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Sudan Tribune

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Sudanese Church urges awareness for national census

By Isaac Vuni

April 25, 2007 (JUBA° — Juba Archbishop told a two-day meeting, on the national census in Juba, that Southern Sudanese are not yet aware of the coming national census, he further urged the meeting to adopt adequate plans to disseminate consciousness.

The Catholic Archbishop of Juba, His Grace Paulino Lokudu Loro today has opened a two day workshop organized by National Justice and Peace Commission of the Sudan Catholic Bishops Conference to chart way-forward for the forth coming National Census scheduled for November 2007.

Archbishop Loro who is also the President of the Sudan Catholic Bishops Conference said the church is concerned about non preparation of the entire citizens on the coming national census scheduled for November 9th 2007.

The prelate said the current situation in southern Sudan poses a lot of questions on how southern Sudanese are being deprived of census, election and referendum awareness education which is crucial for resolving basic problems of ordinary people particularly in southern Sudan. They have been deprived of political rights to mobilization and organizations as stipulated in the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) signed on January 9th 2005, he said.

He urged the participants to come out with recommendations that will pave way forward for aggressive sanitizations of the populace in southern Sudan majority of whom are not yet aware of the coming census exercise due to what he described as deliberate inadequate information dissemination.

Archbishop Loro reminded the participants of St. Mark the evangelists who wrote the Holy Scriptures about Jesus Christ and that church gives importance to the people who wrote the bible that are today being proclaim widely as the most vital good news to all human kind.

The prelate also stated that the church is very much concern about environmental protection and grapping of indigenous people’s land in Juba and other towns of southern Sudan by authorities in GoSS who are acting contrary to what was stipulated in the CPA that the land belong to the people, he said.

Meanwhile the Executive Secretary of Justice and Peace Commission, Isaac Kenyi said majority of southern Sudanese masses does not know what the content of the CPA is and how common people’s rights are protected in the landmark document.

Kenyi revealed that 75% of the SPLA Commanders are not aware about the real content of the CPA, adding that rural Dinka he contact in Bahr el Ghazal expressed fears that November Census exercise is intended to levy heavy taxes on them as such they elders will sent their children to cattle camps so that they are not counted.

Kenyi further said that the Church should become a partner with government in order to sensitize the people for better result on the coming national census, National election and referendum in 2011.

(ST)

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