Sudanese General Stages 'Coup'
Sudan Has Undisputed Leader, At Least For Now
KHARTOUM, Dec 13 (AFP) - Sudanese President Omar al-Beshir has declared a three-month state of emergency from Monday and dissolved parliament. The country has been led since 1989 by his Islamist military government.
Sudan, the largest country in Africa, has been wracked for over 16 years by a civil war pitting the northern Moslem, ethnically Arab population who run the government against the black southerners who are mostly Christian or animist.
History
Sudan was an Anglo-Egyptian Protectorate from 1899 until its independence in 1956. A military regime under the command of Field Marshal Jafar Numeiri lasted from 1969 until 1985. A parliamentary system followed (1986-1989) under a civilian Prime Minister Sadek el-Mahdi who was overthrown by a military coup on June 30, 1989. While all parties are now officially illegal, the Islamic National Front, led by Hassan al-Turabi has remained close to the current regime with the Sharia (Islamic law) still being rigorously applied in the mainly Muslim areas.
In 1995, Sudanese opposition movements and guerrillas based in Eritrea joined forces in a political and military committee with the aim of overthrowing Bechir's regime and putting an end to the civil war. But their unity lasted only months.
Geography
Sudan is the biggest country in Africa with an area of 2,505,813 square kilometers (967,245 sq miles) extending from the Tropic of Cancer in the north to the Equator. It shares borders with nine countries including Egypt, Libya, Chad, Eritrea, Ethiopia, and Uganda. The Red Sea takes up 600 kilometers (370 miles) of Sudan's North/West coast and it also hosts the Nile. Both Sudan and Egypt have laid claim to 17,000 sq kilometers of land on the Red Sea named as the 'Halaib Triangle'.
Capital
Khartoum
Population
30 million. The number of refugees in Sudan, principally from Eritrea and Ethiopia, has reached over 400,000 according to the UNHCR.
Official Language
Arabic
Religions
63 percent are Muslims mainly from the North; the others are animists (24 percent) and Christians (13 percent) from the South.
Political Institutions
A new constitution was adopted in 1998. Since the introduction of a multi-party law in January 1999, 17 small parties have been authorized, but the main opposition parties have so far refused to present their credentials to be legalized.
The general elections in March 1996 (boycotted by the opposition) gave Beshir another five years as President. General Beshir has also been named the party's candidate for the presidential election expected in 2001.
Islamist leader Hassan al-Turabi, the eminence grise of the regime, has gathered the jobs of Secretary General of the ruling National Congress and Parliamentary Speaker, leading the Islamic-dominated 400 member parliament.
Economy
After the military coup the Sudanese economy was subjected to tighter government control and underwent radical change in 1990. In March 1999, Sudan agreed with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) an economic program for 1999-2001. Inflation that had rocketed to 133 percent in 1996 had fallen by 17 percent in 1998. The freeing up of the economy had negative effects on the cost of living for the general population. The UN has sent food aid to almost 2.4 million Sudanese, notably in the country's south, ravaged by war and famine.
Principle Exports
Cotton, gum Arabic (biggest producer in the world) and sorghum. Since August, Sudan has become an oil exporter, with a production capacity of 150,000 barrels a day. Oil reserves are estimated at more than two billion barrels.
Debt
$20 billion (1997 estimate)
GNP Per Capita
$290 (1997)
Armed Forces
Estimated at about 94,700 men, according to figures from the International Institute for Strategic Studies, split between regular military forces and paramilitary forces.
Sudan is a member of the Arab League and the Organisation of the Islamic Conference (ICO).
