US official calls on Sudan to stop ‘church demolitions’

KHARTOUM — A top US official on Friday called on Sudan to stop demolitions of churches, insisting that Washington would push for human rights and religious freedom in the country.

US Deputy Secretary of State John Sullivan also said that how Khartoum promotes freedom of expression and other human rights will be “critical” to future relations between the two countries.

Sullivan is the highest-ranking Trump administration official to visit Khartoum since the United States lifted a decades-old trade embargo on October 12.

“The government of Sudan, including the federal states, should... immediately suspend demolition of places of worships, including mosques and churches,” Sullivan said in a speech at Al Koran Al Karim University in Omdurman, the twin city of Khartoum on the western bank of the Nile.

Activists accuse Khartoum of restricting freedom of expression and political space for opposition groups.

The Washington-based Enough Project and others have accused Khartoum of “persecution of religious minorities” in the country.

Enough Project’s John Prendergast said that since largely Christian South Sudan gained its independence from Khartoum in 2011, the Sudanese government “has focused greater attention on reducing the number of churches and their activities in Sudan”.

His comments came days before Washington lifted its sanctions.

After years of strained diplomatic relations, ties between Washington and Khartoum improved under the presidency of Barack Obama, later resulting in the lifting of US sanctions against Sudan by his successor President Donald Trump.

Rights groups now insist that promoting human rights including religious freedom should be part of Washington’s policy towards Sudan. 

For decades Washington has designated Sudan as a “Country of Particular Concern” given its record of human right violations.

On Friday Sullivan proposed a “round table” to discuss such concerns.

“I have told the government to overcome” the issues, he said.

Media freedom 

Sudanese media has cited officials saying disputes over property registration or construction irregularities were likely behind the demolition of some churches.

It is unclear how many such places of worships have been demolished. 

Khartoum insists it already promotes human rights in the country.

“Sudan... enjoys religious freedom, which is exemplified with several churches existing adjacent to mosques,” the foreign ministry said earlier this year.

But Sullivan said Washington will be watching how Sudan promotes human rights.

“As we move forward in our relationship, the United States will not ignore violations of human rights, including the right to religious freedom,” he said.

In the years ahead one “measure of strength” between the two countries will be improvements in Sudan’s record on human rights, particularly religious freedom, he said.

“Supporting human rights, including religious freedom, has been and will continue to be a critical part of United States bilateral engagement with Sudan,” Sullivan told a gathering of religious leaders, civil society members and activists at the university.

He also urged Sudan to allow political space for opposition groups and to encourage media freedom.

Rights groups have accused Sudan’s security forces of arbitrarily detaining journalists, opposition politicians and human rights defenders.

Sudan’s powerful National Intelligence and Security Services often confiscate entire print-runs of newspapers without giving a reason, particularly when they publish articles opposing government policies.

“The United States calls on Sudan to protect political opposition members, human rights defenders, civil society groups and the media,” Sullivan said as he wrapped up his two-day visit to Khartoum.

On Thursday, he said Sudanese leaders had assured him that Sudan would cut all its ties with North Korea, and Washington was prepared to talk to Khartoum over removing it from a US list of “state sponsors of terrorism”.