---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: John Ashworth <[email protected]> Date: Mon, Dec 3, 2012 at 4:45 PM Subject: [sudan-john-ashworth] 'AU should use all means to restore peace in Nuba Mountains' To: Group <[email protected]>
The AU should use all means to restore peace in Nuba Mountains By Amar Amoun Daily Monitor Posted Monday, December 3 2012 at 02:00 IN SUMMARY: We entreat our leaders to recognise that there will be no peace between Sudan and South Sudan until there is peace in Southern Kordofan and Blue Nile. We urge them to accord the crisis the same importance as the negotiations on Abyei and oil resources. - The conflict that has gripped Sudan’s southern states of Southern Kordofan and Blue Nile (the “Two Areas”) for more than 12 months has exacted a heavy human toll that worsens by the day. Since June 2011, the government of Sudan has bombed indiscriminately across the Nuba Mountains, forcing its own people to seek shelter in caves and mountains where they lack food, shelter, and hygiene. The campaign has killed and injured scores of civilians of all faiths and destroyed their property. Many are now in desperate need as a result of the government’s refusal to allow access for humanitarian aid. The UN reports almost a million people have been severely affected by the war between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the armed opposition known as the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N). Most are still in Sudan but more than 200,000 have fled to refugee camps in South Sudan and Ethiopia. We fear new dry season military offensives could force more of our congregation to make the perilous journey to these crowded and overstretched camps. For the Nuban people, this pattern of violence bears many of the hallmarks of the brutality they experienced at the hands of their government in the 1990s. Once again, all parties to the conflict, but in particular the Sudan Armed Forces and allied militias, have committed gross violations of international law. In addition to blocking aid, the government has refused to allow access for the media to affected areas, creating a virtual information blackout. This conflict is political, not religious. Mosques and churches alike have been attacked and many lives have been lost. But rather than divide the people, these attacks have served to further unify the many faiths that have always peacefully coexisted. We have come to Ethiopia from Sudan as part of a delegation of Christians and Muslims to speak with one voice and remind our political leaders at the African Union that the humanitarian situation is extremely serious - and getting worse. Our message is clear: only immediate action to bring an end to the fighting will prevent famine taking hold and decimating our communities. Unimpeded access to ensure international humanitarian organisations can deliver food and medical supplies is needed now. We applaud the decisive and strategic approach taken so far by the AU Peace and Security Council towards Sudan and South Sudan. Their April Roadmap was instrumental in averting a return to war, and together with the work of the AU High Level Implementation Panel, enabled the Addis Ababa Peace Agreements in September, which represent a potential turning point. However, these agreements may collapse if the war in our border states is not brought to an end. We are particularly concerned that without a political resolution to the conflict, there will be no border security and no resumption of trade or oil flows between the two Sudans. This would be a recipe for even greater human suffering. It can and must be avoided. We entreat our leaders to recognise that there will be no peace between Sudan and South Sudan until there is peace in Southern Kordofan and Blue Nile. We urge them to accord the crisis the same importance as the negotiations on Abyei and oil resources. Ultimately, only resolution of the border conflict will deliver the regional security necessary to achieve the goal we all share of two viable states living peacefully side-by-side. The AU and others with influence should work to bring the two parties together to start direct, serious negotiations for peace. The people in the Two Areas want a united Sudan in which diversity is respected; however, they will not continue to pay the price with their lives. Failure by the Government of Sudan to recognise and accommodate diversity will leave them with no option but to seek the right of self-determination. We appeal to African Union to redouble its leadership efforts to secure immediate access for humanitarian aid and restore peace to all Sudanese people. This is not a religious conflict but anyone of faith can see that there is a moral imperative for us all to act to prevent innocent lives being destroyed quickly by bombs or slowly by hunger. Mr Amoun is the South Kordofan MP. Andudu Adam Elnail, the Anglican Bishop of Kadugli, South Kordofan - Sudan, contributed to this opinion. http://www.monitor.co.ug/OpEd/Commentary/The-AU-should-use-all-means-to-restore-peace-in-Nuba-Mountains/-/689364/1635030/-/hl6hkv/-/index.html END ______________________ John Ashworth Sudan, South Sudan Advisor [email protected] +254 725 926 297 (Kenya mobile) +211 919 695 362 (South Sudan mobile) +27 82 050 1235 (South Africa mobile) +44 750 304 1790 (UK/international) +88 216 4334 0735 (Thuraya satphone) PO Box 52002 - 00200, Nairobi, Kenya This is a personal e-mail address and the contents do not necessarily reflect the views of any organisation -- -- The content of this message does not necessarily reflect John Ashworth's views. Unless explicitly stated otherwise, John Ashworth is not the author of the content and the source is always cited. You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "sudan-john-ashworth" group. 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