Sudan Peace Agreement

Buried in the craziness of the holiday season was a bit of really extraordinary news. Representatives for both the Sudanese government and rebel forces signed a peace agreement, ending a 21-year civil war that has killed 2.5 million to date. This is really great news, even though I've heard little more than a brief mention of it the mainstream media. The agreement gives hope to the countless refugees and victims of the violence that peace can be achieved. Indeed, it would be naive to think that this agreement will make all violence end immediately. Unfortunately there has been a great deal of violence in Darfur since the signing, but it does show that the two sides (or at least the leadership of the two sides) are now willing to work with each other. We can only hope that this is a good sign of things to come. It is my personal hope that the American government will be willing to actively help out in any way they can, be that through advisory or diplomatic means. America - the government, people, and media - have not given this nearly the attention that they have given Israel/Palestine, Iraq, and others, even though this has been one of the deadliest wars of the last twenty years. For a quick summation of the history of the conflict, visit the Center for Religious Freedom's Sudan page. For a wealth of information and recent news from Sudan, visit Sudan.net.