Secessionism In Eritrica

1069 Words3 Pages

Eritrea and South Sudan Post-Secession: Challenges, Prospects and Successes 1. Introduction Secessionist rebel movements ravaged African states in the 1980s and 1990s. Most of the secessionist movements grew out of the divide and rule system of the colonial era. Eritrea and South Sudan have been colonized, but the secessionist movements further grew out of ‘sustained grievances’ over the violation of human rights, unequal distribution of political power, and marginalization from social and economic development as well as cultural suppression. In spite of various failed attempts of secession in many African countries, Eritrea and South Sudan were successful in getting independence, with international and regional actors’ recognition. But the question remains whether these countries are on the right track to address the main challenges that emerge in the aftermath of secession, in the process of peacebuilding and state building in particular with issues of human rights, political stability and development for their people who voted for secession during referendums. The internal and external contexts in which both countries seceded could be to a certain extent different, yet both seem to share challenges in post-secession peacebuilding and state building. As such, this paper aims to examine the challenges, successes and prospects for peacebuilding and democratization in each country. 2. Background to the secession of South Sudan and Eritrea Eritrea was part of Ethiopian history since the first century A.D. it was one major part of the Axumite and Abyssinian rulers of Ethiopia. Historical and anthropological studies show that Eritrea was part of Ethiopia’s genealogy until the 1890 Italian invasion.1 Eritrea fall under Italian c... ... middle of paper ... ...egic goal has contributed to the lose relation between the movement and the whole community. 4 The Comprehensive Peace Agreement brought the war for independence to an end in 2005. The agreement set power sharing and economic development plan to be implemented with a promise of respecting the right to self-determination when and if the ‘trial’ period did not bring the intended peace and shared vision in Sudan. With the death of SPLM’s leader John Gerang in 2005 who was the main advocate for united Sudan, South Sudan’s interest has declined and with the lack of commitment from the government of Sudan to the issues agreed under the CPA secession was seen as the only option. The stagnant political stand of the government deterred any chance of the South to envision a unified Sudanese state. South Sudan gained its independence in 2011 after a nationwide referendum.

Open Document