To people of the Diocese:

Dear friends in Christ of the Diocese of New Jersey,

One year ago, on July 9, 2011, the human family witnessed the birth of a new nation, South Sudan.

Yet, today, as we celebrate the anniversary of the birth of South Sudan, the Sudan Committee of the Diocese of New Jersey....charged by Bishop Councell and Diocesan Convention of 2008 to provide a passionate, Gospel-based witness for the Episcopal Church of Sudan and the people of Sudan.....desires to call the attention of our Diocesan Family and Congregations to the terrible conditions of war, famine, flight of refugees and the human devastation in the border areas between Sudan and South Sudan, the struggle for peace and justice in both nations, and the courageous protest movement emerging in the nation of Sudan (North Sudan).

We remind the Diocese that the President of Sudan, Gen Bashire is sought by the International Criminal Court for war crimes in Darfur/Sudan and Bashire's government has unleashed a bombing offensive in the border areas of Sudan and South Sudan which is indiscriminate and has resulted in considerable loss of life among civilians.

The New York Times and other American media has covered this aggressive, war-like policy of the Government of Sudan--and this policy of war-like aggression has been utterly condemned by world governments and human rights agencies.

For example, the Diocese of Kadugli of the Episcopal Church of Sudan, in the Nuba Mountains, is in total disarray, its churches destroyed, its people, men, women and children-- murdered and its people made refugees by the thousands;  the Bishop of Kadugli, Bishop Andudu has fled to South Sudan in Juba---which is the location of the Archbishop of Sudan and the center of the Episcopal Church of Sudan.

The Sudan Committee calls on our sister and brother Christians in the Diocese of New Jersey to:

*Pray for the Episcopal Church of Sudan and the people of Sudan.

*Pray for accountability and justice in Sudan on the part of the United Nations and the United States.

*Read news coverage and follow unfolding events in Sudan and South Sudan--by the NY Times, the BBC, The Sudan Tribune, and Al-jazeera.

*Follow the Web site of the Episcopal Diocese of Sudan (www.sudan.anglican.org<http://www.sudan.anglican.org>) and the Blog of the Sudan Committee of the Diocese of New Jersey (www.newjersey.anglican.org--under<http://www.newjersey.anglican.org--under> "Outreach").

*Consider a gift of immediate assistance to the Church of Sudan through Episcopal Relief and Development for short-term immediate aid.  There is a massive refugee problem and starvation danger at present in the border areas of Sudan and South Sudan.

*Consider a gift to the Theological Education Scholarship Fund of the Sudan Committee of the Diocese of New Jersey--seeking to provide desperate aid to empower the voice of the Episcopal Church of Sudan and its theological schools in Sudan and South Sudan-- through its clergy leadership in these times of crisis--when the Church of Sudan is in critical need of prophetic voices for justice and peace.
Checks to our Theological Scholarship Fund to the Episcopal Church of Sudan can be made to "Sudan Committee Scholarship Fund, Diocese of New Jersey, 808 W. State Street, Trenton, NJ 08618.

Thank you for your kind and compassionate consideration, in the name of Jesus who brings Good News to the Oppressed for this response to the human rights crisis in Sudan and South Sudan.

Faithfully,

The Sudan Committee of the Diocese of New Jersey

Hugh Brown, Jane Brady, Marcus Gales, Alicia Graham-Hicks, Deborah Piggins, Martin Oguike, Nancy Hite Speck, and Sharon Sutton"

Archbishop of Canterbury declares "Peace is the only option" for Sudan and South Sudan

Posted On : July 6, 2012 10:33 AM | Posted By : Webmaster
ACNS: ACNS5142
Related Categories: Lambeth  Sudan

“Peace is the only option which can allow the flourishing of South Sudan and its neighbour Sudan,” the Archbishop of Canterbury has warned.

Speaking on the first anniversary of the independence of South Sudan, the Archbishop of Canterbury has called for urgent efforts to resolve outstanding differences between South Sudan and its neighbour Sudan. 

The first anniversary of the new nation of South Sudan gives an opportunity for renewed effort towards achieving peaceful relations between Sudan and South Sudan. The new nation was created with the support of both South Sudan and the Republic of Sudan, and the well-being of both countries depends on their mutual co-operation.  I strongly endorse the joint appeal which the Anglican and Roman Catholic Archbishops of Juba have made on this significant anniversary.  As the two archbishops have warned, the current impasse is damaging to both nations.  I welcome the vision which the Sudanese Church has set before us of “two nations at peace with each other, co-operating to make best use of their God-given resources, promoting free interaction between their citizens, living side by side in solidarity and mutual respect.”

Read more at:http://www.aco.org/acns/news.cfm/2012/7/6/ACNS5142

Episcopal Church in Sudan makes new appeal for people in conflict-torn Malakal area

From ACNS:

Anglican Alliance’s South Sudan Appeal

Bishop John Gattek from the Diocese of Malakal, Church of Sudan is calling for humanitarian relief for communities in the Benitu area of Unity state in South Sudan.

Unity State area is on the border of South Sudan and Sudan where tension is permanent due to lack of agreement regarding boundary issues and the way in which valuable resources are shared. There is a humanitarian crisis due to the conditions in which people have to live. Among them are returnees from North Sudan and other nations, internally displaced people and the host community.  

You can read more about this situation in the Humanitarian Bulletins (4 – 10 of June) - (11- 17 of June) issued by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).

They are in desperate need of water and sanitation supplies, food, health care, shelter and educational facilities. Humanitarian operation has also been affected by the rainy season that limits road access to settlements and connection to the capital Juba. In addition, vital infrastructure was destroyed by the war as was the church building in the Bentiu area.

Bishop Gattek is asking for help to provide the following assistance to the communities in the areas of Rubkoana, Mayom, Abiemnom, and Panrieng:

Food items: cooking oil, lentils tints, salt, etc

Non-food items: plastic sheets, blankets, buckets/basins, agricultural tools, Arabic and English bibles, drugs and medical equipment, mosquito’s nets and fuel

The Sudanese Relief and Development Agency SUDRA which is part of the Church in Sudan will receive and manage the donations to this appeal and monitor the movement of resources. If you would like to support this appeal you can donate to:

Beneficiary bank: KCB Bank (Kenya Commercial Bank Ltd.)
Beneficiary Bank branch: Buluk
Beneficiary bank account number: 5500036564
Name on bank account: ECS SUDRA
SWIFT code: KCBLKENX
Bank address: Ministries Road, Buluk, Juba, South Sudan; also Kenya Commercial Bank, Ltd., P.O. Box 48400.0010, Moi Avenue, Nairobi, Kenya

Anglicans around the world have been helping communities affected by the civil war in Sudan and South Sudan. The North American Episcopal Relief and Development and the Australian Anglican Board of Mission work in partnership to support the health service provided by the church in Sudan. They also provide emergency relief though SUDRA and have permanent appeals to help the affected communities and build the local capacity of the church.

Sudanese official says Juba wants to bring border dispute before international justice

From the Sudan Tribune found here: http://www.sudantribune.com/Sudanese-official-says-Juba-wants,42869

June 9, 2012 (KHARTOUM) — South Sudan wants the Addis Ababa talks to fail because they intend to resort to the international arbitration, said Sudanese defense minister and head of the country’s delegation to the security talks in Addis Ababa.

Sudan’s defense minister Abdel Rahim Hussein (L).

Abdel Rahim Hussein, was speaking to the media in a press conference held at defense ministry in Khartoum after his return from Addis Ababa on Friday. The TV aired press conference was also attended by other members of his delegation including interior minister Ibrahim Mahmoud Hamid.

The talks of the Joint Political and Security Mechanism (JPSM) ended without agreement as the South Sudanese delegation said that a buffer zone the parties agreed to establish should be implemented based on a map including ten disputed instead of four previously consented by the two sides.

"South Sudan’s negotiating strategy aims to reach the date determined by UN Security Council without concluding an agreement because they intend to move to the international arbitration," Abdel Rahim hinted.

The UN resolution 2046, which was adopted on 2 May, gave the two parties three months to reach an agreement over the outstanding issues. It also threatened to impose sanctions if they fail to comply with the decision.

Further the African mediator will be asked to formulate a package of proposals on all the outstanding issues and to presented to the Security Council.

The minister said that juba want s to impose a new reality in the region. He also said the South Sudan negotiating delegation gave an impression they do not have any intention to achieve peace with Sudan.

He further described as hostile the new map of South Sudan which includes for the first time some ten areas as part of the new country.

Juba wants to establish ten new "Abyei" areas, he stressed.

The minister said the only legitimate map they can consider as basis for the talks is the map upon which they signed the Comprehensive Peace Agreement with the SPLM in 2005, and implemented the troops’ redeployment.

South Sudanese officials said in the past that they wanted first to secure the independence of their country before to raise new disputes with Khartoum on areas like Heglig, or Kharasana through the international justice.

They delegations have to resume talks on 19 June.

Abdel Rahim and the interior minister Ibrahim accused the American administration of supporting Juba in its negotiating policy stressing that no peace can be achieved through such expansionist ambitions.

The head of the Sudanese side stressed that Khartoum has no aggressive intentions towards the South Sudan. But warned that "if we have to defend our territory, then it is our duty," he said.

The AU High Level Implementation Panel (AUHIP) said in a statement put out on Friday evening that the two sides despite their difference on how to implement the demilitarised zone have agreed to cease harboring and supporting rebels opposed to each other’s regimes as well as the unconditional withdrawal of their forces from border regions.

"The JPSM will remain in session through the next weeks, to ensure compliance with the parties’ obligations under the Roadmap," partly reads the AUHIP statement.

The two countries, it added, also agreed to nominate representatives to activate the Ad Hoc Committee; a body agreed by the parties to deal with allegations and counter allegations between the two States.

The mediation stressed that the two nations also extensively discussed the geographical definition of the Safe Demilitarized Border Zone (SDBZ) and a temporary security line between the two countries.

According to the AUHIP, the parties made substantive progress on this matter with the Government of South Sudan reportedly indicating its acceptance of the AUHIP security and administrative map submitted to the parties in November 2011.

Talks between the two commenced on 29 May, with the first session involving an extraordinary meeting of the Joint Political and Security Mechanism (JPSM).

South Sudan’s President Salva Kiir Speech to Parliament

The full text is too long to be posted, but can be found here: http://www.sudantribune.com/IMG/pdf/Salva_Kiir_Speech_-_June_11_2012_-_Parliament.pdf

South Sudan to seek international arbitration over disputed borders

By  Salva Kiir from the Sudan Tribune

June 11, 2012 (JUBA) — South Sudan’s President, Salva Kiir informed the African Union Peace and Security Council (AUPSC) that South Sudan will seek international arbitration over the disputed border area if the ongoing talks fail.

President Salva Kiir (©Paul Banks - UNMIS)

In his speech to the National Legislature, the two chambers, on Monday President Kiir told the MPs that he is determined to not give up claims to any land south of the 1956 border.

"South Sudan has never relinquish claims to Pantou, homeland of the Panaru Dinka. So the record is clear, we also unequivocally claim Magenes-Jida, Kafia Kingi, Hafra Nahas, Kaka Tijariya, Wheatly Monroe Strip and all territories south to the 1956 border."

Kiir who accused Khartoum of "playing games" told South Sudanese lawmakers that he has written to member of the African Union Peace and Security Council (AUPSC) over the possible involvement of the Hague-based Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA), if the ongoing post-independence discussions on the matter fail.

"We are prepared to subject our claims to scrutiny. I have now written to the members of the African Union Peace and Security Council to consider this position," he added.

Sudanese and South Sudanese delegations are expected to resume talks on 19 June over security matters particularly the creation of a buffer zone along the border.

Addis Ababa talks brokered by an African Union mediation team failed last week to finalize a deal because the two parties came with different maps.

UN Security Council adopted on 2 May an AUPSC road map to end difference between the two countries over the border and oil fees and other outstanding issues after the capture of Heglig/ Pantou by the South Sudanese army.

The road map gives the parties a three month period to end the talks and threatened to impose economic sanctions.

Last Friday after his return from the meeting of the Joint Political and Security Mechanism, in Addis Ababa, Sudanese defense minister told reporter that Juba wants to fail the talks and brings the border dispute before the international justice.

Khartoum and Juba despite the resumption of talks kept troops mobilizations and continue to carry out hostile media campaign against each other.

Salva Kiir, defended his country’s decision to halt oil production, saying it was not anger-driven, but done in practical terms to protect the interest of the people and defend the foundations of independence for which lost their lives.

"We offered almost $3bn [dollars] in assistance for Sudan [to] offset its revenue losses resulting from our independence. We paid all operating fees for oil transport. We offered to negotiate a transit fee above and beyond fair market rates," Kiir told a fully-packed assembly.

"There was no lack of generosity in our dealings with Khartoum. Even so, Sudan wanted more,” he added.

"Having exhausted all efforts of diplomacy with, we could no longer secure delivery of crude oil to buyers through the territory of Sudan," said Kiir as lawmakers applauded.

Revenues from oil, prior to the shutdown, accounted for nearly 98 percent of the South Sudan’s annual budget.

The President also briefed MPs of events that transpired during their recess period, particularly on the AUPSC communiqué, which was later adopted by the UN Security Council (UNSC) in its resolution 2046. The resolution, he said, called for the complete withdrawal of both Sudan and South Sudanese troops from the disputed oil-producing Abyei region.

According to the President, while South Sudan complied and withdrew its forces 10km away from the 1956 border, Sudan reportedly disagreed, which culminated into last week’s deadlock on the ongoing talks facilitated by the AU High Level Implementation Panel (AUHIP).

The President also said his office, through the country’s Vice-President, Riek Machar is currently looking at the possibility of renewing the mandate of the UN Mission in South Sudan (UMISS), which on 9, July this year. He said more attention will be focused on the renewal of Chapter Seven mandate of the UN, a decision, which he noted was taken after a careful study.

“We are confident that the Security Council will consider our views with full respect for the sovereignty of South Sudan,” he observed.

Meanwhile, Kiir also told MPs that government has put in place a modern financial management information system as part of efforts to improve accountability and transparency all at state finance ministries in South Sudan.

The system, he noted, reportedly tracks records of all revenues generated, what goes out inform of expenditures and these are electronically reflected within the finance ministry at the central level. Such a system, he added, will “discourage fraud, waste and abuse."

Last month, the President wrote to 75 former and current officials asking them to account for at least $4bn believed to have been misappropriated in dubious dealings, or directly stolen from government coffers. The South Sudan leader also wrote to eight governments in various countries seeking assistance to recover these funds.

Starving Its Own Children (From NY Times)

From http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/03/opinion/sunday/kristof-starving-its-own-children.html?hp

by By NICHOLAS D. KRISTOF Published: June 2, 2012

Dominic Nahr/Magnum Photos

Two hungry children in Sudan’s Nuba Mountains, sleeping inside a cave for protection from government bombers.

IN THE NUBA MOUNTAINS, Sudan PERHAPS hundreds of thousands of people here have no food and are reduced to eating leaves and insects, as Sudan’s government starves and bombs its own people in the Nuba Mountains. Children are beginning to die.
“Yes, my children may die,” Katum Tutu, a 28-year-old mother, told me. She recently lost her 2-year-old daughter, Maris, to starvation and has nothing to feed her four remaining children. “I think about it every day, but there’s nothing I can do,” she said.
This week will mark a year since Sudan began its brutal counterinsurgency campaign in the Nuba Mountains, intended to crush a rebel force that is popular here and controls much of the region. Sudan has expelled aid workers, blocked food shipments and humanitarian aid, and dropped bombs haphazardly — and almost daily — on its own citizens.
Read the rest at http://nyti.ms/L9Fn9p

From the Episcopal Public Policy Network

"But what do you do to cope?" I asked my new friend, Anne, who coordinates refugee programming in Kenya and lived in the Dadaab refugee camp for several years.

Anne looked up at me with a child-like grin and sparkle in her eye.

"In Dadaab, we dance. Every night, we dance."

I saw this same resilience thriving across South Sudan, amidst the conflict, poverty, and desperate need for development -- thriving over the daily trials. I saw it in the young woman, gracefully carrying gallons of water overhead as she strolled down Bor's dusty, dirt road. I saw it in a local performance troupe, dancing and singing under Juba's scorching afternoon sun. I saw it in Jonglei State's tribal leaders as they returned once again to try to negotiate a peaceful resolution to their tribal conflicts that have taken so many lives this year. I felt it from my fellow worshipers in the vibrant, packed Episcopal Cathedral in Juba late Sunday morning and into Sunday afternoon. And I heard it in the powerful voice of South Sudan's Minister of Labour as she commanded international aid agencies to hire more South Sudanese employees.

This is a resilience that the South Sudanese carry along with their looming memories of incomprehensible turmoil and their expectations for future uncertainty. One young man that I met had fled to a Ugandan refugee camp as a baby and returned to his country—on foot with his wife and two young children—only last year, when South Sudan became independent.

"How long did it take you to walk back?" I asked.

"Three or four days, only. But for you, it would take much longer," he said with a grin.

It is hard for me to comprehend the daily challenges and insecurities the South Sudanese face. The tribes in Jonglei State just last week arrived at a delicate peace agreement to end violence, cattle raiding, and child abductions amongst them and have begun an equally precarious disarmament process focused (in part) on retrieving weapons from youth. South Sudan's escalating war with Sudan (driven in large part by oil) has absorbed precious state resources away from development, forcing South Sudanese to live with unpaved dirt roads, insufficient education, bare-minimum health care services, and little capacity to farm their nutrient-rich land. Meanwhile, fellow members of the Episcopal Church of Sudan living in the north face increased persecution and those living in the border regions live under the constant threat of random attack or starvation. But through it all, the South Sudanese remain resilient, wise, and capable.

Despite all this, U.S. policies and rhetoric do not reflect the South Sudanese's promising capacity to thrive and flourish—by growing their own food, for example—which is tragically thwarted by a severe lack of resources.

Americans should shift our narrative—and the United States government its development policies—in South Sudan, away from assumptions of despair, to reflect this Sudanese capacity for resilience.

Tell your Members of Congress to support HR 4169, the Sudan Peace, Security, and Accountability Act of 2012, and to support the bill's underlying commitment to sustainable peace and development by supplementing U.S. food assistance with robust funding to U.S. programs that invest in agricultural development and small-scale farming in South Sudan and around the world.

Forward this message to a friend!

Mark you Calendar!

The next annual African Evensong will be at Trinity Cathedral on Sunday October, 28th at 3:00pm with a Reception following.  More information to come.

South Sudan: Episcopal, Catholic bishops ‘stand committed’ to end war

From: ENS:

Episcopal and Catholic bishops from South Sudan have said that together they “stand committed to do all in [their] power” to realize an end to war between Sudan and South Sudan.

Following a three-day meeting in Yei, South Sudan, lead by Roman Catholic Archbishop Paulino Lukudu Loro and Episcopal Church of Sudan Archbishop Daniel Deng Bul, the 14 bishops issued a “Message of Peace” which laid out their hopes and plans for an end to conflict.

Referencing the famous Martin Luther King Jr. speech, the bishop’s said: “We dream of two nations which are democratic and free, where people of all religions, all ethnic groups, all cultures and all languages enjoy equal human rights based on citizenship. We dream of two nations at peace with each other, cooperating to make the best use of their God-given resources, promoting free interaction between their citizens, living side by side in solidarity and mutual respect, celebrating their shared history and forgiving any wrongs they may have done to each other.

“We dream of people no longer traumatized, of children who can go to school, of mothers who can attend clinics, of an end to poverty and malnutrition, and of Christians and Muslims who can attend church or mosque freely without fear. Enough is enough. There should be no more war between Sudan and South Sudan!

“Blessed are the peacemakers; they shall be recognized as children of God (Matthew 5:9). We take this very seriously, and we stand committed to do all in our power to make our dream a reality. We believe that the people and government of South Sudan desperately want peace. We believe the same is true of the people and their liberation movements in the Nuba Mountains and Blue Nile. We do not believe, however, that a lasting peace will come unless all parties act in good faith. Trust must be built, and this involves honesty, however painful that may be. We invite the International Community to walk with us on the painful journey of exploring the truth in competing claims and counter-claims, allegations and counter-allegations. We invite them to understand the peaceful aspirations of the ordinary people, and to reflect that in their statements and actions.”

The bishops’ document was, however, more than just aspirational — it included calls to both the international community and the nations of South Sudan and Sudan, specifically ones requesting the implementation of U.N. resolution 20461 and for protection for the marginalized.

The bishops — who welcomed to the meeting Archbishop of York John Sentamu and the Special representative of the U.N. secretary general, Hilde Johnson — also committed themselves to renewed ecumenical efforts to build peace. “During the civil war the strength of the churches’ role on the ground and in international advocacy lay in their unity and ecumenical spirit,” said the statement, “…since peace came in 2005 the ecumenical project has dwindled.

“The Catholic and Episcopal churches have much in common in their history, theology and praxis, both are founder members of the Sudan Council of Churches (SCC) and both are international institutions with a great deal of influence in the world for the well-being of all. Working together we believe we have much to offer to SCC as it restructures to meet the new reality of two nations, and as it faces new challenges due to the current military and political tensions.”

Bishops from the Republic of Sudan were unable to attend the meeting due to the current political situation.

The full text of the letter, along with its signatories, is available here.