Sudd formed by the White Nile, locally called the Bahr al Jabal.
-
This is 54th nation of Africa and 193rd country recognized by the UN and the 54th UN member state in Africa
-
In the Southern Sudan Referendum in January, 2011, 99% of mainly Christian and Animist in South Sudan voted for independence from the Muslim and Arab majority, ending years of civil war.
Current Heads of Government
-
President: Salva Kiir Mayardit
-
Vice President : Riek Machar
-
Currency: South Sudan Pound
Historical Background:
Sudan in Medieval Era
-
In the medieval era, Sudan was under the Sennar Sultanate or Blue Sultanate. This Sultanate ruled Sudan from 1504 till 1821. In 1820, Muhammad Ali Pasha of Ottoman Army invaded Sudan and invasion of Sudan in 1820.
-
From 1821 till 1885, Sudan remained under Turkish Rule of the Ottoman Empire and unified with Egypt.
Mahdi of Sudan
-
In 1885, one of the religious leaders named Muhammad Ibn Abdula proclaimed himself Mahdi (guide) and started the war to unify the Sudanese.
-
He stood against the Ottoman Empire and the Egyptian exploitation, which the Sudan was subjected to intermittently and led a major revolt.
-
This revolt culminated in fall of Khartoum in 1885. After that the influence of Europeans began and finally Sudan came under the Egypt and England.
Independence and First Sudanese Civil War
-
Sudan got its independence from Egypt and UK on 1 January 1956.
-
Independence came with a civil war among the Northern and Southern Sudanese.
Why Civil War?
-
Sudan's north is largely Arab and Muslim; it's south Christian or animist. The two sections of the country, thrown together by European colonial mapmakers, have little in common.
-
The reasons were oppression and discrimination with the Southern Sudanese. The Southern created a separatist rebel army during the First Sudanese Civil War, which was called Anyanya and the First Civil War of Sudan was called Anyanya-I.
-
Anyanya-I continued for 17 years from 1955 till 1972. Immediately after independence, the first parliament of Sudan was led by Prime Minister Ismail al-Azhari.
-
But he was soon replaced by a coalition of different forces. This coalition could not withstand the falling economic situation and one of the generals Ibrahim Abboud overthrew the Government in 1958 in a bloodless coup d'état.
-
After a decade, elections were held in 1965 and again a coalition Government under Muhammad Ahmad Mahjoub led the country.
-
In 1969, there was another coup d'état, when Col. Gaafar Niamery overthrew the government, abolished the parliament and outlawed all political parties. He became the prime minister and remained so till 1985. In 1972, he was able to end the First Sudanese Civil War or Anyanya-I by the Addis Ababa Agreement (1972).
Addis Ababa Agreement (1972)
-
The Addis Ababa Agreement of 1972, granted autonomy to Southern Sudan. Via this agreement, Southern Sudan Autonomous Region was established in 1972.
-
After that a decade of peace passed and in 1983, the agreement was violated when President Gaafar Nimeiry imposed Shari'a throughout Sudan. Thus the self rule came to at an end.
Anyanya-II
-
The economic problems were not addresses successfully by any government and by mid of 1980s Sudan was under economic trouble. The imposition of Sharia and cessation of self rule in Southern Sudan led to second Civil War in Sudan which is known as Anyanya-II.
-
Roughly 2 million people died as a result of Anyanya-II , and famine and disease caused by the conflict. Further, 4 million people in southern Sudan have been displaced at least once (and often repeatedly) during the war.
-
The civilian death toll is one of the highest of any war since World War II. In 2005, a Naivasha Agreement or Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) was signed between the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) and the Government of Sudan.
-
This Naivasha Agreement ended the second Sudanese Civil War and paved the way for independence of Southern Sudan.
-
However, before that in 2003, guerrilla conflict started in the Darfur region of Sudan, when some outfits of non-Arab Sudanese took arms against the Arab Sudanese and the Government. The Darfur conflict still continues though a truce was signed in 2010.
Naivasha Agreement
-
In January 2005, the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) and the Sudanese Government under the leadership of the National Congress Party (NCP) signed the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) which is known as Naivasha Agreement .
-
This agreement witnessed the commitment brought to an end more than 20 years of protracted civil war II in the country and granted the southern part of the country autonomy for six years.
-
Under the terms of the CPA, a referendum on the south's political future was scheduled to be held in 9-15 January 2011.
-
In the seven-day referendum, Southern Sudan was to decide whether it wants to remain in unity with Khartoum or become independent.
-
The people in South Sudan, the Southern Sudanese in the north and the South Sudanese in Diaspora communities were to participate.
Southern Sudan Referendum Commission (SSRC)
-
Southern Sudan Referendum Commission (SSRC) was the independent body which was in charge of organizing the referendum.
-
This body requested the International Organization for Migration (IOM) to conduct Out-of-Country-Registration and Voting (OCRV) to enable Southern Sudanese people who live outside Sudan to register and vote in the Referendum.
-
This OCRV was established in 8 countries where largest number of Sudanese live outside Sudan. The countries were Australia, Canada, Egypt, Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda, the United Kingdom (UK) and the United States of America.
Voters:
-
The Sudanese whose mother or father could prove that they were born in the South, and who are therefore classed as Southerners were eligible to vote, whether living in Southern Sudan or Northern Sudan or outside Sudan.
-
This included around 160,000 people living in Sudan's north, adding to a total of more than four million registered voters. The referendum result was to depend on fifty per cent plus one vote, and demanded a 60 per cent turnout.
Result:
-
On 7 February 2011, the Southern Sudan Referendum Commission published the final results. 98.83% voted in favor of independence.
-
The voter turnout was nearly 100% and is well over the requirement of 60% turnout.
-
Southern Sudan was declared to be an independent state to be created on 9 July 2011.
The new Country and its Impact on India's Oil Trade
-
With the creation of the new country, the oil map of Africa has come on the verge of dramatic transformation.
-
Its worth note that in 1997, United States had put in place some sanctions against Sudanese President Omar al-Basher's role in the humanitarian tragedies in Darfur and the five-decades-long civil war in southern Sudan.
-
With that, the western interests in the country got limited and the field was left open to China, India and Malaysia to develop Sudan's rich hydrocarbon potential.
-
In almost all of Africa, China has been in a winning condition, thanks to its pumping in money as well as labour to build infrastructure.
-
But India has focussed its limited resources on "capacity building" or partnering local institutions in improving health care, education or the private sector.
-
As the South Sudan comes into existence, 90 per cent of the oil fields have been shifted to the new country.
-
But the problem with Southern Sudan is that its a Landlocked country and the port of Bashair on the Red Sea as well as most of the oil infrastructure is located in north Sudan.
-
The two countries have lesser other options than to forget their animosity and agree on some revenue sharing on the oil reserves. Sudan has total oil reserves of 5-6 billion barrels, out of which only 400,000 barrels are being produced daily at present.
-
In the Abyei region of Sudan, which is now spread in both Northern as well as Southern Sudan, OVL had a minor stake in the Block 4 oilfield. This region is known as another Kashmir, because of a long term conflict among Sudanese.
-
In 2003, under the Vajpayee Government, OVL had bought a 25 per cent stake in 2003 in Greater Nile Petroleum Operating Company (GNPOC). This was part of India's policy of expanding energy security policy.
