This article may require cleanup to meet Wikipedia's quality standards. No cleanup reason has been specified. Please help improve this article if you can; the talk page may contain suggestions. (January 2011)

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (January 2011)

A truce – not a compromise, but a chance for high-toned gentlemen to retire gracefully from their very civil declarations of war. By Thomas Nast in Harper's Weekly, 1877 Feb. 17, p. 132.

A ceasefire (or truce) is a temporary stoppage of a war in which each side agrees with the other to suspend aggressive actions. Ceasefires may be declared as part of a formal treaty, but they have also been called as part of an informal understanding between opposing forces. An armistice is a formal agreement to end fighting.

Historical examples[link]

World War I[link]

During World War I, on December 24, 1914, there was an unofficial ceasefire as France, the United Kingdom, and Germany observed Christmas. No treaty was signed, and the war resumed after a few days.

Korean War[link]

In 29 November 1952, the newly U.S. president-elect Dwight D. Eisenhower, went to Korea to learn what might end the Korean War. With the United Nations' acceptance of India's proposed Korean War armistice, the KPA, the PVA, and the UN Command ceased fire with the battle line approximately at the 38th parallel. Upon agreeing to the ceasefire agreement, the belligerents established the Korean Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), which has since been patrolled by the KPA and ROKA, US, and Joint UN Commands. The Korean Demilitarized Zone runs northeast of the 38th parallel; to the south, it travels west. The old Korean capital city of Kaesong, site of the armistice negotiations, originally lay in the pre-war ROK, but now is in the DPRK. The United Nations Command, supported by the United States, the North Korean Korean People's Army, and the Chinese People's Volunteers, signed the Armistice Agreement on 27 July 1953 to end the fighting. The Armistice also called upon the governments of South Korea, North Korea, China and the United States to participate in continued peace talks. For his part, ROK President Rhee attacked the peace proceedings. The war is considered to have ended at this point, even though there was no peace treaty.

Vietnam War[link]

On January 15, 1973, President Richard Nixon ordered a ceasefire of the aerial bombings in North Vietnam. The decision came after Dr Henry Kissinger, the National Security Affairs advisor to the president, returned to Washington from Paris France with a draft peace proposal. Combat missions continued in South Vietnam. By January 27, 1973, all warring parties in the Vietnam War signed a ceasefire as a prelude to the Paris Peace Accord.

Persian Gulf War[link]

After Iraq was driven by U.S.-led coalition forces out of Kuwait during Operation Desert Storm, Iraq and the U.N. Security Council signed a ceasefire agreement on March 3, 1991. Throughout the 1990s, the U.N. Security Council passed 16 Resolutions calling for Iraq to disarm the WMDs program unconditionally and immediately. Because no peace treaty was signed after the Gulf War, the war still remains on effect like Iraqi forces firing on coalition aircraft patrolling Iraqi no-fly zones, U.S. President Bill Clinton bombing of Baghdad in 1998 during Operation Desert Fox, and a bombing of Iraq by Clinton in 1996 during Operation Desert Strike. The war remains in effect until 2003 when U.S. and UK forces invaded Iraq and toppled Saddam Hussein's Regime from power.

Kashmir conflict[link]

Pakistan's government has repeatedly claimed that India is violating the Simla Agreement by constructing a fence along the Line of Control in the Kashmir Conflict. However, India maintains the fence has decreased armed infiltration into Indian-administered Kashmir.

Then-Pakistani President and ex-Army Chief of Staff Pervez Musharraf promised in 2002 to curb infiltration into the disputed territory.

Israeli–Palestinian conflict[link]

An example of a ceasefire in the Israeli–Palestinian conflict was announced between Israel and the Palestinian National Authority on February 8, 2005. When announced, chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat publicly defined the ceasefire as follows: "We have agreed that today President Mahmoud Abbas will declare a full cessation of violence against Israelis anywhere and Prime Minister Ariel Sharon will declare a full cessation of violence and military activities against Palestinians anywhere."^[1]

Provisional IRA – British government[link]

Throughout the period of The Troubles, the Provisional IRA and other paramilitary groups have called ceasefires. The most notable of these being the IRA ceasefire which was called on 31 August 1994 and ended on 9 February 1996 with the Docklands bombing. Another ceasefire was declared in July 1997 after negotiations were reopened.

Spanish government – ETA[link]

ETA has declared several ceasefires during its long running campaign against the Spanish state. A ceasefire declared in March 2006, was broken on December 30, 2006, when a car bomb exploded in Madrid killing two people.^[2] On 5 September 2010 ETA declared a ceasefire.^[3]

See also[link]

• Armistice
• Korean Armistice Agreement
• Peace treaty

References[link]

Look up ceasefire in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Jal at the 2008 Tribeca Film Festival.

Emmanuel Jal (left in yellow) in concert in Bristol on March 11, 2006

Emmanuel Jal (born Jal Jok c. 1980) is a South Sudanese musician and former child soldier.

Childhood[link]

Born in the village of Tonj in Southern Sudan, Jal was a young child when the Second Sudanese Civil War broke out. His father joined the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) and when he was about seven years old his mother was killed by soldiers loyal to the government.^[1] He then decided to join the thousands of children traveling to Ethiopia who had been told that they could be educated there.

However, many of the children, Jal included, were recruited by the SPLA and taken to military training camps in the bush in Etwas disguised as a school in front of international aid agencies and UN representatives, but behind closed doors the children were training to fight. "I didn't have a life as a child. In five years as a fighting boy, what was in my heart was to kill as many Muslims as possible."

Jal spent several years fighting with the SPLA in Ethiopia, until war broke in and out, there too and the child soldiers were forced back into Sudan by the fighting and joined the SPLA's efforts to fight the government in the town of Juba. "Many kids there were so bitter, they wanted to know what happened to them. And we all wanted revenge."^[2]

When the fighting became unbearable Jal and some other children decided to run away. They were on the move for three months, with many dying on the way, until they reached the town of Waat, which was the headquarter of a small group that had separated themselves from the main SPLA.

In Waat, Jal met Emma McCune, a British aid worker married to senior SPLA commandant Riek Machar. Emmanuel was only 11 years old then and McCune insisted he should not be a soldier. She adopted him and smuggled him to Kenya. There Emmanuel attended school in Nairobi. McCune died in a road accident a few months later, but her friends (Madeliene Bunting and Anna Ledgard) helped Emmanuel to continue his studies. However, after McCune died, her husband Machar did not agree with Emmanuel staying with him, and was forced to live in the slums.

Music[link]

While studying in Kenya. Jal started singing to ease the pain of what he had experienced. He also became very active in the community, raising money for local street children and refugees. With the encouragement of those around him like Gatkuoth Jal who has also went through the same experiece , Jal became increasingly involved in music and formed several groups. His first single, "All We Need Is Jesus", was a hit in Kenya and received airplay in the UK.

Through his music, Jal counts on the unity of the citizens to overcome ethnic and religious division and motivate the youth in Sudan. After escaping to Kenya, he fell in love with hip hop in the way that it identified issues being faced by the neighborhood, which he was able to identify with in a unique manner. Although he lacked any music background or knowledge of its history, he felt that hip hop could provide the easiest and most effective vehicle to express his story and lobby for political change.^[3]

He went on to produce his first album, Gua, a mix of rap in Arabic, English, Swahili, Dinka and Nuer. The symbolism of unity is expressed in the title, meaning both "good" in Nuer and "power" in Sudanese Arabic. His lyrics illustrate the desires of the Sudanese people to return to a peaceful, independent homeland. Although the only hip hop Jal had ever listened to was American, while he was in Kenya, the beat to "Gua" is not the usual American hip hop, but rather is strongly African. The title track, also called "Gua", was a number one hit in Kenya and featured on The Rough Guide to the Music of Sudan and Help: A Day in the Life, bringing together some of Britain's best known on a CD in aid of children in conflict zones (produced by War Child).

His next single, "War Child", mixes rap with soul to produce a world music vibe. He begins with telling his story through powerful lyrics; "I'm a war child / I believe I've survived for a reason / To tell my story, to touch lives."^[4] He continues the song with the narrative of his life and the pain inflicted upon him. "Written in English, Jal's second language, the new album [War-Child] may lack the poetic gymnastics of hip-hop's more fluent stars, but the plainness of the words - half-spoken, half-chanted over a mix of hip-hop and African-flavored choruses - keeps the focus on the story."^[5] His powerful words spread the message of what he has been through, and what many are still living with now.

His unique brand of hip hop, layered with African beats, has led him to be considered one of the rising stars in the world music scene. Prior to Jal, rapping in Southern Sudan was primarily in the local language of Nuer and artists used sticks and clapping hands in place of instruments.

His second album, Ceasefire, was released in September 2005 and includes a re-recording of "Gua". This album is a collaboration with the well known Sudanese Muslim musician Abd El Gadir Salim and brings together opposing sides of the conflict, and different music traditions, to a common ground of the wish for peace in Sudan. The collaboration represents a vision for the future, as two Sudanese men, a Christian and a Muslim, unify and pave the way to overcome differences peacefully. Both musicians endured unimaginable adversity to become important figures, not only in music, but in the future of a country. They accentuate the differences between them and their musical styles, as a symbol of co-existence. The album preaches in four languages, encompasses every type of music in one, in an effort to transform the sound of hope into musical form. Ceasefire is not only the sound of two men collaborating on a musical project, but more symbolically, two halves of a divided nation learning to trust each other. This album's version of "Gua" was played on the American television series ER at the very end of the Season 12 episode "There Are No Angels Here" (aired on May 4, 2006).

Among other places he performed at the Live 8 Concert in Cornwall in the summer of 2005. He was awarded a 2005 American Gospel Music Award for best international artist.

Jal's third album, Warchild, was released by Sonic360 Records in the UK on May 12, 2008. Jal, along with an all-star line-up, performed songs at Nelson Mandela's 90th Birthday concert at London's Hyde Park on June 27, 2008. www.emmanueljal.com

Activism[link]

Jal, whose own childhood was robbed from him, aims to protect the childhood of others through music. "Music is powerful. It is the only thing that can speak into your mind, your heart and your soul without your permission."^[6] According to Jal, in times of war, starvation, hunger and injustice, the only way to survive the daily tragedy in Sudan is to allow the inner soul to be uplifted through music, which is like soul food to heal pain. Through his heartfelt lyrics, he opens the world up to the corruption and greed of the Sudanese government; central to the themes of his songs is the campaign for peace of opposing sides in Sudan and the clear message that children have no place in wars.

He has also passionately criticized the current state of hip hop culture in the United States. He sees hip hop as a vehicle to communicate an authentic message, rather than a space to pursue street credibility. "As well as simply being great songs, people are really getting into the lyrics, really understanding his message, and he is a great role model."^[7] He has expressed concern about the message being sent by American hip-hop artists, saying “American hip hop is still entwined with gang culture, drugs, sexual violence, and greed. It’s a battleground.”^[8] His song, "50 Cent", speaks to the successful American rapper to change his violent messages, which have a destructive influence on children, as exemplified through his Bulletproof videogame. "You have done enough damage selling crack cocaine/now you got a 'kill a black man' video game/We have lost a whole generation through this lifestyle/now you want to put it in the game for a little child to play..."^[9] "The Roots and Jal set the hip-hop bar higher," wrote Washington Post in 2008.^[10]

Emmanuel is a spokesman for the Make Poverty History campaign, the Coalition to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers and the Control Arms campaign. In 2008, Jal also got involved in the musical movement of spreading awareness about current slavery and human trafficking by performing various songs for the rockumentary, Call+Response.[1]

A documentary about Emmanuel Jal called War Child was made in 2008 by C. Karim Chrobog. It made its international debut at the Berlin Film Festival and its North American debut at the Tribeca Film Festival, where it won the Cadillac Audience Award. [2] An autobiography under the same name was released in 2009.^[11]

Despite his accomplishments in music, Jal's biggest passion is for Gua Africa, a charity that he founded. Besides building schools, the nonprofit provides scholarships for Sudanese war survivors in refugee camps, and sponsors education for children in the most deprived slum areas in Nairobi.,^[12][13]

Jal completed a 661-day "Lose to Win" fast to build a school in Leer, Southern Sudan, in Emma McCune's honor. From December 2008 to October 2010, the musician ate one meal per day, skipping his breakfasts and lunches to raise funds and awareness for the school, called Emma Academy.,,,^{[14][15][16][17]}

Discography[link]

• 2004 - Gua - Independent
• 2005 - Help!: A Day in the Life - War Child
• 2005 - The Rough Guide to the Music of Sudan - World Music Network
• 2005 - Ceasefire - Riverboat
• 2006 - Live 8 at Eden: Africa Calling - Emd Int'l
• 2007 - Instant Karma: The Amnesty International Campaign To Save Darfur - Amnesty International USA and Art for Amnesty
• 2008 - Warchild - Sonic
• 2010 - Sudan Votes Music Hopes - MICT
• 2010 - Emmanuel Jal's 4th Studio Album
• 2010 - Sudan Votes Music Hopes REMIXED "kuar" remixes by Henrik Schwarz and Olof Dreijer (The Knife)

Filmography[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

• War Child movie
• Official website
• Emmanuel Jal on Myspace
• Emmanuel Jal at the Internet Movie Database
• Page at Sonic360
• MTV Base Africa profile: Emmanuel Jal
• Emmanuel Jal interview by Pete Lewis, 'Blues & Soul' June 2008
• Flaunt magazine Emmanuel Jal feature
• Speech, poem and song by Jal at TEDGlobal 2009
• Edinburgh Book Festival 2009 audio
• Emmanuel Jal - Ambassador, Africa Gathering