Press hails Sudan 'milestone'

The swearing in at the weekend of former Sudanese rebel leader John Garang as the country's first vice-president is greeted as a breakthrough by papers both in Sudan and the wider Arab world.

Concern remains that much is still to be done to overcome the accumulated bitterness and to address the plight of refugees. In Kenya, which hosted peace talks between the sides, there are concerns over the lingering crisis in Darfur.

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Sudan has closed the chapter of the war in the south with all its pain and bitterness and is now on the threshold of a new phase. True, there will be many challenges, but the signs are... that those who voluntarily agreed to lay down their guns have the capacity to face up to these difficulties... The progress achieved in the implementation of the peace process is a milestone which all Sudanese people will remember.

Editorial in Sudan's Al-Anbaa

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The UN secretary-general has said that the international community has failed to live up to its pledge to help refugees and displaced people to return to the south... Kofi Annan's statements shows his concern over this issue and his determination to follow this up. His efforts need backing from Sudan, by way of forging direct contacts with the donors, to urge them to fulfill their pledge and thereby support the peace.

Editorial in Sudan's Al Ayyam

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The longest civil war in history has ended at the expense of a million deaths, crippling injuries and refugees. It was a forgotten war. No-one talked about it. The most silent about this war were the Arab countries. They just watched an Arab nation fighting itself... The Sudanese people did not deserve the catastrophe that befell them... Those who signed the peace agreement in Khartoum have a huge debt to settle with Sudan... They should bring back some of its dignity that has been lost. They should compensate for the years of displacement, poverty, hunger and disease.

Commentary in UK-based Al-Sharq al-Awsat

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A few years ago, a meeting between President Omar al-Bashir and Dr John Garang would not only have been difficult, but impossible. A meeting between the two men was like the frozen North Pole meeting the South Pole. A handshake was like merging the sunrise with sunset... Everyone saw that the dispute between the two men was bigger than the factors of religion and geography and more complicated than ideology... Now here is Dr Garang in Khartoum and tomorrow Al-Bashir will be in the south - all in one train, on one railway.

Editorial in Libya's Al-Jamahiriyah

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Sudan managed to achieve national reconciliation, to put an end to 22 years of bitter conflict... We see that it was rationalism, and the coming to terms with the will to achieve peace, that finally brought peace and reconciliation. The readiness to pay the price of peace is what turned the enemies of yesterday into the friends of today. They turned the page of the past and opened the page of the future.

Commentary in Iran's Arabic-language Al-Vefagh

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The signing of the Sudanese peace agreement between the north and the south was marked by two remarkable absences... Those absent were Arab leaders and the Sudanese opposition... Is it not strange that leaders of South Africa, Central Africa, Djibouti, Senegal, Uganda, Ethiopia, not to mention Kofi Annan and the US deputy secretary of state, Robert Zoellick, attended, while Arab leaders did not?... It is not strange, because those who attended are aware of the extent of Sudan's geopolitical clout in Africa.

Commentary in Jordan's Al-Ra'y

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Both President Omar al-Bashir and Dr John Garang... face a huge task in ensuring that the government of national unity holds despite the teething problems that occur when erstwhile foes come together... Al-Bashir and Dr Garang must not let their people down, they must broker peace with the holdouts [those still holding out against peace] and bring them into the fold.

Editorial in Kenya's East African

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After 21 years of war, Sudan embraced a new era on Saturday after Dr John Garang... was sworn in as first vice-president... Even as Sudan enjoys the new-found peace, the leaders must ensure that the Naivasha Accord, which brought a new dawn to the country, is upheld... for the benefit of the Horn of Africa and the people of Sudan. We also hope that the new political leadership will do its best to bring a lasting solution to the Darfur crisis.

Editorial in Kenya's Standard

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