Juba, 19 November, 2021 / 9:01 pm (ACI Africa).
The leadership of the South Sudan Council of Churches (SSCC) has expressed support for the Swedish government’s decision to prosecute Lundin Energy Oil Company for aiding and abetting war crimes in the country two decades ago.
In a Thursday, November 18 collective statement, SSCC representatives say, “It is encouraging to know that the Swedish authorities have decided to hold the oil company Lundin Energy to account for its role during the civil war.”
On November 11, Sweden’s prosecution brought charges against the chairman and former CEO of Lundin Energy, Ian Lundin and Alex Schneiter respectively, for securing the company’s operations by asking the Sudanese government to acquire a potential oil field in the territory that is now part of South Sudan, which was, at the time, Sudan.
According to the Swedish prosecution, what makes the Lundin representatives complicit in the 1999-2003 operations “is that they made these demands despite understanding or, in any case being indifferent to, the military and the militia carrying out the war in a way that was forbidden according to international humanitarian law.”
In the November 18 statement signed by, among others, Archbishop Stephen Ameyu of the Catholic Archdiocese of Juba and Fr. James Oyet Latansio who serve as SSCC Vice Chairman and General Secretary respectively, the Christian leaders say they remain “respectful” of the Swedish government's decision to prosecute Lundin and emphasize the importance of justice in the South Sudan’s peace and reconciliation process.
