Franklin Graham, who delivered the opening prayer at President Bush's inauguration, was the latest in a long line of Christian leaders, politicians and civil rights activists who have visited southern Sudan to denounce the enslavement and persecution of Christians, as reported by The Charlotte Observer.

"We're here in Lui, Sudan, to help all the people in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ," Graham, the son of evangelist Billy Graham, said recently in a video message to his followers and, more importantly, the Bush Administration. "We need money, we need support, and we especially need prayers for the peace in Sudan."

More than 2 million people, mostly Christians, have been killed in Sudan's 18-year civil war. Tensions have existed in Africa's largest country since the mid-1950s between the predominantly Muslim north and the Christian and animist south. The latest fighting began in 1983 and has evolved into a complex war over religion, oil and politics.

(By Sudarsan Raghavan, Knight Ridder:
http://www.charlotte.com/observer/natwor/docs/fgraham0409.htm)