Church calls for Sudan support

BY PETER MOSZYNSKI
SUDANESE bishops will lead a special service for peace in London this Sunday.
Archbishop Joseph Marona, Primate of the Episcopal church of Sudan and Archbishop Paolino Lukudu, president of the Sudan Catholic Bishops' Conference will concelebrate at the ecumenical service for "Peace, Justice and Reconciliation in Sudan" to be held at 3.30 pm at St George's Cathedral, Southwark.. The service precedes the Sudan Ecumenical Forum meeting in London on Monday. The Forum is expected to call for a greater international effort to end the conflict.
Britain has just appointed its own special envoy to Sudan, former Ambassador Alan Goulty, but last week the United States called off talks with the Sudanese government following a helicopter gunship attack on a UN feeding centre which killed 17 civilians. The cease-fire, peace talks and aid operations could all now be in jeopardy.
Catherine Bertini, of the World Food Programme described the attacks as " absolutely and utterly unacceptable".
'This attack– the second of this kind in less than two weeks – is an intolerable affront to human life and humanitarian work," she said.
The Sudan Council of Churches has called for the suspension of oil exploitation in the country until a peace agreement is reached. It has raised concerns over the Govern ment's continued bombing of villages in the south.
Bishop David Konstant of Leeds, who has visited Si vlan, will be at the Forum.
He said: "Now is a critical period in the history of Sudan with one of the best opportunities to move the peace process forward. The Christian churches have always played an important role in promoting dialogue. and this conference is one more attempt to find solutions to the problems that lie at the heart of Sudan's conflict."