Declare a Military "No Fly Zone" over South Sudan

The NIF regime is waging a war of genocide against the people of South Sudan. Human rights groups have documented a pattern of deliberate bombardment of the civilian population in the south. To illustrate the scale of the atrocity, during the month of July 2000, 250 bombs were dropped in at least 33 incidents. Most of these fell upon Sudanese civilians. Yet the Government of Sudan denies that the bombings occur and ignores cease-fire agreements. Besides causing physical injury and death, bombing is a form of psychological and economic warfare. Mornings and evenings, the hours for working, are the hours for bombing. Even when the Antonovs simply fly overhead, people stop what they are doing and seek shelter, fearing that bombs may fall. The aim is to disrupt normal life in the South, weaken the society, and make development impossible. But in the Upper Nile Region, where oil has been discovered, the government's aim is to drive the local population from their land so that the oil fields can be developed.

US Government policy to emphasize the unity of Southern Sudan

Since Sudan's 1956 independence, the people of South Sudan have been fighting for the right to self-determination. Division among the Southern Liberation factions has prolonged the conflict and devastated the South.

To emphasize unity the of Southern Sudan, the US Government should:

1. Support and expand the People to People (P2P) Peace Process. P2P began in 1994 as a movement of grassroots people trying to stop the Liberation Movement's inter-factional fighting. P2P grew into a collaborative, community based peace movement facilitated by the local churches. By 1999, P2P had halted inter-factional violence in the South. The P2P Process has had remarkable success, but there are indications that it is reaching the ceiling of its capability to go forward without the political leadership of the Liberation Movements coming together. This is why the South Sudan Liberation Movement (SSLM) came into being, January 2000: to promote unity of purpose among all those who are fighting the National Islamic Front (NIF). (see the SSLM Declaration) P2P must be expanded. US Government support should focus on Southern unity and try to bring people together using P2P methods. If P2P could expand to the whole South, then maybe the Southern people could formulate an alternative vision that would push organizational unity to proceed. If P2P is not expanded soon, the window of opportunity will pass.

2. Encourage and provide incentives for a unification of Southern Forces. If P2P can be expanded and bring unity to the South, there are military implications, for which unity and cooperation are the solution.

3. Focus on efforts to restore civil society in the South. In order to maintain the peace and reconciliation achieved through P2P, the democratic system of civil institutions in the South must be restored. The SSLM has put forward a clear platform for developing civil society in South Sudan along democratic lines. The aim of the SSLM is to unify the people of South Sudan while reducing the possibility of political domination by any one group. The platform builds upon the P2P foundation, institutionalizing in a federal system of government the values of equality, freedom, liberty, justice, freedom of the press and speech, respect for human rights and religious belief. SSLM is working to build up the grassroots community through leadership, conflict resolution, and peace building skills. It also is working to shift the vision for the future of the South away from Marxist ideology and toward a free, democratic federal system. Development projects also must be initiated to enhance the peace through the provision of farming tools, seeds, healthcare, and other resources for self-reliance.

4. Provide assistance to civil society even-handedly in the South. The goals of policy should be to unify the South, while avoiding the unintended consequences of either further dividing it or propping up a dictator. Through the Sudan Transition Assistance for Rehabilitation (STAR) program, the US Government has provided technical assistance to over thirty Sudanese NGOs, mostly in the areas controlled by the SPLA and NDA. The area under the administration of the SSLM has been neglected because of SPLA propaganda of insecurity in the region.

For more information, see these documents:

Oil in Sudan, a report by South Sudanese Friends International, Inc. (SSFI), 2000

South Sudan Liberation Movement (SSLM) Declaration, January 2000

Second Kampala Declaration on Human Rights, Democracy, and Development in Sudan, July 2000

Building on Locally-Based and Traditional Peace Processes, by D. R. Smock. Chapter 5 of Creative Approaches to Managing Conflicts in Africa: Findings from USIP funded projects, US Institute for Peace, 1997.