THE BIRTH OF SOUTHERN SUDAN

This is a historic moment in the history of Republic of Sudan, Africa’s largest country and in the Arab world.
As everyone had expected, Southern Sudan has chose to secede from the North with a whopping majority in the historic referendum held three weeks before. Southern Sudan is inhabited by Christian where as Northern Sudan inhabited by Muslims.
Since 1983, Sudan was plagued by civil war which lasted for almost twenty two years. The civil wars ended at the initiative of Col.Omar-Al-Bashir, the Head of Sudan. Then it was decided once and for all to end the civil wars and decided to hold a referendum by 2011. Accordingly in the first of January 2011, Southern Sudan voted enmasse and the results started pouring out the other day. The Southerners voted with a staggering majority for secession and it was on expected lines.
Col.Omar-Al-Bashir in a bloodless coup in 1989 dethroned the then ruler under whose rule the civil wars were raging and proclaimed himself as the President of Sudan.
In the first few years Col.Bashir’s rule did display a satisfactory rule and through macro-economic reforms which changed the face of Sudan for the better.
But later his greed for power resulted in grabbing each powerful position by pushing every one out and through widespread bloody executions ruled like a ruthless dictator.
Darfur conflict brought about large-scale violence which resulted in millions of citizens dead, equal numbers displaced as a result Darfur knew no peace for years.
Col.Bashir’s violent rule and innumerable murders came to the notice of International Criminal Court (ICC) and it issued a summons to him to stand trial on 4 Jun 2008. He rejected the summons and IIC issued another summons to appear before it. He was charged with massive rights violations and genocide.
It was a historic summons issued to one ruling head of a country the first time. The whole Arab world joined him in rejecting the summons and as of today it stands.
Sudan is blessed with natural resources like petroleum and crude-oil and China and Japan are the major export partners of both.
Col.Bashir for a short span maintained cordial relations with the Egyptian Islamic Jihad and Al-Queada. He even went to the extent of inviting Osama-Bin-Laden to Sudan. US took strong exception to it and went on with the decision to impose sanctions against Sudan. Col.Bashir on being aware of dire consequences in the event of sanctions by US and its allies prevailed upon Osama-Bin-Laden and Islamic Jihadists to leave the country.
Now that North Sudan and South Sudan are poised to come up, the decades long rivalry is likely to come to an end. As per the news pouring in Juba a sleepy town of Southern Sudan might be the new cabinet.
How long the dictator keeping all powers to himself will continue to hold on to power with the sword of Democles in the form of summons of International Criminal Court over his head remains a billion-dollar question.