AFRICA/SUDAN - Bishop of Rumbek's concern for lack of preparation among population for 2010 elections and referendum of 2011

Khartoum (Agenzia Fides) - Efforts are needed to prepare the population and the leaders of South Sudan for the 2010 elections and the referendum on independence in 2011.This is what Bishop Cesare Mazzolari of Rumbek, in South Sudan, said in a statement quoted by CISA in Nairobi.
Under the CPA (Comprehensive Peace Accord), signed in Nairobi in 2005 by the Khartoum government and the leaders of the Sudan People Liberation Movement (SPLM, the group that for 20 years fought against the Sudanese government in South Sudan), South Sudan has established self-governing, with the task of preparing the 2010 elections and the referendum of 2011, by which the people in South Sudan will decide whether to remain united to the government in Khartoum or give birth to an independent State.
According to Bishop Mazzolari “the undermining of the free electoral process and democratic procedures in Southern Sudan by outside forces is well underway," and if the international community does not intervene immediately, it will be too late for the people of southern Sudan.
The Bishop of Rumbek said he was confident about the ability of Sudanese to courageously face the obstacles and seemingly insurmountable difficulties.
Bishop Mazzolari also notes that since the signing of the CPA there has been an alarming increase in crime and extreme poverty, which has led to rampant insecurity and to forms of brutal violence.
The clashes that have arisen between the peoples of South Sudan are likely to escalate into open warfare, said Bishop Mazzolari
The Church in Sudan, according to Bishop Mazzolari, must insist that mediators of the CPA and the countries of IGAD (Inter Governmental Authority on Development, which have become guarantors of the agreements), together with the international community must exert all their influence to monitor the implementation of the peace.
Bishop Mazzolari adds that a global effort must be made by the international political and Church agencies on the ecumenical level, to create the public awareness necessary to ensure that elections are truly free and democratic. The population should be informed and guarantees of non-interference, by the government in Khartoum in the electoral process, should be made through the use of outside observers. (L.M.) (Agenzia Fides 12/11/2009)