Friday,
January 9, 2009 marked the fourth anniversary of the signing of a peace
agreement between North and South Sudan that ended Africa’s longest-running
civil war.
The government of
South Sudan is said to have spent millions of dollars to mark this year’s
celebrations of the fourth anniversary
of the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement, or the CPA as it is better
known.
The CPA spelled out
proposals for a fairer division of power and wealth. It also would allow South
Sudan to hold a referendum in 2011 on independence from the North after national
elections are held in July.
But still some core
issues remain unresolved.
In an interview with
Nightline’s Akwei Thompson, Fouad Hikmat an analyst of the International crisis
Group says although much has been achieved since the 2005 signing of the CPA,
there is still lingering mistrust between the governments in Khartoum and Juba
in South Sudan.
“…there’s basically
no trust, very clearly between the leadership of the SPLM members and the NCP
and I think that’s one of the main factors affecting the implemaentation of the
CPA in different areas.”
Hikmat said he hopes
the issue of mistrust will be addressed very seriously by the two parties, or
the two partners, otherwise “the coming period is going to be very complicated.”