U.S. President Barack Obama has described the referendum on the independence of Southern Sudan as a historic step and said the United States would remain "fully committed" to helping the Sudanese people to achieve peace and progress.
The Sudanese referendum, which may lead to Africa's largest nation of around 44 million people splitting into two independent states, began on Sunday. The vote, which is being monitored by more than 20,000 observers and over 1,000 journalists from around the world, will end on January 15.
"I am extremely pleased that polling has started for the southern Sudan referendum, and congratulate the people of southern Sudan who are determining their own destiny," Obama said in a statement issued on Sunday. "This is an historic step in the years-long process to fully implement the Comprehensive Peace Agreement that ended the civil war between north and south."
The 1983-2005 civil war in Sudan killed an estimated 2 million people and caused significant displacement of the different ethnic groups in the country.
The majority of Southern Sudanese belong to various culture and language tribes, however, most speak Arabic as do their Northern neighbors. Most of the Southerners are voting to gain independence.
Southern Sudan's vast oil deposits have long made its independence an issue of concern in the North. However, the official Sudanese government has pledged to recognize the results of the referendum regardless of its outcome.
Obama has reiterated that a peaceful referendum will help normalize relations between the United States and Sudan, including the lifting of economic sanctions against the African country and the removal of Sudan from the list of states that sponsor terrorism.
"The world will be watching in the coming days, and the United States will remain fully committed to helping the parties solve critical post-referendum issues regardless of the outcome of the vote," the president said in his statement.
Obama also called on the Sudanese leadership to protect the safety and citizenship of all Sudanese, especially minorities – southerners in the north and northerners in the south.
WASHINGTON, January 10 (RIA Novosti)
