Uncertain fate of southern Sudan

Colonel Garang’s cooperation with the Sudanese central government is a sign of the new attitude adopted by the Sudanese government and people, who seek to end the civil war.

The 22-year civil war, in which two million people lost their lives, weakened Sudan’s central government and gave hegemonic powers the opportunity to interfere in Sudan’s domestic affairs.

For the past two decades, the Sudanese government tried to end the internecine war through logical resolutions but had to deal with interference from both regional and extra-regional governments.

The war in southern Sudan and the Darfur crisis have caused serious economic and political problems for the Sudanese government and prevented the exploitation of the natural resources of the huge country, which covers an area of over 2.5 million square kilometers.

When large fossil fuel reserves were discovered in southern Sudan, the region that dominates a part of the upper Nile River caught the attention of some opportunist countries, which have been encouraging the residents to secede ever since.

The outbreak of a revolt in southern Sudan and the formation of the Sudan People’s Liberation Army, led by Garang, were the outcome of a series of domestic, regional, and international factors.

On the domestic front, the Sudanese central government tried to terminate the southern rebellion through military measures, but the resistance of the rebels and the assistance provided to the SPLA by neighboring countries prolonged the civil war.

In the region, neighboring countries, with the help of the Zionist regime, which is trying to weaken African Muslim countries by triggering civil wars, tried to dismember the great African Islamic country of Sudan by arming the Sudanese rebels.

Their main objective is to create a Christian country on the banks of the Nile in order to end the domination of Egypt and Sudan over the world’s longest river.

Eventually, the Sudanese central government began a series of talks with the southern rebels in 1994, which led to the conclusion of a peace agreement in July 2002 called the Machakos Peace Accord.

According to the agreement, which was signed by Sudanese First Vice President Ali Osman Mohamed Taha and Colonel John Garang, the SPLA agreed to end its military operations in the south and in return the Sudanese central government agreed to give some governmental posts to the representatives of the SPLA, including Garang.

It was also agreed that six years after the unity government was formed, the final status of southern Sudan would be decided through a referendum which would be held under the supervision of the United Nations and the European Union.

Consequently, Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir met Colonel Garang in Kampala, Uganda and the two agreed to form a national coalition cabinet.

But will the formation of a national unity government save Sudan from dismemberment? Undoubtedly, the pressure of the United States and some other countries and Western governments’ measures to break up the country will be intensified, because their main objective is to gain access to the oil reserves of southern Sudan by forming a puppet government in the region.

Despite their religious differences, it is in the best interests of all the Sudanese people to try to attain their rights within the framework of a united Sudan. The country is definitely facing a number of serious threats, so Sudanese officials should make every effort to promote national and regional convergence in order to prevent neocolonialist countries from interfering in Sudan’s domestic affairs.

SA/HG

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MNA