Sudanese authorities “not serious” about peace plan, Bishop says

Khartoum, Sudan, Jan 26, 2007 / 08:16 am

Speaking this week to representatives of Aid to the Church in Need, Bishop Daniel Kur Adwok, Auxiliary Bishop of Khartoum said the government of Sudan is “playing games” with people regarding the country’s tenuous peace plan.  The bishop criticized the Islamist regime of President Omar al Bashir, describing the government as “not at all serious” about the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA), a January 2005 power-sharing plan between Khartoum and a rebel movement in southern Sudan.

“In Khartoum,” Bishop Adwok said, “the government is playing a game – they are just letting things carry on as they are. They are not at all serious about addressing the real issues. The militia is free to do whatever they want.”

The bishop said the government has also failed to take steps to assist the return of internally displaced Sudanese – many of them Christians – who are longing to return home now that there is more peace in the south after 25 years of war.

Adwok said he is thankful that the government has given approval to allow three sites in and around Khartoum to be allocated for the construction of churches – two for the Protestants and one for the Catholics, but said the concession was minimal compared to ongoing government restrictions on church building projects.  The Catholic Archdiocese of Khartoum currently has requested approval for 20 planned Churches in the area, according to the bishop.