Clergy urges southern Sudanese unity to win independence

June 26, 2007 (NAIROBI) — The Acting Archbishop of the Episcopal Church of Sudan, Nathaniel Garang, has called on southern Sudanese to unite in order to – in his words – “win” the 2011 referendum.

Archbishop Garang told a church congregation in Nairobi, Kenya on Sunday 24 June that southern Sudanese should all vote for independence in the referendum, reported the Sudan Radio Service (SRS).

The Acting Archbishop also urged people in the region to be patient with the Government of Southern Sudan as it struggles to provide services. Garang said that the Episcopal Church of Sudan will work with the government to realize “peace through development” in the region.

He advised the youth to refrain from drugs, alcohol and what he called “bad politics” because the future of southern Sudan depends on them.

The Comprehensive Peace Agreement guarantees a popular vote for southern Sudanese to decide whether to remain as part of a united Sudan or separate. The referendum is supposed to happen in 2011.

(SRS)