10 july 2011, juba-lant

There are so many parts of the world I know so little about; something my time at the united nations reinforced. I first followed sudan with the troubles in darfur and the horrifying janjaweed, discovering that an enlightened american-led process of many years was already near completion to stop a north-south civil war that had killed perhaps 2 million people. That culminated in a ceasefire and an independence referendum, and then with this week's celebrations, as south sudan became africa's 54th nation state. A glance at western sahara shows that there is no inevitability about such progress. South sudan however is extremely poor, if sufficiently exposed to mass media to want development and prosperity. Ensuring a permanent end to a war that has convulsed sudan for decades is just the first essential step along that road. South Africa, india, israel and hopefully Kosovo are all good examples of how a violent militia that forces independence (here the tenacious sudan people's liberation movement) can go on to build a plural and prosperous society that takes its place in the world and seeks to serve its people well. The country has oil, which is a good starting point, but so many countries show is no guarantee. The oil-rich border area already looks at high risk of re-igniting the war, and states such as neighbouring chad, sao tome and nigeria are text book "how not to" guides on becoming natural resource-dependent economies that breed corruption and autocracy, driving away the population's talent and reinforcing elites and tribal and religious divisions. Sudan has a place in british history, and indeed it was britain that without proper process united the 2 regions into one independent state in 1956, something today that looks another example of retreating imperial vandalism. As in india and israel, it was one reason for decades of war. Let's hope though that unlike in those places, independence turns out to be an end to the war, not just a phase in it, and that today really marks a new era of happiness for a fair slice of africa's people.