After decades of conflict that has killed over 1.5 million people, the former southern region of Sudan is now the worlds newest nation. The new nation bears the name of the Republic of South Sudan. Many citizens have been jubilantly celebrating with statements about having freedom or about celebrating freedom after a long time of conflict and oppression.
On January 9, the citizens of South Sudan held a referendum and voted to split the country into two parts, with the south adopting a new name, national status,
a new flag, and even a currency of their own.
According to InDepthAfrica, the formal independence ceremonies were held on the 9th of July in what is now the nation's Capital, the city of Juba. The ceremonies were attended by some of the world's top diplomats. Susan Rice, current U.S. Ambassador to the United Nation, former Secretary of State Colin Powell and United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon attended the ceremonies.
The official leadership of The New Republic of South Sudan included President Salva Kiir, and the speaker of the South Sudan Legislative Assembly, James Wani Igga, who read the Proclamation of the Independence of South Sudan.
Sudan officially recognizes its new neighbor and the independence ceremony was attended by Sudan's president, Omar Al-Bashir. President Bashir was indicted by an international war crimes tribunal and is considered by some protesters to be fugitive from justice. All of this was set aside and, due to requests that no protesters interrupt, Al-Bashir was allowed to participate and lend his support.
Despite a peace agreement and promise to keep the borders calm, there were fears of new fighting. Recently, about 170,000 people were forced from their homes in Abyei and South Kordofan before fighting was stopped and opposing forces withdrew from what is now a temporarily defined border.
The United Nations has approved a 7,000 person peacekeeping force for the Republic of South Sudan, which should help to keep tensions under control.
Major issues remain to be resolved, including the exact lines of the border between the two nations, the citizenship identity of many people, and the distribution of both debt and oil wealth between the two nations. Sudan has cancelled citizenship for Southerners, so there will be issues of stateless individuals who were caught in the change.
While oil revenues are being equally shared at this point, Sudan also holds the major oil collection point at the capital of Khartoum. The main oil fields, however, now lie in the new Republic of South Sudan, giving both nations some leverage in negotiating settlements.
source:helium.com
