South Sudan Lawmakers May Vote to Secede

Southern Sudan's parliament may vote to secede from the Khartoum-based north if an independence referendum scheduled for Jan. 9, 2011, is delayed. Under the terms of the peace deal signed in 2005 to end the north-south civil war, the oil-rich region can take such action. John Duku, Southern Sudan's former mission chief to Kenya, says, "The date of Jan. 9, 2011, is written not with words. It is written with the blood of 2.5 million Southern Sudanese who perished during the war." If the referendum is delayed, South Sudan will vote to secede the following day, which more than likely will lead to another confrontation. In the words of Rodney King, "Can't we all just get along?"