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Sudan Update: Is the Comprehensive Peace Agreement Holding?

With H.E. Salva Kiir Mayardit, First Vice President of Sudan and President of the Government of Southern Sudan.Moderator: Howard Wolpe, Director of the Africa Program, Wilson Center.

Date & Time

Wednesday
Nov. 7, 2007
9:30am – 11:00am ET

Overview

On Wednesday November 7, 2007, the Wilson Center hosted a Director's Forum with Salva Kiir Mayardit, First Vice President of Sudan, President of Southern Sudan, and Chairman of the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM). Howard Wolpe, the director of the Wilson Center's Africa Program served as moderator.

Ambassador Wolpe introduced President Salva Kiir and described the current situation in Sudan where the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) signed in 2005 to end the civil war faces a major crisis with the departure of the SPLM from the Government of National Unity this fall. He said that a discussion of progress on the CPA must take into account the death of Dr. John Garang, Salva Kiir's predecessor; issues surrounding oil revenue sharing between the north and south; the incomplete withdrawal of the national army from Southern Sudan; the Abyei border disputes and disruption; and, SPLM's challenge to transform itself from an armed rebel movement to a political party operating within the national administration.

Salva Kiir began his presentation with an overview of the strategic vision of the SPLM before highlighting the achievements and challenges of the CPA. He also touched on the current political crisis, Darfur and the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) negotiations in Uganda.

Sudan's geographic position as a buffer zone between two large arenas of conflict, the Horn of Africa and the Africa Great Lakes region, means that the threat of conflict within Sudan is of concern well beyond the borders of Sudan. If the CPA collapses the damage will not only be felt regionally, but across the continent and the globe. Furthermore, the SPLM strives not be a protest party, but rather a party that works with its partners. During the question and answer session, he reemphasized SPLM's willingness to work with all parties.

On the CPA, Salva Kiir mentioned the CPA's role in ending the 22 year civil war between Northern and Southern Sudan and stressed that it could serve as a blueprint to resolve other conflicts. The CPA calls for a referendum in 2011 when the South will vote for unity with or separation from the North. During the question and answer session, he clarified that the SPLM signed the agreement in hopes of encouraging the South to choose unity. He reiterated that the SPLM would not consider a unilateral declaration of independence, but would wait for the referendum.

He continued his presentation by listing several achievements of the CPA. First, it has contributed to peace and stability in all parts of Sudan, except for Darfur. With the revisions of constitutions throughout the country, each state in Sudan has a separate constitution and a functioning system of government, including the establishment of a Bill of Rights and fundamental freedoms, although these have often not been fully implemented. The conclusion of a peace agreement with East Sudan was made through the framework of the CPA. The CPA also defined a new multicultural, multi-religious, multilingual, multiethnic national identity for Sudan. Finally, in terms of economics, the new currency, the Sudan Pound, is now in circulation and increased fiscal responsibility has been transferred to the state level.

Despite these achievements, Salva Kiir said the CPA is still facing four important challenges:

1. The case of the Abyei Protocol from 2005 which gave Abyei territory a special administrative status. During negotiations, the National Congress Party (NCP) and SPLM agreed to the formation of the Abyei Boundaries Commission (ABC) whose decision on demarcating the borders of Abyei would be binding on all parties. However, the NCP rejected the ABC decision in 2005 and since then, the situation remains without resolution.
2. Armed Forces withdrawal and integration. Sudan's Armed Forces remain in Unity, Abyei and Upper Nile States, though the deadline for withdrawal was July 9, 2007. The SPLA has not completed its withdrawal from the Nuba Mountains and Bahr el Ghazal. President Salva Kiir argued that this was due to technical issues with water levels and a lack of logistical capacity and the fact that integration, training and arming of units in the Nuba Mountains and Bahr el Ghazal have not yet been realized. In response to a question on the militias trained by the Government in Khartoum, President Salva Kiir stated that some of these had been integrated into the SPLA, but that those not integrated previously are now being disarmed and sent home. Other groups that need to be disarmed are the unauthorized groups in Southern Sudan and bordering countries that threaten the rule of law.
3. The question of oil revenue sharing. Currently the North and South each receive 50% of revenues from Southern wells, while only the North receives profits from the Northern wells. The border designating North/South fields continues to be pushed further south. President Salva Kiir stated SPLM's position that the oil found in any part of Sudan should be a national asset.
4. Reconciliation and healing processes have not yet begun.

Salva Kiir then directed his presentation to the question of the current political crisis and the reasons his SPLM has stepped out of the Government of National Unity. Despite talks between the NCP and SPLM since 2005, the two parties have not always been using the same language. For instance, the government media in Khartoum only presents the agenda of the NCP which mainly focus on islamization and arabization, and has not featured information on the CPA or its implementation. Furthermore, the internationally chaired Assessment and Evaluation Commission (AEC) Commissioner may soon resign due to threats of expulsion if he reports on the actions of the NCP.

On the topic of Darfur, Salva Kiir reiterated that the SPLM supports the Darfur peace process as necessary to the stability of Sudan and the region. SPLM had an initiative to bring together the factions in Darfur to decide on one common agenda and delegation with which to face the Government of National Unity. According to President Salva Kiir, the Juba talks failed because this was not yet accomplished. When asked about the U.S. role, he recognized the U.S contributions to negotiations, provision of mediators and relief to Sudan. He said that the U.S. should continue to monitor the implementation of the CPA as a witness to the agreement, along with the other 13 international witnesses. In Darfur, the U.S. should assist and help guide negotiations but the situation remains something the Sudanese must in the end resolve themselves.

In fielding a question on the role of women, Salva Kiir asked a member of his entourage,Dr. Anne Itto, Presidential Advisor and SPLM Deputy General Secretary, South Sector, to respond. She spoke on the importance of women's leadership and SPLM's work to open the electoral process to women voters and candidates. She also noted that SPLM women leaders are meeting with their counterparts from Darfur.

At the conclusion of his presentation, President Salva Kiir spoke briefly on the situation with the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) in northern Uganda. The SPLM initiative to mediate between the LRA and government of Uganda was originally criticized but it has now garnered results. "We were the first to show Museveni a photo of Joseph Kony, " Salva Kiir said, and now the LRA is in Kampala and he believes that they will sign a permanent ceasefire.

The closing questions brought up the issue of dams being constructed by the Chinese near Merowe on the Nile River north of Khartoum and corruption within the SPLM. Salva Kiir noted that the dam project began before the SPLM was part of the government. He stated SPLM would not, therefore, oppose the dams but that it did not support the settlement of Chinese and Egyptians and the displacement of local peoples in the areas of the dams, Local projects like this should benefit directly the local peoples. He stated that corruption has been rampant in Sudan since 1956 and affected the whole country. However, the SPLM has recently put in place mechanisms to actively combat corruption including a corruption commission and the investigation of ministers accused of corruption.

Howard Wolpe asked Salva Kiir to conclude with a reflection on the big picture. Salva Kiir stated that the CPA is struggling, but has not yet fallen. He wants the international community to be more pro-active, especially those who were present at the signing of the CPA. A forum needs to be held where the two leaders, Presidents Bashir and Salva Kiir, can discuss the CPA with observers, including Egypt and South Africa.

Prepared by Alicia Ranck, Intern and Roseline Fodouop Tekeu, Program Assistant, Africa Program.

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Africa Program

The Africa Program works to address the most critical issues facing Africa and US-Africa relations, build mutually beneficial US-Africa relations, and enhance knowledge and understanding about Africa in the United States. The Program achieves its mission through in-depth research and analyses, public discussion, working groups, and briefings that bring together policymakers, practitioners, and subject matter experts to analyze and offer practical options for tackling key challenges in Africa and in US-Africa relations.    Read more

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