Peace will come from within, not from Addis Ababa, says church leaders
- Written by James Magok Chilim
- Published in Headline News
- Link to web article here.
Two bishops from the Episcopal Church say peace will not easily come from Addis Ababa because of the many vested interests that surround the peace talks, making leaders to always come back home empty-handed. Speaking to TCT in an exclusive interview in Juba, bishops Abraham Yel Nhial of Aweil diocese and assistant bishop of Ayod Area Tomas Tut said there are divergent regional and personal interests in the South Sudan conflict, and some players are afraid they will loose should the conflict be resolved.
Bishop Tut told TCT that the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) mediation team was delaying the talks because of regional and international influence for the crisis to continue.
“Peace will not come to South Sudan if South Sudanese leaders and people don’t realize that nobody cares about their people suffering and accept their mistakes, accept one another and do away with IGAD manipulation,” he said. “They must listen to God’s voice, the voice of forgiveness, reconciliation and peace. They must repent and seek God’s forgiveness.”
Bishop Nhial said peace will not come from Addis because IGAD and the international community have put their individual interests above South Sudanese interests.
“It has become a source of funding to everyone, instead of conflict being bad for the people of South Sudan, it has become beneficial project to others”, he said.
He added that peace will not come from Addis because the root cause of the conflict hasn’t been addressed by IGAD as expected by South Sudanese. He said IGAD as well as the international community have deepened the conflict by prioritizing individual and ethnic interests.
Bishop Nhial said instead of using all the funds in Addis Ababa, that money could be used to help people in the displaced camps.
“The reason that peace will not come from Addis is that the real people who are suffering on the ground are never consulted on peace initiatives. Peace is not between Kiir and Machar alone,” said bishop Nhial.
Church position
Bishop Tut told TCT that the church has been divided on political lines. The church has not been speaking in one voice and peace has not been based on what people need.
“The church believes this peace in Addis even if it is signed will not last or be sustainable because it is based on personal positions, personal interests, ethnic and regional representation, for example Equatoria and Upper Nile arguing over the vice presidency as regional or ethnic positions,” he said.
Bishop Nhial told TCT that this peace will not be sustainable because of people putting personal interests above national interests and added that the church had missed its spiritual role of speaking the truth.
“The Church has taken sides with tribal set-ups, many church leaders having sided and sympathised with their tribes, making the Church vulnerable in working on peace as a neutral body of Christ.
“The Church has been affected by this disease of interests, some church leaders have compromised because they might have been given positions, promised positions or given money, that makes them not to tell the truth,” he said.
He added that the Church had failed in preaching the gospel of peace, forgiveness and reconciliation because of ethnic influence.
“Some pastors fear telling the truth because of their lives, they don’t want to be killed like those pastors killed in Juba, Bor and Malakal,” he said.
The bishops said the best way of handling the conflict is by having grassroots peace initiative spearheaded by the Church, but before happens, the church must unite its forces by bringing Christians together first as John 17: 21 says, “I pray so that they may be one, just as you are in me and I am in you”.