Sudanese Rebels and Government Sign Last Chapters to Peace

Holding true to the historic preliminary peace treaty signed last month in Nairobi, Kenya, Sudan's government and southern rebel signed the last chapters to the peace deal on Friday, December 31, paving the way for a complete end to Africa's longest civil war.

"The war in the south is over," Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir told a ceremony in the Kenyan town of Naivasha that was also attended by South African President Thabo Mbeki, according to the Associated Press.

The delegates from Sudan's Khartoum government and the rebel Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM) signed the remaining two chapters of the 8-step peace accord. Friday’s final signings follow a preliminary pledge on Nov. 19 between the two warring factions. The initial pledge, which was signed before 15 U.N. Security Council ambassadors, was generally heralded as the "first step" to ending the 21-year war.

In the capital Khartoum, southern Sudanese watched the live-televised pictures of the signing and took to the streets while chanting "New Sudan" or "John Garang."

"I am so happy with signing of peace. We expect Sudan will become better. Now, Sudanese have the right to live in any place they want inside Sudan," said Tom Okween, a 38 year old Sudanese, to AP.

U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan also celebrated the finalised treaty, calling it an accord that will "...usher in a new era of peace in Sudan, in which the United Nations is prepared to play a significant role," according to AP.

Nonetheless, a heavy shadow loomed over the historic signing, as peacemakers noted the continuing and worsening conference in the Western Darfur region of Sudan.

"Our happiness will not be complete unless we solve the problem of Darfur," Bashir said.

The Darfur conflict, a separate battle within the war-torn nation, has been called the worst humanitarian crises of this era; since the ethnic cleansing campaign was launched some 18 months ago, nearly 2 million ethnic Sudanese were forced out of their homes and over 70,000 died.

"From New York to Nairobi, a trail of weak resolutions on Darfur has led nowhere," said Caroline Nursey, regional director of Amnesty International after the preliminary signing.

Kristin Sachen, assistant general sectary for the United Methodist Committee on Relief, agreed, saying: "I think the situation in Darfur is so serious and good faith has not been shown to date. The government just has not been responsive."

The peace accords do not cover the conflicts in Darfur, but observers said they hoped the Dec. 21 treaty can act as a blueprint for peace in Darfur.

"My hope is that this is a real opportunity to step forward and do the right thing in Darfur," said Sachen.

Ahmed Abdel-Hamid Awad, a 33-year-old journalist, agreed, saying, "Maybe the Naivasha agreement will be the beginning of the solution in Darfur and in the rest of the regions of Sudan."

The North-South conflict began in 1983 when the Khartoum government tried to impose Islamic law in the entire country and mostly Christian rebels from the South rejected it. In the past 20 years, some 2 million Sudanese died, mainly through famine and disease, and some 4 million were uprooted and left homeless.

Should the two warring parties hold true to the peace treatises, Khartoum and the southern rebels will form a coalition government, decentralise power, share oil revenues and administer armed forces during a six-year transition period.





Pauline J. Chang
Ecumenical Press