Скачать с ютуб Sudanese Christians reflect on recent changes в хорошем качестве

Sudanese Christians reflect on recent changes

(28 Jun 2021) LEAD IN: A Sudanese pastor says there has been some improvement in the area of religious freedom since the country's mass uprising in 2019. But the head of the Evangelical community in Sudan says the reforms made over the past two years are not enough. STORY-LINE: Sudanese Christian Aman Alfons recalls vividly the "wave of persecution" against Christians after South Sudan gained independence from the north in 2011.. Afterwards, "there were clear statements from the government specifically against the church," he says.   Alfons adds that both church leaders and Christian youth were oppressed at the time. The government of former authoritarian president Omar al-Bashir was accused of harassing and marginalising Christians and other religious minorities. Al-Bashir, who came to power in an Islamist-backed military coup in 1989, failed to keep the peace in the religiously and ethnically diverse country. A popular uprising led the military to overthrow of the former autocratic president in April 2019. Sudanese Christians were optimistic about expanded religious freedom after his rule ended. Hafez Esha, a priest and pastor of the Evangelical Church in Bahri, says there has been an improvement. "We felt some freedom," he says, adding that Sudanese Christians now feel that they have more room to express their faith.   During past holiday seasons, many recalled, posters would appear on the streets warning against celebrating with the "kofar," or infidels, a reference to Christians. Now Christians can organise Christmas parades and celebrations, which were forbidden in the past, Esha says.   Sudan, which is still transitioning away from al-Bashir's three-decade repressive rule, declared Dec. 25 a public holiday following his removal. But the changes that were made in the past two years are not enough, says Raafat Samir Massad, the head of the Evangelical community in Sudan. An amendment to the law has allowed non-Muslims to drink alcohol but Massad says this does not send a good message. "It as if all the non-Muslims' rights are confined to drinking alcohol, and this is a negative image of the Sudanese Christian citizens," he says.   Since its independence from British colonial rule in 1956, Sudan has been convulsed by long rebellions and fighting between the mostly Christian and animist south and the Muslim and Arabized north. Sudan is now on a fragile path to democracy and is ruled by a transitional military-civilian government that faces towering economic and security challenges. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter:   / ap_archive   Facebook:   / aparchives   ​​ Instagram:   / apnews   You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...