Archbishop’s Sudan peace plea: CEN 6.26.09 p 7. June 30, 2009
Posted by geoconger in Archbishop of Canterbury, Church of England Newspaper, Episcopal Church of the Sudan.trackback
Writing in support of the June 18 “Sudan Day of Action” organized by Baroness Cox and the Sudan Action Group, the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr. Rowan Williams has called upon Khartoum government and the former rebels of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement to act swiftly to implement all of the terms of the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA).
“I saw the first benefits of peace myself when I visited Sudan in February 2006, just one year after the signing of the agreement,” Dr. Williams said.
“The CPA brought new hope to Southern Sudan after long and destructive conflict. Families could be reunited after long years of separation. New development opportunities opened up such as the church’s widespread programmes of teacher training and classroom building. For the first time, Southern Sudan had the opportunity to establish its own government as an autonomous region within the country.”
However the delay in implementing all of the terms of the CPA has “threatened the sustainability of this peace,” Dr. Williams warned. “There is now an urgency for both parties to the agreement and the international community which helped to broker and support it to demonstrate their renewed commitment to implement the agreement fully.”
He called upon the treaty partners to complete the disarmament and address the “widespread problems of insecurity,” rebuild South Sudan’s devastated infrastructure of roads, settle the on-going disputes over disputed border territories, and move swiftly to hold free and fair elections.
Dr. Williams also urged the international community not to be sidetracked by the “continuing horrors” of Darfur. “We need to recognize that unless the commitments around the CPA are honoured there is no chance of settling the conflict in Darfur,” he said.“I therefore urge a renewal of commitment and a readiness to work for measurable results as soon as possible,” the archbishop said.
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