Rev. Ramadan Chan Liol, the general secretary of the council, which includes Orthodox, Protestant and Roman Catholic churches, stressed that a credible process presented the highest chances of southern Sudan and the Abyei people’s verdict being respected in the 9 January poll.
Rev. Ramadhan urged president Obama to help ensure an internationally monitored and protected, transparent, free and fair referendum.
He was speaking from Khartoum days after the U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said the situation between the north and south was “a ticking time bomb with enormous consequence”, and independence of the south was “inevitable”.
Rev. Ramadhan said Clinton’s assessment of the outcome of the referendum was clearly based on the situation on the ground. He said Obama’s government could send international monitors and technical experts and put pressure on the two parties of Sudan’s 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement to carry out the process on time.
The reverend said president Obama could also ensure that United Nations peacekeeping troops are used to safeguard the process.