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From: Berhane Habtemariam (Berhane.Habtemariam@gmx.de)
Date: Fri Jul 23 2010 - 09:30:16 EDT
A united Sudan is better for Africa
By MAGDI A. MOFADAL
Friday July 23, 2010
As the date for the referendum on the self-determination for Southern Sudan,
scheduled to be held on January 9, 2011, comes closer, many voices are
increasingly becoming louder in their support for the secession of Southern
Sudan.
Some foreign circles have become more Catholic than the Pope in their
support for the partitioning of Sudan. There are different categories of
foreign secessionists. There are those who think that the South was
oppressed by the North and that the best way to end that oppression is for
the Southerners to choose separation.
There are also those who support secession on religious ground because the
South is predominantly Christian or has traditional African beliefs while
the North is predominantly Muslim.
There are those who pursue economic and trade interests in their quest for
separation in Sudan. They think that the huge business and investment
opportunities they are benefiting from the South cannot be guaranteed if the
people of Southern Sudan choose to remain in a united country.
A closer scrutiny of these views finds that they have several shortcomings.
Most of the African countries are dented with secessionist movements on
religions, racial or ethnic grounds. This is the main reason behind the
decision of the founding fathers of the Organisation or African Unity in
1963 to preserve the borders inherited from the European colonial powers on
the eve of independence.
The principle of border sanctity is one of the main factors behind the
relative peace and stability in Africa. If the founding fathers questioned
the colonial borders they could have unleashed conflicts that could not have
been solved to date.
Therefore the secession by Southern Sudan may open a Pandora box that cannot
be easily closed regionally and may be globally.
Latent or active secessionist movements throughout the continent will be
encouraged by the secession by Southern Sudan to demand the same destiny for
their regions.
A precedent will be set that will endanger the fragile stability in Africa.
No secessionist movement will accept less than self-determination in any
future peace talks. Balkanisation of Africa will be rule of the day. This is
why the CPA gave the option of unity the priority.
Some may argue that an independent state was created in the Horn of Africa
in the 1990s without encouraging secessionist movements in other parts of
the continent. This can be refuted on the ground that this country was an
independent entity before the colonial rule. It was unilaterally annexed by
the government of a neighbouring country. But Southern Sudan is part and
parcel of the Sudan.
It never used to be an independent country. The genesis of internal
conflicts in the Sudan is regional disparities, difficulties in the process
of nation building, and strains in the relation between the central
government and the regional entities.
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