Officials in Southern Sudan issued a call this week for
citizens to compose lyrics for a new national anthem.
The government and many citizens here hope the anthem will
be needed after a vote in January that could see the south break away from the
Khartoum-based northern Sudanese government.
If the south votes for unity, then no new anthem is needed.
But if the push for secession wins, then the Juba-based government will need a
new country name, a new flag and a new anthem, said Malaak Ayuen Ajok, a member
of the Committee for South Sudan National Anthem.
Ajok said Thursday the committee has held workshops to
determine the needed content for the anthem and has examined questions such as “what
are our people proud of?” The title of the anthem has already been chosen: “Land
of Cush,” a biblical reference to the ancient Kingdom of Kush in southern
Sudan. The themes of the anthem are to include history, land, struggle,
sacrifice, and destiny.
The competition to choose which poem will be turned into the
anthem will take place later this month, with writers and poets delivering
their submissions before a neutral panel, Ajok said. Music to accompany the
lyrics will be chosen later.
More than 2 million people died in the North-South civil war
in Sudan, which ended in 2005 with the signing of a landmark peace accord that
promised the southern referendum in 2011. Worries are rising that mistrust
between the northern and southern governments could affect the chances of a
free and fair vote.
