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The Rev. Mark S. Hanson of the ELCA and the Rev. Katharine Jefferts Schoriof the Episcopal Church made their comments in a public statement following anew outbreak of violence in Sudan that "has threatened the resumption ofwidespread conflict in a nation just three years removed from decades of civilwar," they wrote.
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"Our sense of foreboding is heightened because the violence has come inand around Abyei, a town whose history, resources and proximity to the borderbetween northern and southern Sudan make it a proving ground for the successor failure of the nation's still-young peace agreement," Hanson and JeffertsSchori wrote. Many people have been killed, much of Abyei has been burned tothe ground and as many as 120,000 people have been displaced from their homes,they said.
The presiding bishops called for "urgent action from the internationalcommunity" to address the present suffering and safeguard against theresumption of widespread and decentralized fighting. They noted that Sudan isalready destabilized by "the unchecked and catastrophic war in its westernDarfur region."
The presiding bishops asked for humanitarian assistance through governmentagencies and through private giving to assist newly displaced people;increased diplomatic pressure from the international community to demand thatnorthern Sudanese military units withdraw from Abyei immediately; and that theUnited States and other parties to Sudan's 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement(CPA) "insist on full and immediate implementation of the CPA and subsequentagreements, especially as they relate to Abyei."
"We have heard stories of great hope and courage, but also of thefragility of peace and the dire humanitarian consequences a resumption of warwould bring," the presiding bishops wrote. "We hope this joint statement mayraise awareness of the crisis, and urge Episcopalians and Lutherans to send acopy of it to their elected officials.The full text of the statement is athttp://archive.elca.org/bishop/messages/m_080604.html on the ELCA Web site.
SOURCE Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
