By Alexandre Ribeiro
LISBON, Portugal, DEC. 11, 2007 (Zenit.org).- The auxiliary bishop of Khartoum says Africa needs more than just economic aid, and called for an integral and human development in the continent.
Bishop Daniel Adwok of Khartoum was in Portugal last weekend, invited by the Aid to the Church in Need Foundation, while the EU-Africa summit was under way in Lisbon.
Discussions at the summit were set to center on five themes: peace and security; democracy and human rights; trade; infrastructure and development; migration and energy; and climate change.
In statements to the Portuguese episcopal conference's "Ecclesiae" program, Bishop Adwok argued that the question of human rights in Africa is the key topic on the agenda.
"My hope is that the development of the whole person, human rights and human dignity in all countries and, logically, in my country, Sudan, will be set in the first place," he said.
Bishop Adwok criticized the Sudanese government and expressed his hope that they would account for what is happening in the country, especially in the Darfur region and in the south.
"One has to know if the sides really want to negotiate, because it would be a waste of energy to speak of economic development for Sudan, when its people groan in oppression, screaming for freedom and security," he said.
The bishop emphasized that, in the first place, "peace and security should be guaranteed, also for the south, which now has difficulties in the application of the peace agreement."
The proposed development in Sudan should be "a development with a human face," Bishop Adwok concluded.
