South Sudan Breaking Free. Pity Those Left Behind

As South Sudanese are on the verge of breaking away from the clutches of genocidal war criminal and Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir, it's clearer than ever that for those ethnic and religious minorities left in the North, life is going to get a lot harder. The Guardian's latest on implications of stepped-up Sharia law in Sudan:

Bashir recently declared: "If south Sudan secedes, we will change the constitution, and at that time there will be no time to speak of diversity of culture and ethnicity … sharia and Islam will be the main source for the constitution, Islam the official religion and Arabic the official language."

 

This statement – coupled with his defiant stance on Islamic law after international condemnation of a YouTube video of a woman being flogged by laughing policemen – has caused massive unease among north Sudan's minorities. Bashir said those calling for an investigation into the ill-treatment misunderstood Islam, because "sharia law has always stipulated that one must whip, cut, or kill".

The message couldn't be clearer: if you're a non-Muslim or non-Arab in North Sudan, get out now. As bad as things are now for you, they're about to get a lot worse.

Jonathon Narvey is the Editor of The Propagandist