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Religion Forum Index » Christian Methodist Forum » UMNS: Don't let Sudan become another Rwanda
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 Posted: Thu Apr 08, 2004 5:38 am |
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Don't let Sudan become another Rwanda, mission leader urges
Apr. 7, 2004
By Elliott Wright*
NEW YORK (UMNS) - The head of the United Methodist international mission
agency is calling on the world's nations to mark the 10th anniversary of
the genocide in Rwanda by acting to ward off a potential bloodbath in
Sudan.
The Rev. R. Randy Day, top staff executive of the United Methodist Board
of Global Ministries, made the appeal April 7, a decade after the
Rwandan government, controlled by a faction of the majority Hutu tribe,
killed 800,000 people in a three-month period. Most of the victims were
members of the minority Tutsi tribe and moderate Hutus. The United
Methodist Church provided extensive relief services to Rwandan refugees
at the time.
Day criticized the United Nations and the governments of the United
States and Western Europe for being "mute and cowardly" during the
Rwandan atrocities. He said they had a chance to show their better faces
in Sudan, where Arab militia, armed by the government, are pillaging and
displacing African communities.
He noted that an international conference in Kigali, the Rwandan
capital, is studying the events of a decade ago.
"The most important lesson from the horror of the Rwandan genocide
should be that of international vigilance to assure that another Rwanda
cannot happen-anywhere on earth," Day said. "With regard to mass murder,
the nations and humanitarian organizations, including churches, should
adopt and put into practice the slogan of the victims of the Nazi
Holocaust: 'Never again!'"
At the conference, Rwandan President Paul Kagame admonished the
international community for failing to stop the genocide in his country.
If mass killings were to occur elsewhere, Rwanda would be among the
first to send in troops, he said, according to news reports.
Day's statement came the same day that U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan
and U.S. President George Bush separately called for an end to the
fighting in Sudan. Bush noted that Sudan's civil war has been
"responsible for the deaths of 2 million people over two decades." Both
leaders called on Sudan's government to allow humanitarian relief
agencies into the troubled area.
The Sudanese government also announced that it was restarting direct
talks with rebel forces, according to news reports.
North of Rwanda, Africans in southern Sudan are undergoing what Day
called a "reign of terror" inflicted by Arab forces backed by the
government. In 2001, United Methodist News Service reported that reports
of genocide had emerged from parts of Sudan where mostly Christians and
followers of traditional religions live. At the time, an estimated 4
million had been forced from their homes, according to aid officials.
The United Methodist Committee on Relief, a unit of the mission board,
is caring for Sudanese refugees in the nation of Chad.
"The United Nations and the Western governments that failed so miserably
in Rwanda have a chance in the Sudan to show their resolve to stop the
germs of genocide before they fester and explode," Day said. "Let us
pray that they will!"
UMCOR is closely monitoring the situation in Sudan, he said. The relief
organization played a major role 10 years ago in responding to the needs
of Rwandan refugees fleeing into what is today the Democratic Republic
of Congo.
An appeal to United Methodists in 1994 resulted in more than $2 million
for food relief, orphan care, medical supplies and shelter for the
Rwandan emergency. Augmented by international funds, UMCOR reached out
to many displaced people in the Democratic Republic of Congo and East
Africa, leading to agricultural projects, education for girls, food
security operations, microfinancing, income generation and community
reintegration of former combatants.
"We pray for a peaceful solution to the discord in Sudan," Day said,
"and, with the memory of Rwanda in our hearts, we recommit our programs
and personnel to justice, freedom, and peace within and among nations,
religions and ethnic groups."
Contributions to the Sudanese emergency work and the ongoing refugee
work in the Democratic Republic of Congo can be made through the United
Methodist Church's General Advance. Donations can be sent to the General
Advance, 475 Riverside Drive, New York, NY 10115. Checks should be
designated for fund No. 184385 for the Sudan or No. 198400 for the
Congo.
*Wright is the information officer for the United Methodist Board of
Global Ministries.
Day's full statement follows:
Statement on the Tenth Anniversary of Start of Rwanda Genocide
Ten years ago on April 7, 1994, an ethnically-defined political faction
in Rwanda unleashed a murderous rampage that left 800,000 people dead
over a three-month period. At the time, the world's nations, including
the United Nations, and, to a large degree, the world's churches were
deplorably silent and inactive.
The governments of Western Europe and the United States were, for the
most part, mute and cowardly in the face of what was clearly genocide
stirred by an extreme political wing of the Hutu tribe that controlled
the government. Recently declassified documents show that the United
States was initially reluctant to use the term "genocide" because it
might have committed the Clinton Administration to "actually do
something" about it.
This week, an international conference in Kigali, the Rwandan capital,
paid tribute to the victims, mostly Tutsi tribespeople and moderate
Hutus. A memorial was unveiled; participants visited cemeteries and
sites of mass carnage, including churches where people seeking refuge
were massacred. Discussions were held on causes, blame, and lessons
learned.
The most important lesson from the horror of the Rwandan genocide should
be that of international vigilance to assure that another Rwanda cannot
happen-anywhere on earth. With regard to mass murder, the nations and
humanitarian organizations, including churches, should adopt and put
into practice the slogan of the victims of the Nazi Holocaust: "NEVER
AGAIN!"
The General Board of Global Ministries of The United Methodist Church
joins with the people of Rwanda in mourning the victims of the
conflagration a decade ago. We have keen memories of the horror because
of extensive work with survivors, especially refugees who fled into what
is today the Democratic Republic of Congo. In 1994, our Church members
gave more than $2 million for food relief, care of orphans, medical
supplies, and shelter. That work, done by our United Methodist Committee
on Relief (UMCOR), leveraged other funds and led to continuing
ministries among displaced populations in the region.
An opportunity to show repentance for international inaction in Rwanda
can be found in the current situation in Sudan, where government-armed
militia are destroying non-Arab ethnic communities through a
scorched-earth campaign. A reign of terror-including murder, rape, and
looting of Africans-has already displaced one million civilians. The
United Nations and the Western governments that failed so miserably in
Rwanda have a chance in the Sudan to show their resolve to stop the
germs of genocide before they fester and explode. Let us pray that they
will!
The General Board through UMCOR is closely monitoring developments in
the Sudan. We stand ready to assist refugees and victims of political
abuse. UMCOR is already providing aid to refugees from the Sudan in
Chad.
We pray for a peaceful solution to the discord in Sudan and, with the
memory of Rwanda in our hearts, we recommit our programs and personnel
to justice, freedom, and peace within and among nations, religions, and
ethnic groups.
********************
United Methodist News Service
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