US cautiously optimistic about post-secession Sudan
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July 2, 2011 (WASHINGTON) – The US Special Envoy for Sudan Princeton
Lyman on Friday expressed confidence that the breaking up of the North
and South will take place peacefully but warned of many serious
challenges ahead.
JPEG - 28.6 kb
FILE - .S. special envoy for Sudan Princeton Lyman speaks during a
joint news conference with Sudan’s Foreign Minister Ali Karti in
Khartoum April 6, 2011 (Reuters)
South Sudan will officially become independent in a week time after
choosing secession in January’s self determination referendum.
"I do think July 9th is going to come off in the way it should, as
bringing to an end decades of civil war between the north and the
south," Lyman was quoted a saying by Reuters at a news briefing.
"Both sides really feel that a return to general war would be
disastrous for both of them," he added.
"That doesn’t mean that ... military clashes might not occur because
they haven’t either resolved an issue or emotions get carried to
extreme", the US official added.
Since May the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) of the North and the Sudan
People Liberation Army (SPLA) have clashed in the border regions of
Abyei and South Kordofan.
The African Union (AU) managed to broker a deal by which Ethiopian
peacekeepers would deploy to Abyei and monitor the withdrawal of all
troops particularly SAF which seized control of the region following
an ambush it blamed on Southern ex-rebels.
In South Kordofan the fighting is reportedly ongoing with president
Omer Hassan al-Bashir declaring that military operations would
continue despite an accord signed in Addis Ababa this week that paved
the way for cessation of hostilities.
Lyman warned that contentious post-referendum issues primarily oil
sharing and citizenship need to be resolved quickly.
"The point is that the oil income is going to drop off steadily over
the next five years unless either technological changes are made or
new discoveries are made," Lyman said.
Southern Sudan, which faces huge infrastructure challenges as it seeks
to find its footing as an independent state, will need to diversify
into agriculture and other mineral resources, he said.
The veteran US diplomat also stressed the need to ensure that millions
of Southerners in the North would not end up stateless.
This week Northern and Southern officials announced that citizens of
both sides living in each others’ territories would have 9 months from
July 9 to arrange for residency permits or depart altogether. However,
it does not appear that criteria were established by which those
citizens would be granted the right to live and work.
"I think this can all happen but it’s going to take a lot of work,"
Lyman said. "It’s going to take a lot of courageous decision-making”.
The US Department of State said that Lyman met on Friday with
representatives of the diplomatic corps in Washington to rally
international support for peace between Sudan’s North and South.
He said that the world should make it clear to the Sudanese that they
cannot miss this historic opportunity to start a new chapter in
Sudan’s history – one marked by peace, prosperity, and closer ties to
the international community.
Lyman also asked the international community to unite in encouraging
the Sudanese government and the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement to
resolve the outstanding issues between them and lay the foundation for
two viable states at peace with one another.
(ST)
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