Posts Tagged "referendum"

Self-determination: some questions remain

January 8, 2011

It’s hard not to get caught up in the enthusiasm the people of Juba feel for the coming days. Tomorrow, Jubans and their neighbours throughout Southern Sudan begin voting in a referendum on splitting up Sudan. In a few months,…

Post filed in: Africa

The virtue of patience: freedom and lost luggage

January 7, 2011

Good people have many virtues, including patience. By that account, the people of Southern Sudan must be good people. They have exercised remarkable patience over the last few decades, waging a struggle for independence which included 20 years of war…

Post filed in: Africa

Will there be blood?

January 5, 2011

It’s the question on everyone’s mind: will war break out after the referendum? The short answer is: I don’t know. And it’s possible, nobody does. The president of Sudan, Omar Al Bashir, was in town on Tuesday saying all the…

Post filed in: Africa

Juba, finally

January 5, 2011

After a journey that lasted too long (sailing up the Nile would have been quicker) I am in Juba, Southern Sudan. What is immediately apparent is that, if this town is going to become a new national capital (and it…

Post filed in: Africa