Global Christian leaders hail Southern Sudan's independence and assure continued support

Nairobi, Kenya, July 8 (ENInews)--Christian leaders from around the world
have pledged support for Southern Sudan, while hailing the region set to
become an independent state on 9 July.

"We affirm our continued humanitarian support through various
community-based initiatives in Southern Sudan, and look forward to stronger
cooperation with your government in this area," said the Rev. Martin Junge, general
secretary of the Lutheran World Federation, in a 6 July letter to the country’
s new president, General Salva Kiir Mayardit.

The government is urging citizens to light candles and pray in churches or
public squares on the eve of independence. At midnight in Sudan, bells
will ring and drums sound across the new country to mark the transition from
Southern Sudan to the Republic of South Sudan. 

Churches have been leading prayers this week in the region where more than
99 percent of the population voted to secede from the north, ending a
two-decade civil war. Humanitarian agencies estimate more than two million
people died in the struggle, fought mainly in the south.

"We are honoured to share in the joy of the much awaited birth of a new
nation...whose journey for self-determination has been marked by a long and
painful experience of civil war, but also a strong desire for reconciliation
and peace building," said Junge.

In a litter to Kiir, Rev. Olav Fykse Tveit, general secretary of the World
Council of Churches said the "continuing role of the ecumenical movement
was to accompany the people of an independent South Sudan in solidarity as
they took up the many challenges and tasks of nation-building."

"The new nation will be confronted with the daunting problems of
reconciliation between enemies in conflicts, healing of people traumatized by war,
reconstructing a battered infrastructure, restoring its economy, ensuring
respect for human rights and the rule of law and improving the people's
standard of living," said Tveit in the letter, which will be read at the
inaugural ceremony by his predecessor, Rev. Samuel Kobia, who now serves as
special ecumenical envoy to Sudan for the All Africa Conference of Churches.

Setri Nyomi, the general secretary of the World Communion of Reformed
Churches sent a congratulatory message to Kiir on 7 July. "The road to this day
has been difficult and many have sacrificed. We have been praying for you
and the peoples of Southern Sudan," he said. "It is our prayer that under
your leadership, Southern Sudan will have a good beginning that sets the
path towards peace, reconciliation, justice, security, good governance and the
welfare of all."

Church leaders in Sudan are upbeat, but still express concern, since
humanitarian agencies warn that several unresolved disputes, especially in the
border states of Abyei and Kordofan, could spark another bloody conflict.
Over 17,000 people have been displaced due to violence in the two states.

Roman Catholic Bishop Rudolf Deng of the diocese of Wau said he never
thought he would see this day. "I thought our people were too weak and were not
mature enough to cross ranks and make the necessary sacrifice, but they
have shown it," he said. Deng said independence was not going to be easy,
because the north would continue pestering the new state. "One great source of
insurance, I can say, is the length of suffering of the people. A lot of
people have been matured by the suffering. It has purified us."

Sudan's President Hassan Omar al-Bashir has blessed the region and
confirmed he will attend the independence ceremonies. The development was praised
by church officials, who say his presence will calm the international
community, which feared interference from the north.