Raising hopes for an end to the world's longest civil war, the Sudanese Government and rebels in the country's south have signed a peace deal that calls for shared power and exempts Christians from Muslim sharia law.
The agreement, reached in Naivasha, Kenya, also promises Christians in Sudan's devastated southern region a referendum in 2010 on whether to secede, a hard-won victory by the rebels. More than 2 million people have died during the 21-year war.
"Thank God for this day," chief Kenyan mediator Lazarus Sumbeiywo said at the signing ceremony.
The historic north-south peace deal does not cover the conflict in the western region of Darfur, where Arab militia are accused of trying to wipe out the area's 80 black African tribes [who are also Muslim].
The year-long fighting in Darfur, south-west of the capital, Khartoum, has displaced more than 1 million people, almost all black. United Nations officials deem it the world's worst humanitarian crisis, with some calling it the next Rwanda.
Oil-rich Sudan is one of the world's most desperate nations, with between 4 and 5 million people displaced from war.
The agreement, reached in Naivasha, Kenya, also promises Christians in Sudan's devastated southern region a referendum in 2010 on whether to secede, a hard-won victory by the rebels. More than 2 million people have died during the 21-year war.
"Thank God for this day," chief Kenyan mediator Lazarus Sumbeiywo said at the signing ceremony.
The historic north-south peace deal does not cover the conflict in the western region of Darfur, where Arab militia are accused of trying to wipe out the area's 80 black African tribes [who are also Muslim].
The year-long fighting in Darfur, south-west of the capital, Khartoum, has displaced more than 1 million people, almost all black. United Nations officials deem it the world's worst humanitarian crisis, with some calling it the next Rwanda.
Oil-rich Sudan is one of the world's most desperate nations, with between 4 and 5 million people displaced from war.
Let's talk about that point - why so many of the world's oil-rich nations are also the most desperately poor, want to?
I bet it's only because they have ignorant, bad people there. Is that right Mr. Bush?
Okay, that's enough talk about that.
How sensible that they have decided to permit the religios people of one faith be exempt from the religious laws of another faith. And even the possibility of creating their own country if they still aren't happy about it. Could that be a possibility for New Iraq®?
Or, I guess the alternative is that we could just go on for 20 years killing each other, until we finally tire of it or run out of people.
"Thank God." Heh. God let you go on slaughtering each other in His name for 21 years. Maybe you better thank whoever it was that finally figured out a better way to do things. Nice job. Now get to work on Darfur.
The agreement, signed on Wednesday, was considered a victory for the Bush Administration.
Of course!
In December last year, the US secretly promised a White House signing ceremony if both sides reached an end-of-the-year deadline.
God, are people in other countries, too, really that shallow?
Late last year, the US also had suggested that after a peace deal was signed, Washington would reward the Islamic Government by removing Sudan from the list of states sponsoring terrorism and would lift economic sanctions soon afterward.
Oh.
But Western diplomats in Khartoum said this week that the fighting in Darfur, and Khartoum's delays in allowing humanitarian assistance to flow into the country, have put those incentives on hold.
"Their moment on the Rose Garden lawn, or getting economic investment, has been delayed at the least," a diplomat said.
"Their moment on the Rose Garden lawn, or getting economic investment, has been delayed at the least," a diplomat said.
How freaking arrogant is that? Their "moment on the Rose Garden Lawn" should mean the difference in a 21-year civil war. Give us that diplomat's name, please.
