Church leaders appeal for peace in Sudan, South Sudan

image: ACN

Catholic and Anglican Bishops have urged the governments of Sudan and South Sudan to work for a peaceful solution to their disputes. In a joint message on the first anniversary of the independence of South Sudan, Mgr Paulino Lukudu Loro, Catholic Archbishop of Juba, and Mgr Daniel Deng Bul, Episcopal Archbishop of Juba and Primate of the Episcopal Church of Sudan, said: "The relations between the governments of Sudan and Southern Sudan have deteriorated to an unacceptable level. We reject war as an option to resolve disputes, and we call on all parties to respect the cease-fire and to withdraw their forces from the border region. "

The two Christian leaders, praised positive developments that have occurred over the last year, but expressed their fears about the deterioration of relations between Sudan and South Sudan, for inter-ethnic conflicts in South Sudan, and for the three civil wars ongoing in Darfur, South Kordofan and Blue Nile.

The message also mentions the unresolved issue of Abyei, oil-rich region disputed between the two States: "The Abyei Protocol of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (the 2005 agreement that allowed the referendum on independence in January 2011 of the South Sudan), provides the means to solve the problem of Abyei through a referendum."

The tensions between Sudan and South Sudan have blocked exports of south Sudanese oil through the territory of Sudan, seriously damaging the economy of both States. "Oil is a God-given resource that the two countries should benefit from," remind the two Archbishops. "We call for a settlement based on international standards for the transportation of crude oil and to recognize the damage caused by the current impasse to the populations of both States. Prices are rising and there are shortages of essential goods, including fuel, which make life difficult for
ordinary citizens "

Following the independence of South Sudan, many South Sudanese people were violently expelled from Khartoum, and many Christian buildings were attacked.

The Archbishops said: "We are saddened by the developments in the Republic of Sudan, which appear to threaten the ethnic, religious and cultural diversity. We are particularly saddened by the attacks on the evangelical Presbyterian church complex, for the demolition of the Episcopal church of the parish of St John in Hai Baraka in Khartoum, for the destruction of the structures of the Episcopal Church of Sudan and the Catholic school of the Comboni Kadugli, for the confiscation of Catholic schools in Khartoum and Omdurman, the closure of the offices of the Sudan Council of Churches and Sudanaid in Nyala (Darfur), and for the attacks against unarmed civilians in other parts of Sudan."

With regard to South Sudan, the two religious leaders, while noting the progress made in the past year, highlight some serious problems the new State has to face such as corruption, ethnic tensions and problems with some neighbouring States.

Source: Fides