192 Scarcity and Surfeit
The current phase of the conflict involving the National Islamic Front
(NIF) Government and the Sudan People's Liberation MovementlArmy
(SPLM/A) under the command of Dr Colonel John Garang de Mabior started
in 1983. The Koka Dam Agreement of March 1986 during the premiership of
Sadiq A1 Mahdi and his governing ally El-Mirghani is notable, as it was
entered into by the SPLMjA of Dr Garang and El-Mirghani heading the
National Alliance for National Salvation. The Koka Dam Agreement called for
;he convening of a national constitutional conference to discuss the problems
of Sudan and the repeal of the September 1983 Laws that introduced Sharia
as a national law. As a prerequisite to the national constitutional conference,
the Koka Dam Agreement called for the dissolution of the government of
Sadiq Al Mabdi and its replacement by a new Government of National Unity
incorporating all political forces in the Sudan.
The constitutional conference was never held as Sadiq A1 Mahdi rejected
the agreement. His government was particularly opposed to the repeal of
Sharia as national law and the dissolution of his government.
The Asmara Agreement reached in 1995 between the National Democratic
Alliance (NDA) - opposition groups in the north - and the southern SPLM/A,
was a significant attempt to address the fundamental north-south issues of
the Sudan. The Asmara Declaration called for the establishment of a decen-
tralised government comprising northern and southern entities or regions
with extensive powers allocated to each region vis-a-vis the central govern-
ing unit.
Issues of environmental and natural resource management were included
in the distribution of powers between the central authority vis-his the
southern and northern entity. The Asmara Agreement places the manage-
ment of natural resources and the environment prominently under the two
entities or concurrently with the central entity. The exception remains the
issue of mineral resources which is placed under the central authority, how-
ever, recognising the right of the host entity to fix a reasonable percentage of
returns of the revenue accruing from the exploitation of mineral resources.
The Asmara Agreement was a major step forward in identifying the fac-
tors needed for peace in the Sudan, as it brought together most of the major
stakeholders. It was greatly limited, however, by its omission or denial of the
government of Sudan as a partner in the peace equation.
The Khartoum Peace Agreement of 1998 was signed by the government of
Sudan and several splinter groups from the SPLM/A under Dr Riek Machar,
Dr Lam Akol and the late Commander Kerubino Bol. It established a coordi-
nating council to manage the affairs of the south, and the right to self-deter-
mination through a referendum after an interim period of four years under a
federal system of governance.
The Khartoum Peace Agreement provided for southern citizens to partici-
Date in all federal political and constitutional institutions in numbers com-