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KHARTOUM, September 22, 2005 - Eight months after a peace deal that ended Africa's longest-running conflict, Sudan's first post-war national unity government was sworn in Thursday, September 22, at a ceremony attended by President Omar Al-Beshir.
The government, which includes one-time foes from Beshir's regime and southern rebel groups, took the oath before officially being handed over power from the outgoing cabinet, reported Agence France-Presse (AFP).
The establishment of a national unity government is a major step in the implementation of a January peace agreement that ended 21 years of civil war between north and south in Africa's largest country.
Twenty-six ministers took the oath Thursday. Two were already sworn in Wednesday and two ministries destined for the northern opposition National Democratic Alliance have yet to be filled.
The former ruling party, the National Congress Party (NCP), retained control of the defense, interior, energy and finance ministries. Lam Akol, an SPLM official, became foreign minister.
The government was formed in line with quotas provided by the January 9 Comprehensive Peace Agreement, which grants the Beshir's NCP a 52 percent share of power.
According to the same power-sharing agreement, the former southern rebel group, the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) of First Vice President Salva Kiir has 28 percent, the northern opposition 14 percent and the southern opposition six percent.
The interim government will remain in place until legislative elections in around four years. A six-year post-war interim rule started in July, at the end of which the south will hold a referendum on self-determination.
The formation of the unwieldy cabinet was delayed by bitter wrangling over the oil and finance portfolios and the July 30 death in a helicopter crash of historical southern leader John Garang, who was seen as the guarantor of the peace deal.
The move was hailed by US President George W. Bush, who urged Sudan's leaders to work towards unity.
"All Sudanese can be proud of this significant progress, because it demonstrates the parties continued commitment to a common vision of a unified, democratic, prosperous, and peaceful Sudan," said a statement.
Concerns
The new unity government received mixed reactions from Southern figures though.
"I am not 100 percent satisfied but it is a step in the right direction," Ghazi Suleiman, an SPLM parliamentarian, was quoted as saying by Reuters.
A Western observer said the new government was Sudan's most representative in more than a decade.
According to the Western observer, the new government would pave the way for parliamentary elections in about three years by allowing political parties to participate in government and opposition, said Reuters.
The unnamed observer also said the new power-sharing arrangement would require the parties to cooperate in implementing other requirements of the peace deal, such as formation of military units with SPLM troops.
David Mozersky of the International Crisis Group (ICG) think-tank said Sudan's new government had to now tackle major challenges, including a revolt in the east of the country and the continuing rebellion in the western region of Darfur.
Rebels in Darfur have said they seized a town in the area from the government, which has vowed to recapture it. Aid officials have expressed fears for the security of civilians if violence escalates.
But other southerners were entirely dismissive.
Referring to Kiir, Khartoum Monitor columnist Michael Koma, went further: "The best thing after this sheer humiliation is for Salva to step down from the presidency of the south."
"The SPLM should not have given in on the issue of the Energy Ministry," William Ezekiel, acting editor-in-chief of the Khartoum Monitor, a newspaper that concentrates on southern issues, told Reuters.
"This government is not really representative of the demands of the southern people or other marginalized people in the country," said Ezekiel.
SPLM officials have said control of the Energy Ministry will be rotated between the former ruling party and the SPLM, however the former information minister said was no such agreement, according to Reuters.
Many of the oil wells are in the south and the SPLM has said oil revenue is vital for developing the region after the 21-year civil war, which ended with a peace agreement in January. |
