AFRICA/SUDAN - Former Southern Sudan rebel leader sworn in as vice President of Sudan

Saturday, 9 July 2005

Khartoum (Fides Service)- Today 9 July in Khartoum former rebel leader John Garang was sworn in as vice President of Sudan. After the ceremony the President Omar al Bashir signed the country’s new Constitution as established by North-South peace agreements signed on January 9, 2005. Back in the capital after an absence of 22 years Garang led the Sudanese People’s Liberation Army SPLA in a bloody civil war which lasted more than twenty years and left at least 2 million people dead and 4 million homeless. According to the agreement Garang will also be head of the regional government in Rumbek temporary capital of southern Sudan. Recently Garang has been living in Rumbek.
According to the agreement, the President and vice president will be chosen respectively by the former Khartoum government and SPLA. However in the event of the president’s absence the first vice president will not have full powers. A second vice president will be a representative of the north. National posts will be shared as followed: 70 per cent for the north and 30 per cent for the secessionists. Special regions will be governed by SPLA leaders with representative of the north holding 60 per cent of political positionsThe agreement includes power sharing and autonomy in special regions. This means new structure of central power in relations with local autonomies. For the first time since the founding of Sudan as a nation Islam and Animism are recognised as the two main religions. (Islam 75%, Animist 17%, Christianity, Roman Catholic 4%, Protestant 2% source Philips’ World Factbook). One of the reasons for the rebellion was the government decision to extend Sharia law to include the whole country including the southern regions where people are mainly Christians and Animists. This new agreement stipulates that Sharia law will apply only to the north. In the capital Khartoum where there are many Christians and Animists from the south during the interim period the Sharia, including punishments such as amputation and stoning, will be applied to Muslim only.
The peace agreement is not valid for the western region of Darfur which borders on Chad. Darfur is a vast partly desert region with a population of about 6 million. It has borders with Chad and Libya. An independent Sultanate until 1917, it was incorporated in Sudan at the time when the latter was controlled by a joint Anglo-Egyptian administration. For years the scene of clashes between nomad herdsmen and sedentary farmers, in February 2003 the situation in Darfur exploded into a conflict in which between 30 and 50,000 people have died, 1.2 million are internally displaced and more than 200,000 have taken refuge in Chad. Economic and social claims were at the basis of the revolt. The armed movements demand more government investment for development of the area.
In Darfur according to the United Nations High Commission for Refugees UNHCR there were episodes of violence inside camps of internally displaced perons at El Geneina, west Darfur. The incidents ocurred as the United Nations World Food Programme WFP was registering names for the distribution of food, while UNHCR was making sure the most vulnerable people, pregant mothers and young children and the eldery receive aid first.
According to UNHCR people were waiting in line to be registered when suddenly young men armed with sticks and stones began to attack the humanitarian workers supervising the registration operation. As a result UNHCR, WFP, UNICEF and NGO personnel has been withdrawn from most of the camps. Darfur has about 2 million internally displaced people. (L.M.) (Agenzia Fides 9/7/2005 righe 47 parole 604)


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