National parliament ratifies southern peace agreement

Sudan's national assembly on Tuesday unanimously ratified the comprehensive peace agreement which was signed by the government and the southern Sudan People's Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM/A) in Nairobi, Kenya, on 9 January. The Nairobi agreement formally ended the 21-year civil war in the south between government forces and the SPLM/A. Ismail Al-Haj Musa, chairman of the assembly's law and justice committee, presented the committee's findings on the comprehensive peace agreement to the parliament, describing the agreement as "paving the way for a just partnership in resources and power and giving solution for the issue of the relation between religion and state". The committee noted that peace was a strategic goal of the state intended to bring about comprehensive development and progress all over Sudan, and stressed that the "implementation of peace is a common responsibility of the government, the SPLM/A, and all the national and political forces." It said the agreement had paved the way for the realisation of democratic transformation and the expansion of the scope of participation, facilitating the return of a large number of opposition leaders to the Sudanese capital. The Sudanese embassy in Nairobi, in a statement on Wednesday, called the agreement a "framework for unity which is based on free will, democratic rule, justice, equality and mutual respect, besides guaranteeing the right of self-determination for the citizens of south Sudan." Vice president, Moses Machar, Secretary General of the National Congress, Ibrahim Ahmed Omer, former vice president Abel Alier and other SPLM/A officials, federal ministers, representatives of the Sufi sects and Sudanese political parties attended the ratification ceremony in the Sudanese capital, Khartoum. Ratification will clear the way for the drafting of a new constitution and the formation of a new national government. After six years, a referendum among the southern states will determine whether the south will become fully independent or remain part of a unified Sudan. Under the power-sharing agreement between the government and the SPLM/A, 52 percent of the government will be from the ruling National Congress Party and 28 percent from the SPLM/A, with other northern parties taking 14 and other southerners six. The agreement also stipulates that the SPLM/A leader, John Garang, is to become first vice president and head an autonomous administration for the south during the six-year transitional period. The National Liberation Council, the SPLM/A legislative body, unanimously endorsed the southern peace agreement at a meeting held in Rumbek, the provisional capital of southern Sudan, on 24 January. The war between the government and the SPLM/A erupted in 1983 when rebels took up arms against authorities based in the north to demand greater autonomy. At least 2 million people have been killed and four million displaced. Another 600,000 fled to seek refuge in neighbouring countries.