Sudan on the Brink of Another Anti-Christian Jihad
ICC Interviews Top South Sudan Diplomat In USA
Washington , D.C. (December 18, 2009)–An official of the government of South Sudan told ICC that the war between Muslims in the north of Sudan and the Christians and animists in the south is imminent unless the international community puts pressure on the government of Sudan . The war which ended in 2005 resulted in death of 2.5 million South Sudanese.
In an exclusive interview with ICC, Ezekiel Lol Gatkuoth, Head of Government of South Sudan Mission to the United States , said that the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) that ended the war is now in danger because “the NCP (President Omar al-Bashir’s party) is not implementing it.”
The CPA stipulates that Southern Sudanese will hold a referendum determining if they want to secede from Sudan . Gatkuoth said that, “As of now, according of many research and studies, in the south 98% of the people will vote for separation. There is no way that you will have Sudan united again.”
The dispute over the border between south and north, the failure to enact a national security law, and the election of April 2010 are among the issues that could derail the peace process. Gatkuoth also expressed his concern about the ongoing genocide in Darfur in which over 400,000 civilians have been killed by the government of Sudan .
“The role of the international community is to get in now and help us[the South and North Sudanese] to make sure that we work together to avoid war, to have peaceful disengagement and a fair election [and] put a lot of pressure on the NCP to end the war in Darfur,” stated Gatkuoth.
ICC’s Regional Manager for Africa and South Asia, Jonathan Racho, said, “We are very concerned about the possibility of another jihad against Christians and animists in South Sudan as well as the ongoing genocide in Darfur . We urge the international community to put pressure on the government of Omar al-Bashir to stop genocide in Darfur and implement its obligations under the CPA.”
Please go to www.house.gov to find the contact information for your representatives and ask them to put pressure on the government of Sudan to stop the genocide in Darfur and implement the CPA.
