US evangelist to visit Sudan ahead of ICC decision

February 28, 2009 (WASHINGTON) — The president of the international Christian relief organization Samaritan’s Purse, Franklin Graham arrives Sunday in Sudan where he will meet US embassy officials and pastors in Khartoum, travel to an IDP camp in Darfur, and visit Juba for talks with Salva Kiir Mayardit, the president of Southern Sudan.

The visit comes just days after a US State Department warning against travel anywhere in Sudan ahead of the International Criminal Court (ICC) decision on whether to indict Sudanese President Omer Al-Bashir on charges of war crimes and genocide. Graham had met with Al-Bashir during visits in 2003 and 2005 but is not scheduled to do so this time.

“This is a critical time for Sudan. In recent months, GOS (Government of Sudan) attacks in Darfur have involved civilians,” said Graham. “I urge President Obama not to let the economic crisis distract him from working with Sudan to achieve full implementation of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement. Setbacks now could have long-term consequences.”

Graham and his father, evangelist Billy Graham, had personal access to former President George W. Bush and played a key role in urging Bush to engage in the peace process that led to Sudan’s 2005 peace deal.

In January, the Southern Sudan president followed a visit to the White House with a trip to Boone, North Carolina, where Samaritan’s Purse is headquartered. Returning the visit, Graham will meet in Juba with Kiir.

He also intends to visit relief projects of Samaritan’s Purse, which has rebuilt 250 churches, trained pastors in the Nuba Mountains and distributed 250,000 Bibles in six languages. The organization also notes that it has distributed food in Darfur and eastern Sudan, supported four hospitals.

The four-day trip will include a visit to Kawdah in the Nuba Mountains, one of the organization’s principal development areas, said a spokesperson. Graham will also try to visit an IDP camp in Darfur, where 2.5 million people are displaced by violence since six years ago.

Graham will be accompanied by executives from Samaritan’s Purse and the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, which he also heads.

In a statement to an official Sudanese news agency, Ali Yousif, the chief protocol official at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said he “appreciated the positive stances by Rev. Graham towards Sudan.”

(ST)