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Sudan: New Nation’s Name

Sudan: New Nation’s Name South Sudan will be the name of the world’s newest nation when it achieves international recognition in July, a top official of its ruling party said on February 15th. “We as SPLM leadership have taken a position that the new state… shall be called South Sudan,” said Pagan Amum , secretary general of the former rebel Sudan People’s Liberation Movement ( SPLM ). The decision must still be voted on by the southern parliament, but with the SPLM holding the vast majority of seats it seems likely the choice of name will stick. In a landmark independence vote in January, almost 99% of southerners voted to secede and split Africa’s largest country in two. Amum said north and south would have separate currencies after partition in place of the existing Sudanese pound. Amum said the SPLM would split into separate northern and southern sections. Malik Agar , SPLM stalwart and governor of Blue Nile state in the north, will be the interim chairman of the party’s northern branch, Amum said. The party’s candidate for a nationwide presidential election last April, northerner Yassir Arman , will be acting secretary general until party elections can be held. (©AFP 15/2 2011) Meanwhile, South Sudan President, Salva Kiir Mayardit , has said that he plans to establish a broad‐based government, after the region becomes independent on July 9th. Addressing journalists in Juba, South Sudan’s capital on February 8th, President Kiir described the outcome of the vote as the beginning of a new era in the region’s struggle. By peacefully conducting its referendum, the president said, South Sudan clearly demonstrated to the whole world that it remains committed to equality, justice, democracy and the rule of law in accordance with internationally accepted principles. Kiir, also Sudan’s first vice‐president paid tribute to John Garang , the former Southern Sudan leader who died in a 2005 helicopter crash, just months after signing the Compreshensive Peace Agreement (CPA. The South’s president also praised those who had lost their lives in the two‐decade struggle. The UN estimates that 2m people have died in the conflict, mainly through malnutrition and disease. (Sudan Tribune, Paris 8/2) Bashir To Retire?: In a separate development, Sudanese President Omar Hassan al‐Bashir has announced that he will not stand at the next election as part of a package of reforms aimed at democratising the country. Bashir took power in a bloodless coup in 1989. In April 2010 he won presidential elections which many opposition parties boycotted, citing fraud. This means that he still has four more years to remain in power. Bashir is the only sitting head of state to be indicted by the International Criminal Court, for war crimes and genocide in the war‐torn Darfur region. He denies the charges. The opposition has belittled the move, saying it is aimed at heading off mass protests and feared contagion from popular uprisings which have ousted the Tunisian and Egyptian presidents. (The Independent, London 22/2) Secession vote p. 18691B http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Africa Research Bulletin: Political, Social and Cultural Series Wiley

Sudan: New Nation’s Name

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Publisher
Wiley
Copyright
© Blackwell Publishing Ltd. 2011
ISSN
0001-9844
eISSN
1467-825X
DOI
10.1111/j.1467-825X.2011.03703.x
Publisher site
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Abstract

South Sudan will be the name of the world’s newest nation when it achieves international recognition in July, a top official of its ruling party said on February 15th. “We as SPLM leadership have taken a position that the new state… shall be called South Sudan,” said Pagan Amum , secretary general of the former rebel Sudan People’s Liberation Movement ( SPLM ). The decision must still be voted on by the southern parliament, but with the SPLM holding the vast majority of seats it seems likely the choice of name will stick. In a landmark independence vote in January, almost 99% of southerners voted to secede and split Africa’s largest country in two. Amum said north and south would have separate currencies after partition in place of the existing Sudanese pound. Amum said the SPLM would split into separate northern and southern sections. Malik Agar , SPLM stalwart and governor of Blue Nile state in the north, will be the interim chairman of the party’s northern branch, Amum said. The party’s candidate for a nationwide presidential election last April, northerner Yassir Arman , will be acting secretary general until party elections can be held. (©AFP 15/2 2011) Meanwhile, South Sudan President, Salva Kiir Mayardit , has said that he plans to establish a broad‐based government, after the region becomes independent on July 9th. Addressing journalists in Juba, South Sudan’s capital on February 8th, President Kiir described the outcome of the vote as the beginning of a new era in the region’s struggle. By peacefully conducting its referendum, the president said, South Sudan clearly demonstrated to the whole world that it remains committed to equality, justice, democracy and the rule of law in accordance with internationally accepted principles. Kiir, also Sudan’s first vice‐president paid tribute to John Garang , the former Southern Sudan leader who died in a 2005 helicopter crash, just months after signing the Compreshensive Peace Agreement (CPA. The South’s president also praised those who had lost their lives in the two‐decade struggle. The UN estimates that 2m people have died in the conflict, mainly through malnutrition and disease. (Sudan Tribune, Paris 8/2) Bashir To Retire?: In a separate development, Sudanese President Omar Hassan al‐Bashir has announced that he will not stand at the next election as part of a package of reforms aimed at democratising the country. Bashir took power in a bloodless coup in 1989. In April 2010 he won presidential elections which many opposition parties boycotted, citing fraud. This means that he still has four more years to remain in power. Bashir is the only sitting head of state to be indicted by the International Criminal Court, for war crimes and genocide in the war‐torn Darfur region. He denies the charges. The opposition has belittled the move, saying it is aimed at heading off mass protests and feared contagion from popular uprisings which have ousted the Tunisian and Egyptian presidents. (The Independent, London 22/2) Secession vote p. 18691B

Journal

Africa Research Bulletin: Political, Social and Cultural Series – Wiley

Published: Mar 1, 2011

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