South Sudan peace deal signed: Garang says if it is not implemented, Sudan will break up

John Garang, leader of the new Government of South Sudan has a lot of work convincing those in the South to implement the new peace agreement. And the Government of Sudan have to persuade northern opposition groups to accept the deal.

Mr Garang told a news conference yesterday that Sudan would be torn apart if today's peace agreement was not implemented.

"If this agreement is dishonoured then, of course, the country will break up," said Garang, who today Jan 9 signed the accord with Sudan's President Omar el-Beshir.

"But if it is implemented the way it is negotiated, there are good chances that the country can remain united," he said.

The comprehensive deal spells out how to share power and natural wealth, what to do with their armed forces during a six-year transition period and how to administer three disputed areas in central Sudan. After six years of autonomy, southerners will also be given a chance to decide whether to remain part of Sudan, or become independent.
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UPDATE: Please note, Sudan's First Vice President Ali Osman Mohamed Taha and Sudan People's Liberation Movement leader John Garang signed the peace accord. President Omar el-Beshir did not actually sign the accord.
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UPDATE: On peace deal signed today: after ratification, which must come in two weeks, negotiators will work on an interim national constitution that will allow the peace agreement to be implemented.

Please click here to read highlights of the agreement and here for other news sites listed in right sidebar at BBC News online. Sudan Tribune also has good coverage of the day's historic events concerning Sudan.

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SUDAN'S PARTIAL PEACE

Here is an excerpt from an article entitled "Sudan's Partial Peace" via Crisis Group Jan 7:

When the Khartoum government and the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) sign Sunday's peace deal, Sudan will take a big step away from two decades of war that have cost millions of lives but the hard part will just be beginning.

The agreement contains sensible compromises painfully negotiated over several years and demonstrates the effectiveness of African-led peacemaking supported by the wider international community. Yet, the document is more important for potential than immediate impact. If the parties uphold it, a principled peace will come to southern and central Sudan. If the government applies the blueprint it offers and moves vigorously towards peace in Darfur, the country could be transformed.

But most indicators point towards a different outcome. The government is signing partially to deflect pressure over Darfur. It is likely to use resulting goodwill to increase attacks there and further undermine opposition elsewhere in the country. Without great international vigilance, implementation of the deal with the SPLM will slide, risking a standoff and return to war.

Note, in the article John Prendergast says, "The government's objective is to maintain power. Supporters of the peace deal need to understand it pursues contradictory approaches in different regions with different opposition elements to confuse outsiders and defuse criticism. At once it is concluding peace with the SPLM, attacking in Darfur, and driving the armed groups from eastern Sudan out of the Cairo talks."