FancyMancy
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Sudan ends 30 years of Islamic law by separating religion, state
The accord comes less than a week after the government initialed a peace deal with rebels
Sudan's transitional government agreed to separate religion from the state, ending 30 years of Islamic rule in the North African nation.
Sudanese Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok and Abdel-Aziz al-Hilu, a leader of the Sudan People's Liberation Movement-North rebel group, signed a declaration in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, on Thursday adopting the principle.
"For Sudan to become a democratic country where the rights of all citizens are enshrined, the constitution should be based on the principle of 'separation of religion and state,' in the absence of which the right to self-determination must be respected," the document states.
The accord comes less than a week after the government initialed a peace deal with rebel forces that's raised hopes of an end to fighting that ravaged Darfur and other parts of Sudan under ousted dictator Omar al-Bashir. The larger of two factions in the Sudan People's Liberation Movement-North, which has fought Sudanese troops in the nation's border states, has refused to sign any agreement that doesn't ensure a secular system.
Sudan is emerging from international isolation that began soon after Bashir seized power in 1989 and implemented a hard-line interpretation of Islamic law that sought to make the country the "vanguard of the Islamic world." Al-Qaeda and Carlos the Jackal settled there; the U.S. designated Sudan a terror sponsor in 1993, later imposing sanctions until 2017.
https://archive.is/rEQMj
Sudan's Government Agrees to Separate Religion and State
FILE - Sudanese Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok, left, and The Sudan Liberation Movement-North leader, Abdel-Aziz Adam al-Hilu, hold up their hands in the conflict-affected remote town of Kauda, Nuba Mountains, Sudan, Jan. 9, 2020.
KHARTOUM - Sudan's transitional government has agreed in principle to separate religion and state after three decades of Islamic rule in the country.
Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok and Abdel-Aziz Adam al-Hilu, the leader of the rebel SPLM-North faction, signed a declaration of principles in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, Thursday evening that says, "The state shall not establish an official religion. No citizen shall be discriminated against based on their religion."
The two leaders agreed to recognize and respect the country's diversity.
FILE - Sudanese Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok addresses the press in Sudan's capital Khartoum, Aug. 15, 2020.
"Sudan is a multi-racial, multi-ethnic, multi-religious and multi-cultural society. Full recognition and accommodation of these diversities must be affirmed," stated the document, seen by VOA's South Sudan in Focus.
FILE - Then-SPLM governor candidate Abdel-Aziz Adam al-Hilu speaks to the press in Kadogli in South Kordofan state, Sudan, May 2, 2011.
The two sides also agreed to establish informal negotiation workshops to resolve contentious issues such as the right to self-determination of all citizens.
The declaration comes four days after the government initialed a deal in Juba, South Sudan, with a coalition of rebel forces, lifting hopes that fighting in Darfur and other parts of Sudan, which continued for years under ousted president Omar al-Bashir, is over.
Hamdok and al-Hilu have said they believe it is necessary to reach a comprehensive and just political solution to all of Sudan's conflicts, one that addresses the root causes of the crises that have racked the country.
Mohammed Hassan al Taishi, a member of the Sudan's Sovereign Council, told South Sudan in Focus that Hamdok's decision to sign the document was backed by the government but an official statement will come later.
"There's a joint statement to explain what was signed between the two of them. ... But in terms of an official statement, that needs some consultations. By tomorrow morning I should be able to give you [that]," said al Taishi.
The agreement is an important step toward achieving lasting peace in the country, according to Mohammed Ali Fazari, editor in chief of the online English newspaper, Khartoum Today.
"It is considered to be a great step forward because peace efforts are one of the top priorities of the Sudanese government and it was one of the most important issues based on the transitional tasks of the government. So, what happened in Addis Ababa last night is going to be one of the most important successes of Prime Minister Abdallah Hamdok," said Fazari.
Fazari warned that pro-Islamist political parties will likely criticize the government for agreeing to discuss the relationship between religion and state and the right to self-determination for the South Kordofan and Blue Nile regions, where the SPLM-North has fought the government for years.
"This is a very controversial point within six principles of the declaration. I think this point is going to complicate the situation with the Islamists, who will refuse this and also other parties in the Forces of Freedom and Change government," he said.
Bashir was ousted by the military in April 2019 after months of mass protests against his rule.
https://archive.is/r364h
The accord comes less than a week after the government initialed a peace deal with rebels
Sudan's transitional government agreed to separate religion from the state, ending 30 years of Islamic rule in the North African nation.
Sudanese Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok and Abdel-Aziz al-Hilu, a leader of the Sudan People's Liberation Movement-North rebel group, signed a declaration in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, on Thursday adopting the principle.
"For Sudan to become a democratic country where the rights of all citizens are enshrined, the constitution should be based on the principle of 'separation of religion and state,' in the absence of which the right to self-determination must be respected," the document states.
The accord comes less than a week after the government initialed a peace deal with rebel forces that's raised hopes of an end to fighting that ravaged Darfur and other parts of Sudan under ousted dictator Omar al-Bashir. The larger of two factions in the Sudan People's Liberation Movement-North, which has fought Sudanese troops in the nation's border states, has refused to sign any agreement that doesn't ensure a secular system.
Sudan is emerging from international isolation that began soon after Bashir seized power in 1989 and implemented a hard-line interpretation of Islamic law that sought to make the country the "vanguard of the Islamic world." Al-Qaeda and Carlos the Jackal settled there; the U.S. designated Sudan a terror sponsor in 1993, later imposing sanctions until 2017.
https://archive.is/rEQMj
Sudan's Government Agrees to Separate Religion and State
FILE - Sudanese Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok, left, and The Sudan Liberation Movement-North leader, Abdel-Aziz Adam al-Hilu, hold up their hands in the conflict-affected remote town of Kauda, Nuba Mountains, Sudan, Jan. 9, 2020.
KHARTOUM - Sudan's transitional government has agreed in principle to separate religion and state after three decades of Islamic rule in the country.
Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok and Abdel-Aziz Adam al-Hilu, the leader of the rebel SPLM-North faction, signed a declaration of principles in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, Thursday evening that says, "The state shall not establish an official religion. No citizen shall be discriminated against based on their religion."
The two leaders agreed to recognize and respect the country's diversity.
FILE - Sudanese Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok addresses the press in Sudan's capital Khartoum, Aug. 15, 2020.
"Sudan is a multi-racial, multi-ethnic, multi-religious and multi-cultural society. Full recognition and accommodation of these diversities must be affirmed," stated the document, seen by VOA's South Sudan in Focus.
FILE - Then-SPLM governor candidate Abdel-Aziz Adam al-Hilu speaks to the press in Kadogli in South Kordofan state, Sudan, May 2, 2011.
The two sides also agreed to establish informal negotiation workshops to resolve contentious issues such as the right to self-determination of all citizens.
The declaration comes four days after the government initialed a deal in Juba, South Sudan, with a coalition of rebel forces, lifting hopes that fighting in Darfur and other parts of Sudan, which continued for years under ousted president Omar al-Bashir, is over.
Hamdok and al-Hilu have said they believe it is necessary to reach a comprehensive and just political solution to all of Sudan's conflicts, one that addresses the root causes of the crises that have racked the country.
Mohammed Hassan al Taishi, a member of the Sudan's Sovereign Council, told South Sudan in Focus that Hamdok's decision to sign the document was backed by the government but an official statement will come later.
"There's a joint statement to explain what was signed between the two of them. ... But in terms of an official statement, that needs some consultations. By tomorrow morning I should be able to give you [that]," said al Taishi.
The agreement is an important step toward achieving lasting peace in the country, according to Mohammed Ali Fazari, editor in chief of the online English newspaper, Khartoum Today.
"It is considered to be a great step forward because peace efforts are one of the top priorities of the Sudanese government and it was one of the most important issues based on the transitional tasks of the government. So, what happened in Addis Ababa last night is going to be one of the most important successes of Prime Minister Abdallah Hamdok," said Fazari.
Fazari warned that pro-Islamist political parties will likely criticize the government for agreeing to discuss the relationship between religion and state and the right to self-determination for the South Kordofan and Blue Nile regions, where the SPLM-North has fought the government for years.
"This is a very controversial point within six principles of the declaration. I think this point is going to complicate the situation with the Islamists, who will refuse this and also other parties in the Forces of Freedom and Change government," he said.
Bashir was ousted by the military in April 2019 after months of mass protests against his rule.
https://archive.is/r364h
