Hundreds protested for electoral reform, dozens were arrested
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The peace deal that brought an end to two decades of north-south civil war in Sudan is in serious crisis, a senior southern politician has said. Pagan Amum, who was arrested at a rally on Monday, told the BBC that President Omar al-Bashir's NCP party wanted to stop the south's bid for independence. He accused the NCP of a "sinister plan" to hold on to the south's oil wealth. Both sides agreed to a referendum on southern secession and a national poll as part of the 2005 peace deal. And former rebels from the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM), of which Mr Amum is the secretary general, joined the government. 'Not deterred' But tensions have been rising between the SPLM and their power-sharing partners, Mr Bashir's National Congress Party (NCP).
Pagan Amum and his deputy were among those arrested in Khartoum
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On Monday hundreds of SPLM supporters rallied in Khartoum, trying to press Mr Bashir into reforming the electoral process, which they say will be open to fraud. But the authorities responded by firing tear gas, beating protesters with batons and arresting Mr Amum and two other senior SPLM figures. Mr Amum and his colleagues were freed hours later, and he told the BBC protests would continue. "We are not deterred by the violence the National Congress [Party] has meted out," he said. "The National Congress has a very sinister, dangerous plan that must be stopped." He said the NCP was opposing electoral reform and trying to delay the referendum because the north wanted to hold on to southern oil reserves.
The BBC's James Copnall in Khartoum says administrating the referendum is perhaps the biggest stumbling block in the relationship between the NCP and the SPLM. The first national election for 24 years is due to be held next April with the referendum scheduled for 2011. A 22-year war between the mainly Muslim north and the Christian and animist south claimed the lives of some 1.5 million people. Semi-autonomous southern Sudan has been controlled by the SPLM since the 2005 peace deal.
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