10:00:00

V/O

Militia training

Just outside the Sudanese capital Khartoum, these men have joined the people's defense militia; ready to fight alongside government troops against rebels in the south and east of Sudan. But the United States government says this is just a cover, that in secret such camps are used to train foreign terrorists such as Hezbollah and Hamas. The spiritual leader of Sudan's Islamic government says that any foreigners here are just refugees.

00:35

Int:

Dr Hassan al-Turabi, Islamic Leader of Sudan

I don't think it's fair to say that Sudan is harbouring opposition and rebels or revolutionaries from all over the world. These people don't amount to more than a few hundred people who came from their countries because they can't live there. They came to the Sudan because the Sudan is a multiplicity of the diversity of ethnicities.

01:00

V/O

Girls in veil in

Khartoum's Women's University

But diversity of religion is contentious. Since 1989, when the current government seized power, Islamic law, the Sharia, has been increasingly rigorously applied. Here in the north - even in the more enlightened women's university of Khartoum - wearing the veil has become more common.

01:22

V/O

Koranic school

These boys study 16 hours a day. They cannot leave school until they have learned the Koran by heart. Those that try to escape may be shackled or whipped. The government says that American accusations of terrorism and human rights' abuse are just prejudice against the Islamic system. The West fears what it doesn't understand.

01:53

V/O

church service

Critics of the government say Christians are persecuted. They are allowed to practise their religion but suffer discrimination in employment, housing and schooling. Most of the Christians come from the south of the country but civil war there has driven many north to the capital, Khartoum.

02:15

V/O

refugee camp

clinic

Mayo, on the outskirts of Khartoum. Two million southern Sudanese live in these camps. Having fled civil war and hunger in the south, they are dependent on aid agencies for health care and food. Most of these people are Christians or animists. Mothers bring their babies for vaccination. But southerners say Muslim charities in the camps pressurise them to convert to Islam in exchange for help. People here are afraid to criticise the government. Under foreign pressure, the government allowed a UN human rights official into the country for the first time in two years. But despite this apparent cooperation, UN aid flights to the more needy in the south have been frequently blocked.

02:58

Int:

Robert Painter,

Chief of UN coordination unit, Sudan.

Let's face it, food is strength. Food provides people with the ability to continue to cope with the rigours of their existence in the war-torn south. So I think that the underlying rationale behind stopping the flights of these planes is to weaken the population.

03:20

V/O

UN gates

Now the UN Security Council has imposed sanctions on Khartoum, such disputes over aid between UN and government officials have added significance.

03:29

Int:

Robert Painter

I'd say that Resolution 1054 which is basically aimed at terrorism has heightened the air of anxiety surrounding dealings between the government and the UN.

03:46

V/O

Khartoum streets

It's an anxiety which people in Khartoum are beginning to feel. They may see no evidence of the western allegations of terrorism but they are increasingly aware of  foreign pressure.  Economic sanctions mean that the cost of the civil war is felt more acutely in the capital where there's been unrest over price increases. Opposition politicians operating covertly are finally getting an international response to their criticisms of the Khartoum regime.

The Sudanese government is beleaguered in other ways. There are rebel movements fighting inside the country, particularly in the south.

04:20

V/O

Map

With  American diplomatic and financial backing, some neighbouring states - such as Eritrea and Ethiopia - support the guerrillas fighting the Khartoum government.

04:38

V/O

Riek Machar in chopper

aerial shots

Traveling south. Government officials set off for a tour of southern towns. A former rebel leader, Riek Machar, joins them.  Riek Machar defected to the government side in April ‘96.  With him is  Mohamed Khalifa, the Khartoum Minister for Peace who insists that the decades-long civil war in the south has been settled.

05:04

Int:

Mohamed Khalifa, Minister for Peace

There is no war between us and the factions that signed the peace treaty. The will of the people is not to wage war any more. De facto there is really a cease-fire now.

05:20

V/O

SPLA troops in southern Sudan

By bringing former rebel leader Riek Machar south, the government hoped to convince southerners that the war is really over. (PAUSE) But large areas of the region are in fact still controlled by Machar's former colleagues in the Sudan People's Liberation Army, the SPLA.

05:48

V/O aerials

The guerrillas operate mainly in the bush, while the most of the towns are held by government troops.

06:06

V/O men marching,

Machar c/u

Wau meeting

In Juba, the capital of southern Sudan, the government shows off its military prowess. (PAUSE) And in the southern city of Wau Riek Machar went on to tell the southerners that the government can accommodate their aspirations for more autonomy. The roadshow draws a crowd, eager to know why Riek Machar, a rebel leader for so long, has been convinced by government talk of a federation for the south.

06:36

Machar clip

Dr Riek Machar, former rebel leader

They're offering the exercise of the right of self-determination through a referendum. As you know the right of self-determination is a basic right. It is also a democratic process for resolving conflicts.

06:59

V/O

Sudan GVs

Sudan is a beautiful country of many tribes and dialects. The medieval sits alongside  the modern. From the harsh desert of the north to the lush equatorial south, Sudan's history has always been turbulent.

07:15

V/O

Whirling dervishes

If Sudan's brand of Islam were confined to its famous Whirling Dervishes, neither America nor the UN Security Council would be concerned. Sudan has been virtually ignored through decades of civil war in which tens of thousands have died. But if fears of international terrorism bring intensified sanctions and more support for the rebels, then both the Sudanese economy and its people will suffer even more.

ENDS 07:50