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South Kingstown
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Political Updates
Recent news of great importance is the announcement made by Sudanese president Bashir that the North is ready to let the South secede. In his statement to a Qatari television station that he was ready to either continue on together or separate if it meant an end to the 15-year civil war. "The possibilities of unity stand, so do the possibilities of separation. However, the option of separation with peace is better than that of unity with the continuation of war, " he was quoted as saying. At $1 million dollars a day (totaling to half of the government’s budget), the war is weighing heavily on Bashir. The Northern government has opted for talks with the opposition, going against a previous statement saying that they would only talk to groups listed as political parties under a political association law (Opposition parties refuse to register on the basis that most Sudanese had no say in drafting the law). The response in Southern Sudan has been supportive, yet cautious. SPLA spokesman Richard Mulla has said that the matter should be put to a referendum in the South for the people to decide. One Southerner has said "I hope Bashir will now make good on his promise and let the South go because lasting peace will not come unless the South is independent." Another made the statement "Most Northern politicians say they are going to give Southerners what they want, but none has really given us what we want most—freedom".
The rift between the two sides is still greatly apparent. After the previous announcement was made, incidents of friction have occurred. The Sudanese rebels have accused the Khartoum of violating a cease-fire in the southern Bahr el Ghazal region. The region was hit by a devastating famine last year, and last month the government and rebels agreed to renew a cease-fire for an extra three months to allow aid agencies to carry on relief work. The SPLA reported that government forces from the Popular Defense Force and allied militia attacked the village of Akoch Payam, killing 30 people. The incident took place at an airstrip where food was being distributed. The center of Akoch was burned to the ground, with property and livestock being looted and women raped. In situations like these it is common for Arab militia to be responsible, but the Southerners said that this attack was led by government troops.
Sudanese opposition groups and human rights activists have accused the Islamic government of attacking Moslem opponents by destroying mosques and arresting religious leaders. The report on it said that Moslems who did not agree with the government’s interpretation should not be considered genuine Moslems, so that it is legitimate to kill them and destroy their places of worship.
A recent meeting of leaders of Sudan’s rebel groups and opposition parties at a five day conference in Uganda have vowed to continue their fight against Bashir’s government. Participating were seventeen civil society groups, twelve guerrilla organizations, and thirteen political parties. The conference accused the Sudanese government of violating women’s rights, freedom of worship, and terrorizing civilians. The group desired to see the government brought to justice, and reaffirmed its strive for independence. The conference was unable to come up with ideas on how to solve these problems.