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January 9, 2006
Sudan: A Year Since Muslim North Made Peace With The South
It is a year since John Garang, the former rebel leader of the mainly-non-Muslim south of Sudan made a historic peace agreement with the Muslim north, led by President Omar Hassan al-Bashir's Islamist dictatorship (the ruling National Congress Party or NCP). Bashir is pictured, left. The deal was formed after two decades of conflict which had claimed the lives of 2 million people.
Garang (pictured, right) became vice president of Sudan on July 9, but on July 30, his vice-presidency was dramatically cut short after three weeks in office - his Ugandan owned helicopter crashed, killing him and all on board. He was replaced by Lt General Salva Kiir Mayardit.
An interim constitution was ratified on June 6 2005, which officially exempted Christians from Sharia Law, though Christians were still being beaten three months later. The Christians, refugees from the south, were punished for consuming alcohol.
On Saturday October 23 2005 , a new semi-autonomous government was formed in the south, led by Salva Kiir.
Today, Opheera McDoom in Reuters AlertNet reports on the current state of Sudan, a year on from the historic deal brokered with John Garang.
She states that the peace in the south was originally thought to augur well for Darfur, showing a potential guideplan for their troubled region, but this has not happened. The western region is still troubled with attacks by government-backed militia (the Janjaweed). In the east, there is talk among some observers of a potential uprising.
The death of John Garang did little to improve the north-south situation. There were riots after his death, fuelled by rumours of political assassination. It appears maintenance errors caused the Russian-built helicopter to crash, rather than sabotage. The suspicions fuelled mistrust.
Analysts have claimed that without Garang, his party, the SPLM (Sudan People's Liberation Movement), was not able to gain real influence in the new government of the south. In six years' time, the south should be having a referendum, in which the people of the south can opt for secession from the north. Enforcement of this proposal, and also of wealth and power sharing deals, have been weakened by Garang's absence.
Garang's widow Rebecca, a southern minister, said the NCP needed to do more to persuade southerners against voting for independence in six years."I can't say they are committed. They should do more, put a lot of efforts into making unity attractive," she said.
Despite doubts about the peace process, a military parade of SPLM troops marked the first anniversary of peace in the southern capital Juba.
In Khartoum, southern rapper Emmanuel Jal, a former child soldier, and northern musician Abdel Gadir Salim, who together released a record called "Ceasefire", were due to perform.
Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at January 9, 2006 11:29 AM
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