Sudan’s NC-SPLM to jointly administer Khartoum
Jan 4, 2005 (CAIRO) — Sudanese ruling National Congress Party (NCP) and former southern rebels have agreed on a formula to jointly administer the national capital, state television reported Wednesday.
The NCP and the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM) struck the deal nearly a year after they signed a landmark peace accord that ended over 20 years of north-south conflict, which left some two million people dead.
The January 9, 2004 peace agreement called, among others things, for all parties to take part in the administration of Khartoum during a six-year interim period leading up to a referendum on southern independence.
“During the interim period, the two parties shall be adequately represented in the administration of the national capital,” under the agreement which the NCP signed with the SPLM in Nairobi.
The accord adds that Khartoum “shall be a symbol of national unity and reflect the diversity of Sudan”.
State television explained that the parties had agreed Khartoum should be run by a eight-member cabinet comprising four ministers from the NCP, two from the SPLM, and two from other northern political groups.
The status of Khartoum was among the thorniest issues during talks that led to the signing of the peace accord, which exempted the south from Islamic law or sharia, but stipulated its continuation in the north, including Khartoum.
SPLM negotiators tried but failed to have southerners — most of who are either animist or Christian — residing in Khartoum exempted from sharia, which under the accords shall be applicable to non-Muslims in the north.
The agreement, however, called for the formation of a special commission “to ensure that the rights of non-Muslims are protected … and not adversely affected by the application of sharia law in the capital”.
President Omar al-Beshir has ordered the formation of the commission, whose members will include Christian and Muslim scholars, judges and civil society leaders, state television said.
(AFP/ST)