Sudan’s government and a major rebel group have signed a peace agreement that could lead to the end of that country’s 21 years of civil war — although a region of the country facing alleged ethnic cleansing has been left out of the accord.
The agreement — between the Arab-dominated Muslim government and the Sudanese People’s Liberation Army in southern Sudan — does not encompass rebels in the country’s western region of Darfur.
Darfur could become “the biggest humanitarian drama of our time,” the United Nations director for relief in Sudan told The New York Times.
A charge of ethnic cleansing has been leveled at the Sudanese government by Human Rights Watch, which stated that Arab militias known as “janjaweed” have been “armed, trained and uniformed by the Sudanese government.”
The militias pose the threat of genocide against black tribes in Darfur that could rival or surpass the 1994 genocide in Rwanda that claimed 500,000 lives, according to the human rights organization in an Associated Press report.
The number of people needing immediate humanitarian aid due to warfare in Darfur has risen from 1.2 million to 2 million recently, and the issue is compounded by the arrival of the rainy season, which makes getting relief to those who need it even more difficult.
The peace agreement reached May 26 in Naivasha, Kenya, followed 100 days of negotiations in the most recent round of talks between the government and the Sudanese People’s Liberation Army.
The two sides signed three protocols on power-sharing and administering three disputed areas of the country, said CNN.com.
The accord provides for political power-sharing, a split in oil revenues, the maintenance of separate armies with integrated forces deployed in strategic areas.
It also provides for a future referendum allowing Sudanese southerners to decide whether to remain part of the country or secede, according to The Times. The two groups plan to meet again in June or July to clarify details.
War-torn country
The civil war of mostly religious nature has plagued the largest country in Africa for two decades and claimed more than 2 million lives.
The Arab-dominated government has waged what has been described as a genocidal campaign against the mostly black Christian and animist south.
Slave raids and the bombardment of hospitals, churches, schools and relief stations have been part of the government’s campaign, along with the rape of women and children, forcible conversion to Islam of children and starvation for Sudanese who refuse to convert.
“We commend both sides for their commitment to peace and urge them to move quickly to work out details of a formal cease-fire and related security arrangements, as well as the means for implementing the agreements signed today,” U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell said May 26.
U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan said he “welcomes this development and believes it is a major step forward” in the peace process, according to CNN.com.
Carl Moeller, USA president of Open Doors, a Christian organization concerned with assisting persecuted Christians, called the peace agreement an answer to the prayers of many.
“This is truly an answer to the fervent and frequent prayers of millions of Christians around the globe,” he said. “Southern Sudan has deservedly earned a reputation of one of the most hostile places on earth for Christians. We need to continue to pray that the final details of the agreement will be put into place and a permanent peace will finally be realized.”
Annan called on the Sudanese government and rebels in Darfur to “seize the momentum created in Naivasha to reach a political solution in western Sudan, putting an end to the grave humanitarian and human rights situations there.”
The White House said in a recent statement that the peace agreement “presents a unique opportunity for a united Sudan to cast aside the baggage of its troubled past and embark on a new course of stability, prosperity and reconciliation.”
The statement also said the United States urges the government of Sudan to “use the positive momentum created by the peace agreement to reverse the tragic human rights and humanitarian crisis unfolding in Darfur. Further action is required in order for the benefits of peace to reach all Sudanese and for Sudan to enjoy full cooperation with the international community. The displaced population in Darfur must be able to safely return to their homes to contribute to the rebuilding of their country.” Though the country was home to Osama bin Laden in the early 1990s, U.S. officials have credited Sudan with increased anti-terrorism cooperation since 2001. The United States limits diplomatic relations with Sudan and keeps economic sanctions because of the State Department listing Sudan as a state sponsor of terrorism. (BP)
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