In an attempt to end a decades-old conflict in the country, the Sudanese Transitional Military Council and the Sudan People's Liberation Movement have finally signed an agreement last Sunday; one that pledges a secular state in Sudan.
Separation of Religion and State declared by Revolutionary Sudan's once-Muslim fundamentalist Officers in Peace Deal with southern Guerrillas - https://t.co/iBByAIff6G pic.twitter.com/6fDAobjNvF
— Juan Cole (@jricole) March 29, 2021
The agreement signed between the SPLA's Abdelaziz Adam Al-Hilu and the Military Council's Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan comes after decades of negotiations that were often interrupted by violent clashes, paving the way for a more peaceful future in Sudan, as the two sides agree on not only writing a secular constitution for Sudan but to also unify military forces in one army.
Moreover, the new agreement recognizes Sudan as "a multi-cultural, multi-ethnic, and multi-religious country," after almost three decades of Al-Bashir reign in which most minorities reported aggravated marginalization and discrimination.
??#Sudan’s ruling Sovereign Council and the rebel Sudan Liberation Movement-North Sector (SPLM-N) on Sunday (28 March) signed a declaration of principles envisaging the establishment of a secular state.https://t.co/uEuKp0P4ui
— commonspace.eu (@commonspaceEU) March 30, 2021
Agreement between #Sudan regime and rebel group SPLM-N to establish a secular government brings to an end three decades of religious repression inflicted on the Sudanese people – as well as the total destruction of civil society – caused by the imposition of sharia law in 1989.
— Herman J. Cohen (@CohenOnAfrica) March 29, 2021
According to the agreement, both sides have pledged to a permanent ceasefire in preparation for the transitional phase.
Online, people have celebrated the historic agreement, hoping it marks an end to military conflicts that have for long disrupted peace and development in Sudan.
In December 2018, a wave of protests against the then-long standing Al-Bashir regime swept through Sudanese cities and towns, which were eventually able to overthrow him in April 2019.
Since the spring of 2019, Sudan has witnessed a number of long-awaited milestones, including recognizing non-Islamic religious holidays in the country for the first time, in addition to criminalizing FGM.
