ALDE welcomes the outcome of the self-determination referendum in January in Southern Sudan  today, during a debate in the European Parliament.  Nonetheless, ALDE urges the EU to stay vigilant concerning the viability and safety of this new state.

Charles Goerens, (Parti Démocratique, Luxembourg), ALDE Coordinator on the Development Committee declared, "The most pessimistic scenarios were thwarted.  The South Sudanese expressed their independence within the required timeframe and without major obstacles.  This was made possible thanks to huge international cooperation and the goodwill of the Sudanese authorities.  However six years after the entry into force of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement much remains to be done.  The complexities of the problems inherited following the war are still current and division remains between the North and the South which must be settled".

Goerens continued by urging caution and vigilance, "To guarantee the future of this referendum on independence and to allow viable structures to be created, the International community must remain alert concerning the security of this new state."

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