Sudanese leaders signed a peace deal that, if implemented, will end Africa's longest-running conflict and transform politics in a nation which has spent 40 of the last 50 years mired in civil war. Turning the incredibly detailed agreement into reality, though, may prove more difficult than the eight years of talks required to draft it. Sudanese vice president Ali Osman Mohammed Taha and John Garang, chairman of the Sudan People's Liberation Army, signed the peace agreement in a lavish ceremony Sunday in neighboring Kenya _ where the talks were based since 1997. Kenyan and Sudanese performers sang traditional songs and danced for the crowd. "Our people have experienced the bitterness of war ... peace is indeed going to bring our country abundance," Sudanese President Omar el-Bashir said after witnessing the signing. He said the peace agreement is not only between the rebels and the government but, "a new contract for all Sudanese." Garang said the deal will transform the nation, guaranteeing equality for all races, ethnic groups and religions for the first time in the country's history. "This peace agreement will change the Sudan forever," Garang told a cheering crowd. The deal calls for an autonomous south with its own army, national power and wealth sharing, religious freedom and a new constitution during a six-year interim period. At the end of that period, the 10 southern states will hold a referendum on whether to become independent. U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell said the United States will not normalize relations with Sudan until there is peace throughout the country. The deal "will close a dark chapter in the history of Sudan ... This is a promising day for the people of Sudan, but only if today's promises are kept," Powell said. The Sudanese head of state promised to expedite peace talks on the separate conflicts. "We are going to work together with our peace partners ... to ensure peace prevails in every part of the country," el Bashir said.
