{"id":274269,"date":"2011-01-17T07:10:04","date_gmt":"2011-01-17T07:10:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.ghanamma.net\/?p=48060"},"modified":"2011-01-17T07:10:04","modified_gmt":"2011-01-17T07:10:04","slug":"south-sudan-leader-kiir-urges-forgiveness-for-civil-war","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/01\/17\/south-sudan-leader-kiir-urges-forgiveness-for-civil-war\/","title":{"rendered":"South Sudan leader Kiir urges forgiveness for civil war"},"content":{"rendered":"<p id=\"story_continues_1\">The South Sudanese leader  has urged his people to forgive the north for killings during a civil  war that lasted more than 20 years.<\/p>\n<p>Salva Kiir made the appeal from the pulpit of a Catholic Cathedral in Juba.<br \/>\nEarly results from Southern Sudan&#8217;s referendum indicate the  region has voted overwhelmingly to split from the north and form a new  country.<br \/>\nFull results of the poll are not due until next month, but the region is widely expected to choose to secede.<br \/>\n&#8220;For our deceased brothers and sisters, particularly those  who have fallen during the time of struggle, may God bless them with  eternal peace,&#8221; Mr Kiir said on Sunday, in his first public address  since the vote.<br \/>\n&#8220;And may we, like Jesus Christ on the cross, forgive those who have forcefully caused their deaths.&#8221;<br \/>\nAn estimated two million people died in the war between the mainly Muslim north and the largely Christian south.<br \/>\nThe referendum was part of a peace agreement signed with north Sudan in 2005.<br \/>\nCorrespondents say there has been little doubt that Southern Sudan would opt for secession.<br \/>\nPolling stations opened on 9 January and were officially closed on Saturday evening.<br \/>\n&#8216;Good result&#8217;<br \/>\nA minimum 60% turnout was required for the vote to be  considered valid, a target which had easily been passed by the middle of  the week.<br \/>\nThe chairman of the Southern Sudanese Referendum Commission,  Mohamed Ibrahim Khalil, has said more than 80% of eligible voters in the  south had cast their ballots, along with 53% in the north and 91% of  voters living in the eight other countries hosting polling stations.<br \/>\nHe said the referendum would be considered &#8220;a good result by any international standard&#8221;.<br \/>\nThe Associated Press reported a 95% turnout at 10 sites in  Juba, which would be the capital of a future Southern Sudan. A sample  suggested that  96% had voted in favour of secession.<br \/>\nSouthern Sudanese people living in Europe have already voted 97% in favour of a new state.<\/p>\n<div><a href=\"http:\/\/www.bbc.co.uk\/news\/world-africa-12201063#story_continues_2\"><\/a><\/p>\n<h2>Sudan&#8217;s Historic Vote<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li> Voting: 9-15 January<\/li>\n<li> To pass, there must be a 60% turnout, plus a straightforward majority in favour<\/li>\n<li> Vote is a condition of the 2005 deal to end the two-decade north-south conflict<\/li>\n<li> Most northerners are Arabic-speaking Muslims<\/li>\n<li> Most southerners are Christian or follow traditional religions<\/li>\n<li> Oil-rich Abyei area to hold separate vote on whether to join north or south<\/li>\n<li> Referendum could divide Africa&#8217;s largest country<\/li>\n<li> Final result due 6 February or 14 February if there are appeals<\/li>\n<li> South would become continent&#8217;s newest nation on 9 July 2011<\/li>\n<li> National anthem and flag chosen, but not new country&#8217;s name<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<p id=\"story_continues_2\">Southern Sudanese people living  in Australia have been given extra time to cast their votes where severe  flooding has hampered the process.<\/p>\n<p>International observers in Southern Sudan have been almost  universally optimistic, saying the balloting process has been free and  fair.<br \/>\nThe BBC&#8217;s Peter Martell in Juba says that has come as massive relief to the south, for whom this vote means so much.<br \/>\nThe process was marred, however, by a deadly attack on a convoy of south Sudanese civilians earlier this week.<br \/>\nUS President Barack Obama and UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon have both praised the vote.<br \/>\nSudan&#8217;s President Omar al-Bashir has promised to accept the  results of the poll either way, even if it meant the partition of  Africa&#8217;s largest nation.<br \/>\n&#8220;The referendum took place in an atmosphere of calm with a  great degree of freedom and fairness,&#8221; Rabie Abdul Ati, a senior  official in Mr Bashir&#8217;s National Congress Party (NCP), told the AFP news  agency.<br \/>\n&#8220;It is very clear that the party will accept the result whether it be for unity or secession.&#8221;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The South Sudanese leader has urged his people to forgive the north for killings during a civil war that lasted more than 20 years. Salva Kiir made the appeal from the pulpit of a Catholic Cathedral in Juba. Early results from Southern Sudan&#8217;s referendum indicate the region has voted overwhelmingly to split from the north [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-274269","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.0 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>South Sudan leader Kiir urges forgiveness for civil war - Ghanamma.com<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/01\/17\/south-sudan-leader-kiir-urges-forgiveness-for-civil-war\/\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:title\" content=\"South Sudan leader Kiir urges forgiveness for civil war - Ghanamma.com\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:description\" content=\"The South Sudanese leader has urged his people to forgive the north for killings during a civil war that lasted more than 20 years. Salva Kiir made the appeal from the pulpit of a Catholic Cathedral in Juba. 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