US cautiously optimistic about post-secession Sudan

July 2, 2011 (WASHINGTON) – The US Special Envoy for Sudan Princeton Lyman on Friday expressed confidence that the breaking up of the North and South will take place peacefully but warned of many serious challenges ahead.

“I do think July 9th is going to come off in the way it should, as bringing to an end decades of civil war between the north and the south,” Lyman was quoted a saying by Reuters at a news briefing.

“Both sides really feel that a return to general war would be disastrous for both of them,” he added.

“That doesn’t mean that … military clashes might not occur because they haven’t either resolved an issue or emotions get carried to extreme”, the US official added.

Since May the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) of the North and the Sudan People Liberation Army (SPLA) have clashed in the border regions of Abyei and South Kordofan.

The African Union (AU) managed to broker a deal by which Ethiopian peacekeepers would deploy to Abyei and monitor the withdrawal of all troops particularly SAF which seized control of the region following an ambush it blamed on Southern ex-rebels.

In South Kordofan the fighting is reportedly ongoing with president Omer Hassan al-Bashir declaring that military operations would continue despite an accord signed in Addis Ababa this week that paved the way for cessation of hostilities.

Lyman warned that contentious post-referendum issues primarily oil sharing and citizenship need to be resolved quickly.

“The point is that the oil income is going to drop off steadily over the next five years unless either technological changes are made or new discoveries are made,” Lyman said.

Southern Sudan, which faces huge infrastructure challenges as it seeks to find its footing as an independent state, will need to diversify into agriculture and other mineral resources, he said.

The veteran US diplomat also stressed the need to ensure that millions of Southerners in the North would not end up stateless.

This week Northern and Southern officials announced that citizens of both sides living in each others’ territories would have 9 months from July 9 to arrange for residency permits or depart altogether. However, it does not appear that criteria were established by which those citizens would be granted the right to live and work.

“I think this can all happen but it’s going to take a lot of work,” Lyman said. “It’s going to take a lot of courageous decision-making”.

The US Department of State said that Lyman met on Friday with representatives of the diplomatic corps in Washington to rally international support for peace between Sudan’s North and South.

He said that the world should make it clear to the Sudanese that they cannot miss this historic opportunity to start a new chapter in Sudan’s history – one marked by peace, prosperity, and closer ties to the international community.

Lyman also asked the international community to unite in encouraging the Sudanese government and the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement to resolve the outstanding issues between them and lay the foundation for two viable states at peace with one another.

(ST)