The Episcopal Church of Sudan
Archiepiscopal visit by His Grace the Most Rev. Dr. Daniel Deng Bul to the dioceses of Jonglei State
Observations and recommendations of the Archbishop:
Jonglei is the largest and most needy State of Southern Sudan, and a lot of work needs to be done – the Church is big in terms of numbers, but violence and crime are very high in Jonglei, which the Church is not tackling as effectively as it could.
More advocacy for peace and reconciliation in the community from the Church is the top priority in Jonglei State. Without peace, no physical development will be able to happen. The Church itself is also suffering from divisions in places, so disputes must be solved before progress can be made.
The Church must work closely with the Government of Jonglei State and the local governments in the counties and payams to bring peace and reconciliation between the six tribes.
The Church itself is large, but largely untrained and ill equipped to effectively preach the Word of God and witness to the Anglican liturgy. There are around a thousand clergy in the Diocese of Bor, very few of whom have had formal theological training and most of whom need urgent training on the very basics of Christian leadership and Anglican structure. The case of the argument over the name of the Diocese of Kongor illustrates this lack of understanding about the real purpose and goal of the Church. Bad clergy do not guide communities well, and often cause division – so urgent training is required.
I am recommending that an ecumenical Task Force needs to be sent to Jonglei to go from town to town – composed of clergy and intellectuals from all the tribes. It would comprise members from all the active denominations in Jonglei – ECS, RC, Presbyterian, and African Inland Church. If supported, their job would be to preach peace, reconciliation and give Christian training on a constant basis.
If the violence in Jonglei cannot be stopped, it poses a very real and serious risk to the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) and the peace of Sudan as a whole. The government and the Church need to work very seriously together to tackle this problem:
Government work programmes are needed to give young people a useful alternative to stealing cattle and killing each other, which have become as hobbies to the youth of Jonglei State.
Church youth groups need to be formed to give purpose and belonging to youth, especially traumatised orphans
The government should regulate cattle movements and possibly even register cattle so that legal and illegal movement of cattle can be distinguished
A Peace Conference of all the tribal chiefs should be conducted by the Church and the government – forming a united front against violence.
The Church must help the County Commissioners in their work of disseminating peace, justice and electoral information to the people, and ensure that local government is indeed doing this.
I am personally appealing to all our partners, the international donor and diplomatic communities, on behalf of the entire Church and the entire country, for genuine support and action on these issues.
We desperately need to be rescued from the current situation highlighted in this report, which is now spreading across all of Southern Sudan, as stated in previous reports such as those of my visit to Lakes State, Eastern Equatoria and Western Equatoria. Insecurity is the biggest problem in Sudan today, and prevents any further material or economic development, as well as the free and fair elections scheduled for February 2010 and the referendum on Southern secession scheduled for 2011.
Increasing incidents of tribal violence across Southern Sudan make me to wonder what is behind the escalation of age-old conflict into warfare with modern weapons including rocket-propelled grenades and heavy artillery, which is currently happening in Jonglei, Lakes and Central Equatoria states. Last week the Governor of Lakes State, H.E. Daniel Awet Akot, who was so kind in his hospitality to me last month in Rumbek, personally apprehended two officers of the Joint Integrated Units (JIUs) of the Sudanese Armed Forces in western Lakes State in possession of a large weapons cache – I’m sure destined for warring tribes. Similarly trucks loaded with weaponry have been sighted heading north out of Juba to where Mundari/Bari clashes have in the past two days escalated to full scale fighting with modern weapons literally twenty miles from the Southern Sudanese capital.
The only conclusion one can draw is that these are ancient disputes that are being deliberately stirred up into something much more damaging for the local people and the stability of our country as a whole. Who is doing this is still largely unknown, but it is evident from local reports that the arms smuggling, re-armament and incitement of tribal violence is being carried out by enemies of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA).
On my return from the Jonglei visit, I was informed by a gentleman from the Nuer areas I visited that following the visit all cattle raiding and violence in the Ayod area has ceased. I take this as proof that the Church is one of the most effective ground-level players in the peace process and as proof that the message of Christ’s love and God’s reconciliation of man to Himself is one that is most effective in making peace reign amongst the tribes of Southern Sudan. The Church has a presence in almost all small villages in the South, coverage unmatched by any organisation, including the Government of Southern Sudan, which in most cases is no longer able to keep the peace on the ground. As evidence of this I cite the fact that the police in Twic East County were not able to contain local violence even during my visit to the area.
I am therefore making a passionate and heartfelt appeal to our partners, the Government of Southern Sudan and especially those governments and organisations that form Sudan’s overseas friends, in particular the United Nations agencies and the governments of the United Kingdom, the United States, and the Netherlands, all of which have a major presence in Southern Sudan. As guarantors of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) you have a duty to prevent this nation from returning to war, and I urge you to consider very seriously the churches as key partners in the work of peace-building on the ground, especially the Episcopal Church of the Sudan in Lakes and Jonglei states, where it is the majority church. With our ground-level network that surpasses any other, we need to be empowered to spread peace in this land as I have been doing in Jonglei State this month. We must teach our people that they are part of much bigger politics of which they are unaware, but which they are destabilising. They must also be empowered to make free and fair democratic choices in the upcoming elections and referendum.
To our Church partners overseas, I request your immediate action on these points and implore that you advocate to your governments on our behalf. Please pray for us, pray for peace and pray for the Sudan – that God may steer us through these difficult times and that the love of Christ be known amongst all our peoples. I thank you all in advance for you most necessary support.
Please contact myself and my International Co-ordinator for more information and with pledges of assistance in these most difficult times:
archbishopdanieldeng@yahoo.com and nicholas.ramsden@gmail.com
In the love of God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit,
The Most Rev. Dr. Daniel Deng Bul Yak
Archbishop and Primate of the Province of the Episcopal Church of the Sudan
30th April 2009, Juba