Across the globe, southern Sudanese are celebrating their imminent independence from the rule of President Omar Hassan al-Bashir and his predecessors in Khartoum. These northern rulers spent much of the past half-century engaged in a brutal effort to Arabize and Islamize the southern people. International attention is now focused on helping the chronically underdeveloped region of southern Sudan manage the transition to statehood. But what is missing from the conversation is recognition that the looming partition of Sudan creates not just one new nation, but two.
During the past month in southern Sudan it has been easy to get swept up in the rejoicing of a people who have finally realized their multigenerational struggle for freedom.… Seguir leyendo »
The referendum being conducted in Sudan will put an end to the continuous struggle by the people of southern Sudan since the country's independence in 1956. The preliminary results announced on Sunday indicated that nearly 99% of southern Sudanese voters chose secession. So far the referendum has surprised many observers who expected the process to be bloody and to fall below international standards of fairness and transparency. In fact, the people have shown the world that they can express their choice not only with determination but also civility.
But there are still challenges ahead. Although there is much optimism that the referendum will end peacefully, the way the leadership of the north accepts the result will determine the final outcome.… Seguir leyendo »
The referendum currently taking place in southern Sudan will end a protracted period of deadly conflict in the country.
During its first half-century of independence Sudan was at war with itself for 38 years. This situation could not continue forever. Sooner or later the Sudanese had to answer the question: What should they do to achieve peace?
Throughout the war years the answer was clear. It had been communicated by the southern rebellion which broke out in 1955, initiating the first civil war. Colonial Britain had governed the north and the south as two different entities. The policies it pursued resulted in the relative development of the north and the absolute underdevelopment of the south.… Seguir leyendo »
Beginning today voters in southern Sudan will start going to the polls in a referendum on whether the region should secede. The outcome is all but settled in favor of self-determination, but that fact has done little to diminish the excitement here in the semi-autonomous region’s capital and elsewhere over the last several weeks.
It has been a long struggle: the south, where most people are Christians or animists, have fought for independence since 1956, when the British abruptly handed control of the country to the mainly Muslim and Arab north, and the conflict has cost nearly two million lives.
But the excitement is tempered by anxiety about the path ahead.… Seguir leyendo »
Not every generation is given the chance to turn the page on the past and write a new chapter in history. Yet today — after 50 years of civil wars that have killed two million people and turned millions more into refugees — this is the opportunity before the people of southern Sudan.
Over the next week, millions of southern Sudanese will vote on whether to remain part of Sudan or to form their own independent nation. This process — and the actions of Sudanese leaders — will help determine whether people who have known so much suffering will move toward peace and prosperity, or slide backward into bloodshed.… Seguir leyendo »
At a roundabout in Juba, southern Sudan's capital, stands a digital clock. It has four faces, each titled "Countdown to Southern Sudan Referendum — Period Remaining." The referendum on Jan. 9 is part of the peace agreement signed in 2005 ending the civil war between northern and southern Sudan, and its outcome will determine if Sudan remains one country or becomes two. Each side of the clock has a drawing of a pair of hands wearing broken handcuffs, chain still dangling — a not-so-subtle comment about what the southern Sudanese think of being ruled by Khartoum. Below the hands are boxes to designate the remaining days, hours and minutes.… Seguir leyendo »
Here in the remote town of Yambio in Western Equatoria, the area of southern Sudan worst hit by the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA), I have heard horrific stories of the violence perpetrated by the militia. One lady I met, abducted by the LRA militia but who mercifully escaped, told me her story, her legs still swollen and covered in sores from being on the march for days in the forest.
Abducted with her husband and two-month-old baby, the rebels deliberately mutilated her husband in front of her, then took her baby and threatened to do the same. She told me, "After that, there's no meaning for me to have ever come out of the forest.… Seguir leyendo »
La situación política en el país más grande del África, Sudán, pende de un hilo. De una vez por todas, tanto los sudaneses como la comunidad internacional deben actuar para ayudar a resolver los problemas de este país, establecer una paz duradera y conseguir la seguridad en la zona.
2010 es un año crucial para Sudán y para los países implicados en el proceso de paz. Más de dos décadas de conflictos han marcado su historia, con una guerra civil entre el norte y el sur, muertes masivas y millones de refugiados en Darfur. Ahora, este trágico escenario amenaza con repetirse, debido al colapso que sufre el Acuerdo de Paz Global que puso fin a la guerra en 2005.… Seguir leyendo »
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