05406
August 9, 2005

Uneasy calm holding in Sudan

Church leaders join officials in plea for peace

by Hege Opseth 
Ecumenical News International

KHARTOUM — Sudanese leaders are in agreement that former combatants must stay on the path to peace.

     Sudanese President Omar al Bashir and Salva Kiir, John Garang’s successor as leader of southern Sudanese, are both calling for peace and reconciliation after bloody clashes in several parts of Sudan.  

     Christian leaders also are speaking out for peace.

     “We want to ensure the conflict does not assume a religious tone,” the Rev. Mvume Dandala, general secretary of the All Africa Conference of Churches, said in Nairobi after returning from Sudan with a delegation from the National Christian Council of Kenya, the New Sudan Council of Churches and the World Council of Churches.     

     Rioting started in response to the news of the death of John Garang de Mabior, the 60-year-old former rebel leader recently installed as Sudan’s first vice president. Garang, a Presbyterian, died in a helicopter accident on July 30. More than 130 people were killed in the ensuing riots in the capital Khartoum, Juba and Malakal, according to the Sudanese Red Crescent.    

     The clashes triggered fears of a resumption of the civil war that ended in January when the government and Garang signed a peace agreement, ending Africa’s longest running civil war, between the mainly black African southerners against the Arab and Muslim-led northerners. Most southerners are Christians or followers of African traditional religions.      

     Sudanese politicians have said they remain committed to the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA), and its implementation will continue.   

     But in the suburbs of Khartoum, people are facing a different challenge. After living side-by-side for a long time, southerners and northerners in the capital are now facing a new era of distrust.     

     “Before, the distrust had been on a more political level. Neighbors have lived in peace, despite fighting in the country. Now it seems the distrust has been brought to the grassroots level,” said Kamal Abu Zaid, who has been involved in Norwegian Church Aid’s (NCA) Sudan office for almost 20 years.      

     “What has happened has become very personal, with loss of lives and property. I, myself, have not lost any relatives in this incident, but it is understandable that those who have to bury their beloved ones after the violence will struggle to get past what has happened,” Kamal said.      

     With as many as two million internally displaced people living downtown, in Khartoum’s suburbs or in camps around the city, poverty and unhealthy living conditions have brought growing frustration.      

     “This is of course a contributing factor, and one of the root causes (of) … the violence we have witnessed the last few days,” said Thor-Arne Prøis, an NCA representative. “It is necessary to find a long-term solution for the internally displaced people who have settled in Khartoum.”

     Many residents of Khartoum fear that the Aug. 1 riots, which left at least 36 people dead, would bring widespread retaliation by northerners.

     Politicians from numerous Sudanese parties and the main two partners in the CPA are urging the Sudanese people not to lose faith in the peace process.

     “We have seen an effective use of media, especially radio and TV, the last few days. Again and again they are repeating the message of peace and reconciliation, and the message seems to reach (people),” said Kamal Abu Zaid, a government spokesman. “As a result of that we have seen life gradually returning to normal. The ministry of religious affairs has had meetings with the Imams of the mosques to advocate for peaceful co-existence and forgiveness.”