May 28, 2004              

By Fredrick Nzwili
Ecumenical News International

NAIROBI, Kenya — Songs, ululation and drums marked the signing of key agreements May 26 between the government of Sudan and the main rebel group, the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement/Army, that pave the way for a comprehensive peace accord to end a 21-year-long civil war.  

“This is superb. We have been waiting for the agreement for a long time. We are really tired of war,” Sudanese Roman Catholic Bishop Joseph Abangite Gasi told Ecumenical News International after the signing ceremony in Naivasha, a town about 80 kilometers west of Nairobi. “But the church expects this comes as real peace. The people also expect true, just and long lasting peace.” 

Sudan’s Islamic government and the SPLA have been fighting for control of the mainly animist and Christian south since 1983. The war has killed an estimated 2 million people and displaced millions of others. 

A UMNS photo by Mike DuBose. Bishop Mvume Dandala of South Africa delivers a theme address to the 18th World Methodist Conference in Brighton, England.

“It is going to be a big challenge,” Dandala noted.  

The foes signed three protocols on power sharing and the administration of three disputed areas in central Sudan. They still have to agree on a final cease-fire and the procedural details to implement the final peace agreement, which is expected to happen within a month. 

“This victory is not only for the people of Sudan but also the African continent,” Kenya’s President Mwai Kibaki said in a statement. “I hope it will accelerate peace in Somalia.” 

The accord is not related, however, to conflict in the Darfur region of western Sudan, where fighting between the government and rebels has raised fears of ethnic cleansing. 

Still, the Kenyan foreign minister, Kalonzo Musyoka, said he hoped the agreement between the Sudanese government and the SPLA would have a ripple effect on that conflict. 

“Even before they sign the final peace agreement, I expect the Sudanese people at the ground will get the message, embrace each other and live together in peace,” he said. 

Jubilant SPLA rebel leader John Garang said after the ceremony: “We have reached the crest of the last hill on our tortuous ascent to the height of peace. We believe the remaining is a flat ground.” 

The government and rebels have agreed to form a government of national unity but with significant elements of devolution. They have already agreed that the south should be autonomous for six years, after which the people will undertake a referendum on whether to secede or not. They have also agreed that Sharia (Islamic law) will apply only to the north.  

The protocols also set forth how oil revenues will be shared, and they allow the establishment of separate monetary systems in the south and north, and the formation of two separate armies.

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