Page 68 - EVOLUTION OF THE SUDAN PEOPLE’S LIBERATION MOVEMENT(SPLM),

CHAPTER FIVE

SPLM AND THE COMPREHENSIVE PEACE AGREEMENT, 2005-2011

5.0 Introduction

The comprehensive peace Agreement (CPA) signed between the Government of Sudan (GOS) and the Sudan

People’s Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM) in Naivasha, Kenya on the 9 , January 2005 effectively
th
ended a brutal war that had raged for twenty-one years (1983-2004). By the time the Peace Accord was
initialed, more than 2.5 million Southern Sudanese perished, four million more had been displaced from
their homes and several hundred people fled to be refugees in several countries around the globe.The

Agreement came as a result of the robust support received from the international community, particularly
the USA, UK, Norway, Italy and others. The CPA was received with unprecedented joy around the globe
and since then, tremendous efforts are being made to implement this internationally acclaimed agreement.
A lot had already been achieved in terms of institutional building and a lot still has to be done. There are

however problem areas as we move down the road toward full implementation. This chapter attempts to
explain the background to the conflict and throw light on the main features of the Peace protocols. The
chapter will also highlight problem areas and suggest the way forward(SAD.533/1/39).

THE CONTEXT: COMPREHENSIVE PEACE AGREEMENT, 2005-2011

The formation of the Sudan People’s Liberation movement was dictated by the role and support
given by the Mengistu Haile Mariam regime in Ethiopia. Its founder Dr. John Garang was from
the outset concerned about external legitimacy. The quest for peace and ultimate signing of the

Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) in 2005 was also an imperative of the hegemony of
the USA in the context of the global war against terrorism, but most importantly, the horn of
Africa’s regional dynamics in the war against terrorism. The signing of the Comprehensive Peace

Agreement was the architecture of the USA and had little or nothing to do with Khartoum regime
or the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement. As Mamdani (2009) argues, The CPA was a product
of the post September 11, 2001 global architecture(SAD.533/1/39).

Notwithstanding the external environment pushing for peace in Sudan, the efforts were a better
option as compared to initial peace initiatives between 1986 and 2002 that failed to bring about

an end to the civil war. The election of Bush (2001-2004) brought about the environment under
which the CPA was signed culminating with the political independence in 2011 after the end of the
transitional period. The CPA however provided the basis under which the legitimacy and meaning
of liberation in South Sudan could be tested. Thus this chapter analyzes the circumstances under
which SPLM joined and sustained the peace process and how it conducted the affairs of the state

in the transitional period from 2005 to 9th July 2011.

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