Ali Osman Taha
Encyclopedia
Ali Osman Mohammed Taha is the current First Vice President of Sudan
. He had been the Second Vice President of Sudan of Sudan
between August 2005 and July 2011. He held the position of first First Vice President from 1998 to August 2005. He was the country's Foreign Minister
for three years prior to becoming first Vice President and is a member of the National Congress Party.
Taha is a graduate of the Faculty of Law at the University of Khartoum
. He then set up a private law practice before being appointed as a judge and then entering politics as a member of Sudan's parliament in the 1980s.
Taha, along with John Garang
, is credited as being the co-architect of Sudan's Comprehensive Peace Agreement which brought Africa's longest civil war to an end on 9 January 2005. The agreement capped an eight-year process to stop the civil war, which since 1983 had taken 2 million lives. Starting in December 2003 Taha and Garang met numerous times to finalize the peace agreement.
Taha heads the Sudanese side of the Sudanese-Egyptian High Committee, which is headed on the Egyptian side by Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif
and includes Ministers from both countries and aims to foster cooperation between the two countries.
Omar al-Bashir
reappointed Taha as the Second Vice President of Sudan in May 2010 in spite of speculations that he would be replaced by a more hard-line NCP member or a Darfurian.
and was instrumental in releasing Hilal from prison in 2003. Taha apparently assigned Hilal the authority to recruit and command a militia group, which became known as “Quick, Light and Horrible Forces of Misteriha.” Government help for Hilal was reported to be very open and was coordinated through Taha. Taha was quoted as saying to commanders of the Janjaweed militia, “I don’t want one single village of Zurgas in Darfur. All the Zurga lands are yours.” After an attack by the Janjaweed militia and the Armed Forces in the town of Kyla, a survivor from the Fur tribe reported that the attackers sang, “Hail the name of Allah, our orders came from Ali Usman Taha.”
In 2005 Taha opposed holding trials outside Sudan after 51 individuals were accused, by a United Nations commission of inquiry, of war crimes and crimes against humanity. Taha argued that doing so would “push things to degenerate rather than help people to reconcile or maintain peace.” In 2008,Taha also opposed the ICC indictment of President Omar al-Bashir by arguing that, “We can’t go along with implementing the CPA or other agreements with a president that is subject to international trial.” In the same year, the Associated Press quoted reliable sources saying Taha would be charged with crimes similar to those that President Omar al-Bashir had been charged with. In February 2009, Taha reportedly traveled to Turkey seeking the nation’s support to save Sudan’s president, al-Bashir, from trial.
Taha is mentioned several times in the application of arrest for President Omar al-Bashir, submitted by Luis Moreno Ocampo, prosecutor of the ICC. For example, Commissioner Rabeh told Janjaweed militia commanders that the General Commander in Khartoum and Taha ordered the provision of armament for the elimination of zurgas. Zurga is a derogatory term for people from African tribes.
Sudan
Sudan , officially the Republic of the Sudan , is a country in North Africa, sometimes considered part of the Middle East politically. It is bordered by Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the northeast, Eritrea and Ethiopia to the east, South Sudan to the south, the Central African Republic to the...
. He had been the Second Vice President of Sudan of Sudan
Sudan
Sudan , officially the Republic of the Sudan , is a country in North Africa, sometimes considered part of the Middle East politically. It is bordered by Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the northeast, Eritrea and Ethiopia to the east, South Sudan to the south, the Central African Republic to the...
between August 2005 and July 2011. He held the position of first First Vice President from 1998 to August 2005. He was the country's Foreign Minister
Foreign minister
A Minister of Foreign Affairs, or foreign minister, is a cabinet minister who helps form the foreign policy of a sovereign state. The foreign minister is often regarded as the most senior ministerial position below that of the head of government . It is often granted to the deputy prime minister in...
for three years prior to becoming first Vice President and is a member of the National Congress Party.
Taha is a graduate of the Faculty of Law at the University of Khartoum
University of Khartoum
The University of Khartoum ia a multi-campus, co-educational university located in Khartoum. It is the largest and oldest university in Sudan. UofK was founded as Gordon Memorial College in 1902 and established in 1956 when Sudan gained independence...
. He then set up a private law practice before being appointed as a judge and then entering politics as a member of Sudan's parliament in the 1980s.
Taha, along with John Garang
John Garang
John Garang de Mabior was a Sudanese politician and rebel leader. From 1983 to 2005, he led the Sudan People's Liberation Army during the Second Sudanese Civil War, and following a peace agreement he briefly served as First Vice President of Sudan from January 2005 until he died in a July 2005...
, is credited as being the co-architect of Sudan's Comprehensive Peace Agreement which brought Africa's longest civil war to an end on 9 January 2005. The agreement capped an eight-year process to stop the civil war, which since 1983 had taken 2 million lives. Starting in December 2003 Taha and Garang met numerous times to finalize the peace agreement.
Taha heads the Sudanese side of the Sudanese-Egyptian High Committee, which is headed on the Egyptian side by Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif
Ahmed Nazif
Ahmed Nazif served as the Prime Minister of Egypt from 14 July 2004 to 29 January 2011, when his cabinet was dismissed by President Hosni Mubarak in light of a popular uprising that led to the Egyptian Revolution of 2011...
and includes Ministers from both countries and aims to foster cooperation between the two countries.
Omar al-Bashir
Omar al-Bashir
Lieutenant General Omar Hassan Ahmad Al-Bashir is the current President of Sudan and the head of the National Congress Party. He came to power in 1989 when he, as a brigadier in the Sudanese army, led a group of officers in a bloodless military coup that ousted the government of Prime Minister...
reappointed Taha as the Second Vice President of Sudan in May 2010 in spite of speculations that he would be replaced by a more hard-line NCP member or a Darfurian.
Involvement in the Darfur Crisis
Taha was responsible for handling the Darfur crisis from 2003 to 2004. Community leaders in Darfur have reported that Taha holds personal ties with Musa HilalMusa Hilal
Musa Hilal was born in 1961. His family exercised tribal leadership of the Arab Mahameed clan in Darfur. He is Sudanese Arab Janjaweed militia leader and adviser to the Sudanese minister of internal affairs. The Janjaweed militia were responsible for a massive military campaign against civilians in...
and was instrumental in releasing Hilal from prison in 2003. Taha apparently assigned Hilal the authority to recruit and command a militia group, which became known as “Quick, Light and Horrible Forces of Misteriha.” Government help for Hilal was reported to be very open and was coordinated through Taha. Taha was quoted as saying to commanders of the Janjaweed militia, “I don’t want one single village of Zurgas in Darfur. All the Zurga lands are yours.” After an attack by the Janjaweed militia and the Armed Forces in the town of Kyla, a survivor from the Fur tribe reported that the attackers sang, “Hail the name of Allah, our orders came from Ali Usman Taha.”
In 2005 Taha opposed holding trials outside Sudan after 51 individuals were accused, by a United Nations commission of inquiry, of war crimes and crimes against humanity. Taha argued that doing so would “push things to degenerate rather than help people to reconcile or maintain peace.” In 2008,Taha also opposed the ICC indictment of President Omar al-Bashir by arguing that, “We can’t go along with implementing the CPA or other agreements with a president that is subject to international trial.” In the same year, the Associated Press quoted reliable sources saying Taha would be charged with crimes similar to those that President Omar al-Bashir had been charged with. In February 2009, Taha reportedly traveled to Turkey seeking the nation’s support to save Sudan’s president, al-Bashir, from trial.
Taha is mentioned several times in the application of arrest for President Omar al-Bashir, submitted by Luis Moreno Ocampo, prosecutor of the ICC. For example, Commissioner Rabeh told Janjaweed militia commanders that the General Commander in Khartoum and Taha ordered the provision of armament for the elimination of zurgas. Zurga is a derogatory term for people from African tribes.