John Kerry: “in just over 100 days, Sudan will face a defining moment. The choices its leaders make can lead to a peaceful two-state…”

“in just over 100 days, Sudan will face a defining moment. The choices its leaders make can lead to a peaceful two-state solution. Or, as many fear, they could result in a return to chaos and war in a place too often synonymous with both. Responding to this urgency, the Obama administration has recently launched a heightened campaign of diplomatic engagement with both North and South Sudan to help the parties to find their way through this process. I traveled to Sudan in April 2009 and I have met with Sudanese from all parts of the country since that time, including Salva Kiir, the leader of Southern Sudan, last week. Today, joined by Senators Brownback, Durbin, Wicker and Feingold, I am introducing legislation known as the Sudan Peace and Stability Act. Congress must not be silent at this critical time. On January 9, 2011, the people of Southern Sudan and the adjoining territory of Abyei are scheduled to hold referenda on secession. Realistically, Sudan's choice is no longer between unity and separation--southerners have apparently made that decision. Every reliable source indicates that they will vote for separation, dividing Africa's largest country and taking with them some eighty percent of known Sudanese oil reserves. The Secretary of State has called a vote for separation inevitable. No, the choice before the peoples of Sudan is that between a future of peaceful coexistence or a return to the country's bloody past.”