Sr. Jecinter Antoinette Okoth, FSSA
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| Bishop Barani Eduardo Hiiboro Kussala |
“I urge the people of God in Sudan to seek the path to conversion and accept dialogue in the spirit of truth and honesty,” Bishop Barani Eduardo Hiiboro Kussala, Chairperson of Interfaith Council for Peace Initiative, Western Equatoria State, South Sudan, said in a statement shared with AMECEA Online Thursday, October 28, urging the people to pray and fast for reconciliation as the nation is “locked in hopelessness and despair.”
“This is a time for prayer, for fasting, for conversion for all in this country. Let the dove of peace return to Sudan and the nation rise up to be a new Sudan of peace and prosperity to all,” Bishop Hiiboro of South Sudan’s Tombura-Yambio Diocese appealed to the citizens adding,“May the rainbow of peace and reconciliation rise again.”
On Monday, October 25, Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, the head of Sudan’s Sovereign Council, announced the dissolution of the transitional government and the council and declared a national state of emergency.
The Bishop in his message acknowledged that the Sudanese are true and faithful believers and reminded them not to forget that “prayer is an effective weapon for forgiveness and reconciliation” and that the dialogue process can only be successful if the “political or military leaders allow God to come into their lives, touch their hearts to ensure the changes the country really needs.”
Referring to the Qur’an, the Prelate who is also the Chairperson of Communications Commission of Sudan/South Sudan Catholic Bishops Conference (SSCBC) noted that Islam encourages peace, which is one of the “names of God himself.”
“He is God, other than whom there is no god, the King, the Holy, the Peace, the Defender, the Guardian, the Mighty, the Omnipotent, the Supreme,” Bishop’s statement dated Wednesday, October 27.
Rt. Rev. Hiiboro further says, “As Christians too, we must return always to the sources of our faith to be reminded of God’s presence with us, even when experiencing despicable assaults on the sanctity of life.”
Addressing the military in his solidarity message, Bishop Hiiboro asked them to refrain from violence saying, “We also add our voices to the many voices which have asked the military to restrain from using violence to harm its own innocent people.”
Meanwhile the Chairperson of the African Union (AU) Commission Mr. Moussa Faki Mahamat echoed the Bishop’s message to the people of Sudan, calling for “immediate resumption of consultations between the civilians and military within the framework of the Political Declaration and the Constitutional Decree.”
He reaffirms in his message published Monday, October 25, that dialogue and consensus is the only relevant path to save the country and its democratic transition and further calls for the “release of all arrested political leaders and the necessary strict respect of human rights.”