AMIDST ALL THE TURMOIL sweeping across the horn of Africa, another development of immense significance was taking place in its largest country Sudan: the splitting into two entities – north and south.
The birth of a new state in the south through a consensual referendum is a moment to cheer. Logically it brings to an end a struggle that has been going on for decades, and at the same time addresses the ethno-political void that has been plaguing the Sudanese society.
With President Omar Al Bashir having gracefully accepted the secession vote, now is the time to work on a strategy to end the violence and instability in that region. Though Sudan may have split politically and administratively, hammering out a path to live peacefully as neighbours remains a major challenge.
Before the euphoria dies down and both sides get down to business, it is incumbent upon either party to address the issues of economy, security, social harmony, border issues and the tricky aspects of citizenship and transition, so that the new neighbours do not have a backlog of bad blood and controversies in starting afresh.
Many in that region believe that the almost 100 per cent vote by the south for independence from Khartoum should bolster the 2005 peace agreement that had put Sudan at relative peace since then. It remains to be seen.
It is unlikely that ethnic and communal tensions in the oil rich region would wither away with the declaration of independence, and maybe this is the time to “paint a larger canvas of cooperation and peaceful coexistence”.
With the south eyeing July as the time frame to be declared as a sovereign entity by the United Nations, a lot of spadework remains to be done. President Bashir, apart from detailing out what the north has to concede, has to walk the extra mile in addressing the legitimate grievances of the opposition.
The referendum results and the decision to secede are now a geopolitical reality, and the global community cannot walk away. The first step should be to remove Sudan from the list of countries accused of sponsoring terrorism.
Secondly, the developed world should lend all necessary aid and assistance to help Sudan overcome persistent poverty, hunger and lawlessness. The split is seen as more a political triumph than the one that has been achieved through violence and bloodshed. The opportunity to oblige shouldn’t be lost.
Peace has come on a ballot in South Sudan after 22 years of strife and civil war and the scar from that era will not disappear without some drastic cosmetic surgery. Once the euphoria has died down and reality sets in, along with it will come the realization that independence comes with a price.
Sadly, history has a grim lesson to teach us because all too often in the past the carving of a new nation has led to even more anger and bloodshed.
