Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Khartoum (Fides Service)- The Catholic archbishop of Khartoum Cardinal Zubeir Wako has appealed to Sudan’s political leaders to put the interests of the country first. In a press conference in Cologne organised by the Catholic aid agency Aid to the Church in Need the Cardinal said stability in Sudan depends to a good extent on honest and fair sharing of the country’s resources and respect for human rights.
Sudan is still under shock for the sudden death of newly appointed vice president John Garang leader of the Sudanese Peoples Liberation Army who piloted a landmark peace agreement with the central government signed in Nairobi (Kenya) on 9 January this year. Garang was killed in a helicopter crash on 30 July on his way back from a meeting in Kampala with the Ugandan president Museveni. The leader’s death was followed by riots in Khartoum in which several people were killed and wounded.
Cardinal Wako warned that civil war between the Muslim north and Christian and Animist south is still a threat although he said he is confident the peace process will continue despite the death of Garang. He said he hoped the late vice-president’s sucessors will respect his message of peace consigned to the nation with the January agreement. The Archbishop also urged the international community to continue to support all the Sudanese parties which uphold democracy and respect for human rights. And he stressed the need to re-establish the presence of the Catholic Church in southern Sudan in order to assist the returning refugees after years of civil war.
John Garang’s successor as Vicepresident of Sudan is Salva Kiir another Catholic from the south, and the leader of the SPLA military wing. He announced that he intends to follow the path of peace traced by his predecessor. (L.M.) (Agenzia Fides 29/8/2005 righe 33 parole 365)
