The competition between north and south continues in Sudan. South Sudan became the world’s newest independent country on 9 July this year five years after the comprehensive peace agreement that ended decades of conflict, but the rivalry has not diminished. Anticipating that South Sudan would apply to join the East African Community, Sudan suddenly found an interest in joining the EAC and applied for membership a few weeks before South Sudan became independent.
Now the EAC is presented with the problem of deciding whether to admit Sudan. Sudan’s president Omar Al Bashir is the subject of an arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court in respect of crimes against humanity. Sudan is an Islamic country whereas the current members of the EAC are not, and the EAC member countries have tended to align with the south in Sudan’s north-south battles in the past.
It is difficult to understand Sudan’s reasoning behind the application to join the EAC. In recent months Bashir’s grip on power is said to have been weakening as the number of his supporters has been diminishing. Perhaps the EAC gives Bashir an opportunity to make some new friends and shore up his support base. Perhaps membership of the EAC makes the Sudanese government appear less dictatorial, thereby reducing vulnerability to the Arab Spring uprisings which have occurred in other countries.