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South Sudan referendum: 99% vote for independence

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  • South Sudan referendum: 99% vote for independence

    Objective: discuss the importance of south Sudanese independence, and what effects will have in south Sudan and on the international stage

    Thoughts
    • what lies ahead for the people of southern Sudan?
    • what effect will this have on independence/autonomy movements in Africa and elsewhere?
    • will the south Sudanese be able to create a viable state?
    • what should the international community do to assist south Sudan as an independent state?

    South Sudan referendum: 99% vote for independence

    Some 99% of South Sudanese voted to secede from the north, according to the first complete results of the region's independence referendum.

    A total of 99.57 percent of those polled voted for independence, according to the referendum commission.

    Early counting had put the outcome of the ballot beyond doubt, indicating Southern Sudan had secured a mandate to become the world's newest nation.

    Final results from the 9-15 January vote are expected early next month.

    Hundreds of officials and diplomats gathered in Juba at the grave of rebel leader John Garang for the first official announcement of the results.

    The revered South Sudanese leader died in a plane crash just days after signing the January 2005 peace agreement ending more than 20 years of conflict between the black Christian-dominated south and the mainly Arab Muslim north.

    "The prayer I say the people of southern Sudan have been waiting for for 55 years, the prayer of a country," Episcopalian Archbishop Daniel Deng said as he opened the ceremony.

    "Bless the name of this land, Southern Sudan," he said.

    According to the commission website, 3,851,994 votes were cast during the week-long ballot.
    Source: BBC News
    BBC News - South Sudan referendum: 99% vote for independence
    "Every man has his weakness. Mine was always just cigarettes."

  • #2
    South Sudan has the oil, but it has to be transported over North Sudan territory.

    Would not be suprised if the temptation is too great to grab the oil fields.

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    • #3
      I'm surprised that the percentage voting for independence was so great, mainly due to the fact that the North has engaged in ethnic cleansing against the South.

      Comment


      • #4
        Originally posted by Kevin Brown View Post
        I'm surprised that the percentage voting for independence was so great, mainly due to the fact that the North has engaged in ethnic cleansing against the South.
        Do you think there was poll-rigging? 99% is awfully high - but perhaps they didn't include the regions that were ethnically cleansed (meaning a rump southern Sudan).
        Originally posted by FJV
        South Sudan has the oil, but it has to be transported over North Sudan territory.

        Would not be suprised if the temptation is too great to grab the oil fields.
        Maybe now, but keep in mind that Iraqi oil was transported via pipeline to Haifa (now in Israel) until 1947. There may be alternative routes for southern Sudan to deliver oil to the rest of the world.
        "Every man has his weakness. Mine was always just cigarettes."

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