Sudan's First Vice-President, Ali Osman Taha, and SPLM/A leader John Garang signed the accord at a colorful and well attended ceremony witnessed by President Mwai Kibaki of Kenya, local and foreign cabinet ministers, diplomats and delegates to the peace talks. The occasion was marked by song and dance, during which Muslims from the north and Christians from the south joyfully hugged.
Dignitaries who witnessed the signing ceremony included African Union representative Ambassador Baba Gana Kingibe, the UN Secretary General's representative, Ambassador Mohammed Sahnoun, Norway's Minister for International Co-operation, Hilda Johnson, and the Secretary-General of the Arab League, Amr Moussa.
The agreement heralds the final leg of the process expected to bring long-lasting peace to Africa's largest country, which has been embroiled in a civil war for the past three decades. Both Garang and Taha re-affirmed their commitment to ensure the success of the peace process.
Describing the occasion as historical, President Kibaki said much had been achieved despite the numerous obstacles. "A giant is ready to rise and take its rightful place among other peaceful African countries." He stressed that, having come thus far, the parties should maintain the momentum and ensure that "the long and difficult journey towards sustainable peace is achieved." They should put the interests of the people of Sudan above everything else.
Kibaki said Kenya's government would continue giving its full support to the process until the end "when all will celebrate the dawn of lasting peace." His government had no regrets over the time and resources it had dedicated to a peace process that would serve as a catalyst for the peaceful resolution of other conflicts in Africa. But he urged the parties not to sit on their laurels.
Garang said the signing of the accord marked a solemn declaration by both parties that war in Sudan was slowly coming to an end. "The agreement will change Sudan forever, bringing to an end the 38 years of turmoil and suffering," he said. The country had been headed for the abyss and would have disintegrated completely were it not for the peace process. He listed the major problems facing Southern Sudan as education, health, infrastructure and agriculture. "Politics is not only about power but about people," said Garang. All political parties in Sudan should be brought aboard and the peace process must be all-inclusive and also deal with the problems in the Darfur region.
Taha, who spoke in Arabic through a translator, said both parties came to the negotiations with a strong determination to achieve peace.
