President Omar al-Bashir of the Sudan

Church leaders have called upon the Islamist government in Khartoum to honour its pledge to hold a referendum on independence for South Sudan on Jan 9, 2011.

On Aug 9, five bishops of the Episcopal Church of the Sudan released an open letter warning that delays in holding the referendum, a key component in the comprehensive peace agreement that ended 25 years of civil war, could lead to bloodshed.

The Rt. Rev. Reuben Maciir Makoi of Cueibet, the Rt. Rev. Wilson Kamani of Ibba, the Rt. Rev. Bismark Monday of Mundri, the Rt. Rev. Joseph Maker of Pacong, and the Rt. Rev. Benjamin Mangar of Yirol asked Britain, Norway, the United States and the East African community to pressure Khartoum to hold free and fair elections.

Critics charge the government of President Omar al-Bashir with trying to sabotage the referendum.  While the Sudanese parliament in December created an electoral commission to oversee the referendum and President al-Bashir has promised the referendum will go ahead as planned, the government did not appoint the members of the commission until June, and rivalries between north and south among the commissioners have prevented the election of a chairman.

Under the referendum law passed by parliament, the electoral rolls of eligible voters must be drawn up by Oct 9, ninety days before the vote.  However, as of mid-August the commission has not begun voter registration, which is expected to take several months.

“The commission now is paralysed, it is not working,” Pagan Amum, secretary general of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM) told AFP.

“I am afraid there may be elements within the referendum commission that are actually planning… a postponement, or in the worst case a total betrayal (of the right) to be exercised by the people of southern Sudan,” he said.

The bishops’ letter called upon the political parties to stand down their youth militias, and turn their efforts toward the social and economic empowerment of the country.  Politicians should train young people to rebuild the Sudan rather than engaging them in activities that promote anarchy.

“As the country prepares for the 2011 referendum; all political players should foster harmony so that Sudan does not lose its status as a haven of peace,” the letter urged.

On Jan 11, 2010 the church took its campaign for international support for the referendum to 10 Downing Street, where Dr. Daniel Deng, the Archbishop of Juba and Primate of the Sudan, met with Prime Minister Gordon Brown.  Dr. Deng called upon Britain and the US to intervene in the Sudan to ensure the terms of the peace treaty were honoured, warning that the country faced the specter of war.

The Labour government’s Minister for Africa Baroness Kinnock pledged Britain “will continue working” with all sides to ensure compliance with the peace treaty.  However, Dr. Deng told reporters before his meeting with the prime minister “the time for talk [from the UK] is over, it is time for action.”