Sudanese Christians join popular protests, call for religious freedom
Members of Sudan’s Christian minority have taken a prominent role in the demonstrations that began in December.
A Roman Catholic bishop in Sudan has charged that the largely Muslim country’s popular revolution will be hollow if it does not also deliver freedom of worship for non-Muslim faiths.
“A civil society movement has for the first time brought all Sudanese people together, and the church is part of it,” said Yunan Tombe Trille Kuku Andali, bishop of the Diocese of El Obeid in south-central Sudan. After 70 years of restrictions on the church’s activities, he wants to see the laws that impede religious freedom change.
Members of Sudan’s Christian minority, particularly young people, have taken a prominent role in the demonstrations that began in December, protesting cuts in government subsidies for bread and fuel. The protests eventually led the military to depose President Omar al-Bashir on April 10. Then the crowds on the streets outside army headquarters began pressing the military’s governing council to step aside in favor of civilians. In late April protesters gained another of their demands when three generals viewed as being aligned with al-Bashir stepped down, the BBC reported. One of the generals was also known for arresting people to enforce a conservative version of Islam.
