The Hala'ib triangle is a division of land in northeast Africa. The area is a disputed region, a result of two different borders being set between Sudan and Egypt, both of whom claim the Hala'ib triangle. In 1899, Egypt and the United Kingdom agreed on the 22nd parallel as the border between the two countries. Three years later in 1902 the British created a new dividing line, granting administration of the area to Sudan because of its proximity and access from Khartoum. The administrative boundary created the Hala'ib triangle north of the 22nd parallel and a small area, the Bir Tawil south of the parallel. The 1902 agreement ceded administrative control of Bir Tawil to Egypt (which was really the British anyway) Both can be seen on the map above.
While both countries still claim the Hala'ib triangle, neither claims Bir Tawil, the "lonely little triangle" to the south of the 22nd parallel. So what would cause two countries to claim one 20,000 square kilometer piece of land but both reject claims to a 2,000 square kilometer parcel adjacent to it?
If you guessed natural resources, you're probably right! But that is only part of the story.
While Sudan held troops in the area for years it was Sudan granting exlploration rights to the Canadian oil company, Canadian International Petroleum Corporation, that finally made Egypt take note.
In 2000, Sudan pulled troops from the area, ceding de facto control to Egypt. However, Omar al-Bashir remains firm in Sudan's claim to the land, stating earlier this year "Halayeb is Sudanese and will stay Sudanese".
I found a FANTASTIC article on the issue in the Sudan Tribune.
In my daily routine of mapgazing I discovered that National Geographic, who I see as THE authority on political maps, now uses the 22nd parallel as the border. This shows all the land to the north as Egypt and all to the South as Sudan. This is a significant change from the 2000 world map which shows the 1899 Anglo-Egyptian political division - complete with Egpyt control over Bir Tawil. What's not clear is what happened that made them switch how the area is displayed.
I thought that it must have been Sudan removing their armed presence in the area and the desire to show de facto control. But that doesn't explain why they show Bir Tawil as Sudan. If it was the removal of troops that prompted the change, that should only be reflected in the Halai'ib traingle, not Bir Tawil. Until I get a better reason or explanation, I think National Geographic has this one wrong.
I emailed National Geographic for an answer on what prompted the Map Policy Committee change from the 1899 political boundary to the 1902 administrative boundary. I'll probably only receive a generic email but I am going to stick with this, look for individual contact information and see if I can get official word from a spokesperson. Perhaps I should have inquired through their press inquiry e-mail. Whatever I find out I'll let you know.
How do you think the Hala'ib triangle and Bir Tawil should be displayed?
Did you get a reply? I think that your probably right re the sudanese troops. bir tawil is technically the territory of the nation that ceeds control of halaib , so I would say they have it, in reality, correct but the right politically geographic approach is surely to mark a dashed line around halaib and leave bit tawil white marked with terra nullius!
ReplyDeleteJames, Check out National Geographic's reply here:
ReplyDeleteNational Geographic Responds
I like your suggestion of marking bir tawil as terra nullius.
official site of bir tawil
ReplyDeletehttp://www.birtawil.com
the fact that Egypt rejects international arbitration is an assertion to the weakness of their case and that (in their view) international law is not sufficient to cement their claim over the land. So they cannot peaceably govern it. their tactic is short-sighted.
ReplyDeletefurthermore, the fact that Egypt maintains administrative control over both Bir Tawil and Halaib also points to a political contradiction.
This is nothing more than a land grab propagated by Elbashir's assassination attempt of Mubarak in the 90s and a currently weak Sudanese military.
but the Sudanese people have a long memory and historically have not given easily to unjust action. the matter will be concluded once the khartoum tyrants shirking their duties are removed.
You are wrong! Administrative boundary is a temporary arrangement for convenience. The political boundaries is the permanent boundaries. I addition, Bir El-Tawil is not controlled by Egypt!
ReplyDeleteEgypt does not has any claims on Bir Taweel area and does not control it, so try to correct what you wrote, and regarding your Sudanese nationalism : battles are fought on the streets with people surrounding you and not only on internet pages
ReplyDeleteHello everyone,
ReplyDeleteMy name is Mohamed Abdalla. I am Egyptian and Sudanese, but I was born in Man'yell, Egypt. Most of my family comes from the Nubian and hal'ab triangle area, in my family we have Nubia and Bosha'ryya. These are the original natives to the land, but you will never hear from them due to the Egyptian and Sudanese government suppressing the native people. I love Gamal abd al Nasser our 1st president, but I disagreed with him when he didn't let the native be, the Egyptian and Sudanese government moved all the Nubian natives to new areas so they can build the Damn Cursed Aswan dam. I'm a few decades out of elementary school now, but the realities of violence inflicted on Native American peoples is still largely absent from my country's collective memory, not to mention our history books.
Earlier this month in Egypt I met with Nubian human rights defenders who say their country's text books are equally flawed. The Nubian people are a minority in Egypt, but have lived in what is now Sudan and southern Egypt for more than 4,000 years.
As with indigenous peoples all over the world, their community was bisected by borders and forced off their native land by capitalist 'development' projects. In the early 1900s, Egypt began construction on a set of massive dams near Aswan city, turning the Nile River into a source of income for the Egyptian state.
By 1970, more than 50,000 Nubians had been forcibly relocated away from the river the Nile River, the body of water on which they had built a 4,000-year-old civilization.
a Nubian human rights defender, in Nasser al-Nuba.
Aswan, Egypt, January 2017 [Erin Kilbride / Front Line Defenders]
Some were moved into 'temporary' housing miles from the Nile. Decades later, their descendants are still waiting for the return they were promised.
Others fled to Alexandria, Cairo, Luxor, and other major cities across Egypt looking for work.
Census data in Egypt is dicey at best - disjointed by revolutions, plagued by corruption-induced inefficiency, and for years neglecting to include data about the Nubians at all - but activists estimate that millions of ethnic Nubians are now scattered across the country, usually working more manual, lesser paid jobs.
Since forcibly displacing them from their homeland, the government has worked hard to relegate the remaining Nubian community in Aswan to a (profitable) relic of the past. Those who remain in what's left of old "Nubia" - living in poor villages around Aswan - are permitted to do so insofar as they generate tourism income for the government.
#do your homework before you post BS" thank you
Sincerely,
Native Man
Halaib traingle people are bija people, they are not Nubian, do not inject Nubian issues in our issues, we are Bija , we are Sudanese , we are not Nubian , we are not Egyptian.
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ReplyDelete