In 1989, Sudan's democratic
government was overthrown in a military coup headed by Lieutenant General
Omar Hassan Al-Bishir, and he suspended the Constitution. In 1998,
a new Constitution was adopted through a referendum, though most civil liberties
were restricted. The National Islamic Front (NIF), renamed National
Congress (NC) in November 1998, holds the real power in the state, and members
of this party hold key positions in the government, security forces, and
media (U.S. Department of State [DOS], "Sudan," 1999).
Civil war between the National Democratic Alliance (NDA),
a coalition of opposition movements, and the Islamist government has raged
in Sudan since 1983. The Dinka and Nuer, the two largest southern tribes,
came to a peace settlement after fighting each other since the 1991 split
of the Sudan People's Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM/A). The Nuer,
which suffered from internal civil war, also began to reach a peace settlement
(Human Rights Watch [HRW], "Sudan," 1999).
Human rights in Sudan were severely abused.
Extrajudicial killings and disappearances were performed by government
forces, civilians suspected of opposing the government were tortured, beat,
arbitrarily arrested, and detained, women were raped, religious persecution
was performed, and women were commonly raped and suffered from genital mutilation
(DOS, "Sudan," 1999). Strict dress codes are enforced, and in 1999,
nine Nuba students were sentenced to flogging (40 lashes each) and were fined
for wearing an "immoral" uniform: trousers (HRW, "Sudan," 1999).
Although prohibited by the
new Constitution, torture has been labelled a serious problem in Sudan by
the United Nations. Perpetrators rarely or never suffer consequences.
Security forces are alleged to be torturing people in "ghost houses,"
where security forces detain government opponents incommunicado for an
indeterminate period of time with no supervision by any authorities with
power to release the prisoners. Legal punishments for crimes include
flogging, amputation, and crucifixion. In 1999, a case involving ethnic
clashes resulted in ten people being sentenced for hanging and crucifixion
(DOS, "Sudan," 1999).
The chancellor of the Archdiocese of the Catholic Church
in Khartoum and twenty-five others were tried in a military court for conspiracy
and sabotage based on confessions coerced through torture (during which three
of the prisoners died), though only one of the accused was a member of the
military. The Lord's Resistance Army (LRA), a Ugandan rebel group supported
by Sudan, abducted 10,000 children and then tortured, murdered, and sexually
abused them. Eventually Sudan admitted to helping the LRA, in retaliation
to the Ugandan support of the SPLA (HRW, "Sudan,"1999).
Prisoners were held in harsh conditions. Government
prisons were overcrowded, and obsolete. Most prisons were built before
1956 and suffer from poor maintenance; most lack showers and toilets,
health care and food are inadequate, and disease is common. Rates of
rape, however, are low in prisons, partly because men and women are housed
separately (DOS, "Sudan," 1999). Sixteen children living with their
mothers in the Omdurman Women's Prison died from diseases contracted in the
prison. The prison, built to house 200 prisoners, at one point contained
1,200 (HRW, "Sudan," 1999).
Sudan leads the world in internally displaced population, with almost half of the estimated four million in Khartoum. Four "temporarily authorized" displacement camps in poor condition were set up outside of Khartoum in 1992, where several hundred thousand were forcibly removed to. Eastern NDA rebels reported in January 1999 that the government displaced 12,000 people. In March 1999, a government offensive burned several villages in the east, displacing another 3,500. The government in turn has accused the NDA of also displacing tens of thousands in the east.
In the military takeover in
1989, freedom to assemble was banned. In recent years, the government
has lifted this ban, but only with limitations. In 1999, political
associations were granted permission to register, for the first time since
the coup. Elections were held so soon after, however, that that one-party
control of the NC continued. Most party leaders are in exile, and parties
are run from exile, as the registration act requires parties to declare loyalty
to the NC's version of an Islamic state (HRW, "Sudan," 1999).
In April of 1999, lawyers holding a political meeting
at the bar association were put in detention for "disturbing peace and order."
Only one was tried and sentenced, however, and the sentence was overturned
on appeal. In September 1999, eleven opposition politicians held a
press conference to announce a new, but unregistered, political part, and
were detained for "disturbing public order." In Dongola after 50,000
people were left homeless following state failure to maintain Nile embankments,
eight were jailed for protesting (HRW, "Sudan," 1999).
While the new Constitution
provides freedom of religion, it is hardly exhibited in practice. The
government has a policy of harassment of Christians, and Apostasy, the conversion
of Muslims to another faith, is a capital crime, except when the conversion
is to Islam. In December 1998, the army occupied the only Catholic
printing press in Wau and detained seven people, including a priest.. The
Khartoum state government often destroys Christian structures and new
construction in the capital is prevented. While freely granting permits
to Muslims for mosque construction, Christians are rarely granted construction
permits. Since 1989, the government has destroyed thirty to fifty Christian
churches, centers and schools for lacking a permit (HRW, "Sudan," 1999).
Although the government considered itself Islamic, there
are some religious freedoms denied Muslims, particularly those linked to
government opposition such as the Ansar and Khatima. These two orders
are often denied permission to hold large public gatherings (DOS, "Sudan,"
1999).
Return
Home
Return
to Country Index
If any problems are experienced while trying to view this page, please contact jenandtonics@loveable.com.