Referendum in the Sudan

The southern part of the Sudan started voting today on whether or not to split off from the northern portion.  The balloting will last a week, since in some remote areas it may take that long for voters to get to the polling locations.

Somewhere in my attic is a research paper entitled “The Dichotomy Called Sudan” written for a graduate school class I took in the mid-sixties at Penn State.  The paper discussed the problems created by European powers that drew the boundaries of their African colonies without regard to tribal or regional loyalties.  I used the Sudan as a case study.  The Arab north should never have been united with the animist south to form the Sudan.  While that may have been obvious, newly independent African states were usually reluctant to approve any boundary adjustments, worried about separatist movements in their own countries.

Now, after pressure from Europe and the U.S and tacit approval from African states, the Sudan has agreed to the referendum on the split.  Most observers think the south will approve the divorce, although bloodshed may continue and more ethnic violence may occur.  On the other hand, if the Sudan remains as it is, more violence is certain.  The civil war in the Sudan was already 10 years old when I wrote that paper.  Over 40 years have gone by since then, and the civil war rages on.  It is time to split that country.