January 9, 2011, is a date that has been ingrained in the minds of southerners since 2005, when more than two decades of war between north and south ended with the signing of the a peace deal that promised the south a self-determination vote.
The Comprehensive Peace Agreement was signed on this day in 2005, but anyone who knows the history of the south knows that southerners have been waiting for a lot longer than six years for this day. They have been waiting for more than five decades for the chance to be “first-class citizens” in their own country, to play on a phrase once uttered by the late southern hero Dr. John Garang. So the referendum has been a long time coming, to say the least.
Here are some wise words from the Southern Sudanese president and from two other respected African leaders that (for me) help sum ...
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January 9, 2011, is a date that has been ingrained in the minds of southerners since 2005, when more than two decades of war between north and south ended with the signing of the a peace deal that promised the south a self-determination vote.
The Comprehensive Peace Agreement was signed on this day in 2005, but anyone who knows the history of the south knows that southerners have been waiting for a lot longer than six years for this day. They have been waiting for more than five decades for the chance to be “first-class citizens” in their own country, to play on a phrase once uttered by the late southern hero Dr. John Garang. So the referendum has been a long time coming, to say the least.
Here are some wise words from the Southern Sudanese president and from two other respected African leaders that (for me) help sum up part of what today was and is about:
“I believe those of Dr. John [Garang] and all those who died with him are with us here today. I’m sure that they didn’t die in vain.”–President Salva Kiir, January 9
“I believe this is democracy at its most basic, where people are choosing their future, and how and by whom they want to be governed. And I hope that all the parties and all of us will respect the results once they are announced because the people are the ultimate authority and it’s important that the enthusiasm, the energy, leads to solid results that are expected by everyone.”–Former United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan, January 9
“It is a day for which generations strived ged for, as well as the commencement of a process of the reconstruction of Sudan, both North and South.”–President Thabo Mbeki, January 7
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