The Casamance Peace Process 1947-2004

ABSTRACT

Armed conflicts, which are protracted and intractable have continued to disrupt developmental efforts in Africa. Although there are several measures that have been introduced to manage and resolve conflicts, armed conflicts have been on the increase. In particular, there is an increase in the occurrence of internal conflicts which are cross-border in dimension. Unlike inter-state conflicts which have provisions for intervention through the mechanisms provided by the international and regional organisations such as the United Nations and Economic Community of West Africa States (ECOWAS), the principle of non- interference has made it difficult for outsiders to intervene in the resolution of internal conflicts. The Casamance conflict in Senegal is one of several internal conflicts such as those of Rwanda, Sudan, Liberia and Sierra Leone, that are also inter-state in nature.

This thesis is a study of the Casamance peace process with a view to understanding the factors that have made it intractable. The Casamance conflict, which began with the formation of the Mouvement des forces Democratique de la Casamance (MFDC) in 1947, escalated from 1982 and has lingered on for over twenty years. The conflict involves the MFDC which is dominated by the Diola and the Senegalese govemment dominated by the Muslim Wolof.

Efforts to resolve the conflict at the state and regional levels have so far failed. This study examines the efforts to resolve the conflict at the local, state, regional and international levels focusing on the transformation of the conflict from the emergent to the de-escalation phase. The research focuses on the nature of strategies that have been employed to resolve the conflict and pays attention to the quality of leadership of those who presided over the various peace meetings.