environmental degradation as a cause of conflict in - Steiner Graphics

them that she was an Arab kin and that she was ready to get killed before any ofher husband’s relatives were killed. ‘Otherwise’, she told them, ‘restore the stolenlivestock peacefully’, which they did and the crisis was averted.Over the course of time almost all peace-making institutions and practices havebeen weakened or abolished, mostly by misguided decisions or neglect from thecentre. Following the October uprising (1964), the caretaker, radical governmentpassed a resolution for the dissolution of native administration (see Bakheit inHasan 1985). The resolution was not implemented because the conservative governmentthat succeeded the caretaker government ignored it. Then in 1969 anotherradical government came to power and it actually dissolved the system in 1970,unseating almost all top leaders. It created chaotic conditions in the rural areas,such as Darfur, as tribesmen having had access to firearms took the law into theirown hands and started resolving their disputes by the use of force.The tribal festivals also disappeared with the abolition of native administration.The khalwa and the Sufi tariqa lost their magnetic force, as intertribal conflicts gaveprominence to tribal loyalty rather than to religious affiliations. With the establishmentof authoritarian rule, the popular political parties became the target of attackby such governments. They were banned and their leaderships impoverished andfollowers were either bought or forced to become supporters of the authoritarianrulers. It goes without saying that intermarriages, friendships, exchange of giftsetc. all went away with the changing of the traditional values through policies ofthe central governments.Darfur region is now undergoing what has been described as the worst humancrisis at the time, because of onslaughts by tribal and ethnic groups. However, attemptsto reinstate peaceful coexistence are underway. It prompts asking the questionof whether such indigenous institutions and practices might be reintroducedif and when peace is restored for the region. Some prerequisites are highlighted inthe conclusion and recommendations.ImplicationsThe content of the paper is based on empirical data collected from a field visitto Nyala town in July 2003. The findings are significant on two counts. They areimportant at the African regional level, as many African communities are marred byinter-communal conflicts, with no agreed upon solutions. An African conferencewas held in Arusha (Tanzania), during the period (21-23 January 1998) to look intoAfrican experiences with conflict mediation. The conferees concluded, unfortunately,that such experiences were not available in a documented form (see Othoman2000). The Nyala field research could lay the foundation for Sudanese experienceswith promoting peace and/or mitigating conflicts that might be of value to African76