Khartoum activists urge right of dual citizenship after South referendum

Sudanese should have the right of dual citizenship if the country splits in two, say activists in Khartoum. Dual citizenship would promote what the activists call ‘popular unity’. Activists, academics, intellectuals and artists launched the initiative in Khartoum to promote the idea of dual citizenship.

The January 2011 referendum in South Sudan could result in the division of the country.

Some senior ruling party officials have raised questions about the post-referendum status of Southerners in the North, who will be permitted to vote on the issue of secession. Minister of Information Kamal Obeid stated on public radio that Southerners “will not enjoy citizenship rights, jobs or benefits… they will not be treated in hospitals.” However, President Bashir later contradicted this minister, saying that it is a government priority to protect the rights and security of Southerners living in the North.On Wednesday in Khartoum the activist group held a press conference at which they demanded the governments of Sudan and South Sudan to recognize the right to dual nationality for Southerners living in the North and for Northerners living in the South, as well as for pastoral tribes that freely cross the boundary between the two regions.

The activists called for ensuring the freedoms of residence, movement, work, and ownership for all Sudanese citizens. These rights happen to be the same as those articulated in the “Four Freedoms” agreement, an unratified treaty signed by Sudan and Egypt in 2004.