Khartoums Unfulfilled Promises Undermine Peace between North & South
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(November 29, 2006) The Washington-DC based human rights group, International Christian Concern (ICC) www.www.persecution.org has learned from sources inside Sudan that the Khartoum government (KG) continues to undermine the already fragile peace in the South. In October, fifteen soldiers were detained in connection with attacks on civilian vehicles in the South. Forty + people were killed in at least five attacks when their vehicles were set on fire. According to an ICC source, the detained perpetrators of these acts have confessed that they were trained in the Muslim North for the express purpose of destabilizing the Christian South.
These incidents are a blatant attack on an already fragile peace agreement between the Khartoum government and the South. The main political party of the North, the National Congress Party (NCP) has failed to adhere to some of the most important protocols of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement that was signed more than a year ago.
Equity in political representation: The KG has not yet established several key commissions such as the Human Rights Commission and the Commission on the Rights of Non-Muslims in the National Capital ( Khartoum ). These commissions would help represent human rights issues such as the position of the Christian church in Khartoum . Churches have been targeted and eliminated in the building of roads and other infrastructure. The Khartoum government still does not recognize a Christian church as a legal entity that can buy and sell property.
Equity in Sharing Oil Wealth: The KG still has not disclosed details of its oil contracts as required by the CPA. The South is supposed to receive 50% of Sudan s oil revenues, but has no way of knowing if it is getting even 25%. One estimate claims that Southern Sudan should be receiving up to one billion dollars in oil revenue, when currently they are receiving half of that estimate.
Full Compliance with Abyei Commission Recommendations: The Khartoum government is not complying with its agreement to give the oil rich region of Abyei an opportunity for a referendum, to determine whether it will stay under Northern or Southern jurisdiction. The Khartoum government has refused to relinquish the area and as a result, Abyei is becoming one of the most volatile and highly contested issues between the two regions.
The only thing that brought the North to the negotiating table in the first place was international pressure. That pressure has now been diverted as Darfur is drawing away the attention of the international community. The Khartoum government seems to be telling the world (based on its actions in the South and its record in Darfur ) that it has no intention of losing control of the South. The possibility of another war igniting in the South is quite real. As a result millions more may die.
