Word: nimeiri
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...Gaafar Nimeiri, 79, had a tumultuous tenure as President of Sudan. After assuming power in a 1969 coup, he became an ally of the U.S. But his 1983 imposition of Islamic law stoked tensions between the country's mainly Muslim north and largely Christian south. While on a 1985 trip to the U.S. to seek aid for Sudan's sagging economy, he was ousted in a bloodless coup...
...substitute for colonialism," charging that it and other international institutions have become "tools of the rich nations to control the economies of poor nations." The fund has been particularly unpopular in Sudan, where a military coup toppled the government three weeks ago. Before his overthrow, President Gaafar Nimeiri had been unable to fashion an economic program that satisfied the IMF. As a result, aid from creditor nations was cut off, and a lack of foreign currency led to shortages of bread and petroleum. When prices of these precious commodities jumped, crowds took to the streets shouting, "We will...
...reason for the impasse was el Mahdi's refusal to lift the state of emergency imposed after the ouster of President Gaafar Nimeiri in 1985. El Mahdi also ignored demands by the predominantly Christian rebels for nullification of the Shari'a, the Islamic law that imposes harsh penalties like amputation and stoning for even minor crimes. Army officers were further angered by el Mahdi's mismanagement of Sudan's economic crisis, which has saddled Sudan with a $13 billion foreign debt...
Ironically, the coup was preceded by weeks of rumors in Cairo that the exiled Nimeiri would soon stage a comeback, but his desire to return to power seems unrelated to last week's revolt. It was apparently a homegrown plot led by impatient brigadier generals, not the senior command. The political direction of the new regime is uncertain, but the draconian nature of its decrees indicates that the new leadership means business. Its first orders: the dissolution of parliament and political parties, a ban on political opposition, the disbanding of labor unions and the cancellation of newspaper licenses...
Sudan's limping economy was another legacy of Nimeiri, and Mahdi has not improved matters much. In June, responding to demands by the IMF, the government raised the price of wheat flour and reduced subsidies on nonessential goods. Angry citizens have taken to the streets to protest food shortages, lack of jobs and a 50% inflation rate. Although the rich silt deposited by the flood should give farmers a temporary boost after the waters subside, the economy's larger problems will not go away easily...