NEWS FROM
LUTHERAN WORLD RELIEF
December 21, 2001
For more information contact Jonathan Frerichs at (410) 230-2802.
In this news release:
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LWR Urges Both Sides in Sudan to Take New Step Toward Peace
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Year Ends With Final Gift for Peruvian Earthquake Recovery
LWR URGES BOTH SIDES IN SUDAN TO TAKE NEW STEP TOWARD PEACE
Baltimore, December 21, 2001 -- In Sudan, the government and the rebel Sudanese People's Liberation Movement/Army have agreed to negotiate an internationally monitored cease-fire that would cover parts of central and southern Sudan. Lutheran World Relief welcomes the announcement and is urging compliance by both sides.
"This is long overdue and compliance should be closely monitored by the U.S. Government," said LWR President Kathryn Wolford. "As an organization aiding refugees, displaced people and returnees of southern Sudan, LWR firmly supports this sign of hope for them. We call on all parties to carry it through."
The agreement comes out of a four-point proposal from U.S. Special Envoy to Sudan, John Danforth. As part of the proposal, the parties must also agree to stop aerial bombardment against civilian targets and form a commission to investigate cases of slavery and release people held in captivity.
The United States Agency for International Development and the United Nations World Food Program will also meet with the Sudanese government and the SPLM/Nuba to develop a comprehensive relief and rehabilitation program for the Nuba Mountains, a region cut off from most help for years. According to the United Nations, 158,000 people are displaced because of fighting in that region. Pro-government forces and the SPLM/A clashed in the Nuba Mountains this month, even after the warring parties agreed to work out a cease-fire.
Wolford asks that Special Envoy Danforth be vigilant in monitoring the agreement and immediately speak out when violations occur. Recent atrocities and cease-fire violations demonstrate the need for steady diplomatic pressure and international monitoring of the situation. The Government of Sudan continues to bomb civilian targets.
The war in Sudan is one of the world's longest current conflicts.
Read more about Sudan from LWR's Office of Public Policy.
YEAR ENDS WITH FINAL GIFT FOR PERUVIAN EARTHQUAKE RECOVERY
Baltimore, December 21, 2001 -- The Jose M. Garcia Foundation of Bergenfield, New Jersey, has sent Lutheran World Relief a $20,000 grant for earthquake rehabilitation work in southern Peru. The gift supports a Lutheran World Relief program serving nearly 2,000 families who lost homes, livestock or farm infrastructure in a powerful quake in June this year.
Prompt action during the disaster and specific recovery projects afterward were possible because local community organizations in the area had worked with LWR before the earthquake. Damaged irrigation channels were rebuilt to be more efficient. Families reconstructed their homes using tools provided by LWR. Lost farm animals were replaced quickly in order to restore incomes and enhance diets.
Earlier support for this $450,000 relief and recovery program came from the international emergency alliance, Action by Churches Together, from U.S.-based Interchurch Medical Assistance, and from the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and The Lutheran Church--Missouri Synod. Click here to read an archived Fact Sheet about the 2001 Peru earthquake.
