Jubilant Celebrations Mask Difficult Tasks for Southern Sudan

Morgan Lorraine Roach /

The ballots have been tallied and the results are in: Southern Sudanese voted overwhelmingly for independence from the government in Khartoum. With a total turnout of 97 percent and 99 percent of voters casing their ballot in favor of secession, southern Sudan is on its way to becoming the world’s newest country.

Yesterday, President Obama congratulated the southern Sudanese on “a successful and inspiring” referendum. The symbolism of the event is remarkable: After decades of war and marginalization by the north, southern Sudanese have finally achieved self-determination. Furthermore, the referendum was largely conducted without major incident. Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir has acknowledged the will of southern Sudan and has welcomed amicable relations with its former adversary in the future. (more…)