Democracy News

South Sudan Declares Independence
July 15, 2010
By: Carlos Aramayo | Printer Friendly

On July 9, the Republic of South Sudan officially became the 55th African nation. The creation of South Sudan was possible because of the American brokered Comprehensive Peace Agreement signed in 2005. The negotiations that lead to the agreement between the Arab-dominated Sudanese government and the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM) were led by United States (US) Secretary of State Colin Powell. The southern Sudanese population voted overwhelmingly – by more than 99 percent of voters – to secede from Sudan during a January 2011 referendum.

In a statement, US President Barack Obama said he was “proud to declare that the United States formally recognises the Republic of South Sudan as a sovereign and independent state." BBC News reported that similar statements recognizing South Sudan's nationhood were also issued by the United Kingdom, Russia and others members of the international community. During official independence celebrations in the capital city of Juba, President Salva Kiir stated: "Our martyrs did not die in vain... We have waited for more than 56 years for this day. It is a day that will be forever engraved on our hearts and minds," the Washington Post reported. The ceremony was attended by notable international figures, including United Nations (UN) Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, US Ambassador to the UN Susan Rice and European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton.

Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir, who for years led a brutal war to keep the south from splitting with the north, attended the ceremony. Bashir presence came as surprise since he has been indicted by the International Criminal Court on genocide charges over the massacres in Darfur.  During his speech Bashir noted that “Sudan’s unity would have been better,” but “I convinced myself that unity shouldn’t be through war.” Bashir also called on the US to end sanctions against his country now that "the will of the people of the south has been respected," the Washington Post reported.

In an opinion editorial, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton congratulated the creation of an independent South Sudan. However, Clinton also noted, “One urgent step both sides must take is agreeing to a cessation of hostilities in the northern border state of Southern Kordofan, which started in early June.”

Relations with the north are still dicey. Negotiators have yet to agree on a formula to split the revenue from the south’s oil fields, which have kept the economies of both southern and northern Sudan afloat.

The effort that led to the creation of South Sudan was assisted by the US, the African Union and the UN. The new country, which does not include Darfur, now has to finish building a sufficient infrastructure and an effectively operating governmental system for the three dominant ethnic groups—the Dinka, Shilluk and the Juba—and also the smaller kinship groups. To finance its economic development, South Sudan is endowed with vast natural resources such as oil deposits, gold, uranium, tin, copper and fertile soils.

Prior to Sudan's independence from British colonizers in 1956, the southern third of the country, where the population is mostly animist and Christian, struggled with the northern part, which is mainly Muslim and long dominated by Arabs. The southern struggle became a full-fledged rebellion in the 1960s and 1980s. The Sudanese government responded brutally, bombing villages and unleashing Arab militias that massacred civilians and enslaved southern Sudanese children.

Sources:
BBC News – South Sudan: World leaders welcome new nation

Washington Post – South Sudan Created

US Department of State – Op-Ed Hillary Rodham Clinton

All Africa – South Sudan’s Independence