Senior religious leaders in south Sudan have called on people to vote for independence in a referendum to be held January next year.
The vote was promised as part of a 2005 deal to end years of war between the mainly Muslim north and the south, where Christianity is common.
“The way to unity is destructive,” Bishop Paul Yugusuk said.
He said southerners would be treated as second-class citizens if Africa’s largest nation remained united.
Well, duh. What else is new? Everyone who knows anything at all about southern Sudan (or New Sudan, as many residents like to call it), knows that for the southerners to stay politically united to the Muslim north and under the brutal heel of the murderous regime in power in Khartoum is unthinkable and would be absolutely catastrophic. After all, wasn’t Omar al Bashir recently indicted (at last) for genocide by the war crimes tribunal in Europe?
But naturally, church leaders will need to do much more than lobby for independence. Once New Sudan finally achieves independence, it will instantly become the poorest nation on earth, worse off than Bangladesh or Haiti. And sadly, New Sudan is liable to see tribal tensions surface and boil over more than ever after independence. So the bishops and other leaders certainly face daunting and even overwhelming challenges.
Still, this is a courageous stance that deserves praise and support, especially by Christians around the world. Defying Khartoum and its thugs is never safe.
David Handy+