Equatorian delegation meets with South Sudan VP on LRA
By Isaac Vuni
January 7, 2009 (JUBA) — The Vice-President of Southern Sudan, Riek Machar Teny, held a meeting with a community delegation from Western Equatoria state presenting their petition on insecurity caused by the Lord’s Resistance Army insurgency.
“They have killed around 40, mostly in the Mundri and Maridi districts,” mostly with machetes and clubs, said Colonel Joseph Ngere Paciko, deputy state governor for Western Equatoria.
According to a local division of the Catholic aid group Caritas, LRA had already recently killed approximately 486 people in northeastern Democratic Republic of Congo after Christmas.
Among the highest in the delegation was Fr. Constantino Pitya, director of the Justice and Peace Commission of the Catholic Archdiocese of Juba and also veteran mobilizer during the Anya-Nya struggle (1955-1972), Sudan’s first civil war.
Machar was also said to be responsible for rescuing six children–seen by journalists in his house in Juba–from Murle child abductors. Member of the Bor community cited these children as a clear example of the child trafficking. Hon. Achol Marial accused Ismail Konyi of Pibor County, a Murle chief and former militia leader, of arming Murle rustlers, alleging he collected 1710 guns for abducting children from Dinka, Nuer and Equatorian lands.
In an interview, Konyi, who is also one of President Salva Kiir Mayardit’s advisers on peace and reconciliation, accused Kiir and his cabinet of failing to deliver the most needed services to citizenry as stipulated in the CPA. Now how could SPLM ask for conduction of a general election this year when they failed to collect unauthorized guns from southerners they and Khartoum government gave out? asked Konyi, referring to a now elapsed disarmament period.
Similarly, the Bari Community met speaker Assembly Speaker James Wani Igga to express their position to the southern government over insecurity in Juba and their alleged refusal to give land for reconstruction and development purposes, begrudging the move as “land grabbing,” remarked Brigadier General Peter Jarkis Jaden, former commissioner of Juba.
The brigadier general also noted that pastoralists from Dinka and Nuer have become a problem not only in Central but in the whole of Equatoria states and are forcefully occupying people’s land. He called for voting on whether Juba should remain the capital of Southern Sudan or be relocated after Southern Sudan’s referendum for independence in 2011.
Jaden further denied that Bari community have issued a statement from Khartoum, as posted in various media, and urged the exile Bari community claiming to speak on behalf of the community to know that Juba is their headquarters and therefore they ought to update the southern Bari on statements they have made rather than using the media for communicating vital information.
Recent security incidents in Juba, the capital of South Sudan, have dominated the agenda of the parliament of the semi-autonomous region. Today the Juba custom market within a military barrack was rocked with heavy explosions at 10 pm, creating panic among city dwellers alike to that which followed the January 1 incidents of indiscriminate gunfire.
(ST)
Gatwech
Equatorian delegation meets with South Sudan VP on LRA
Too late delegation,
Dr. Riek Machar used to tell you that it was not wise to declare war against the LRA, but to continue with the peace process which brought that relative peace and moved the LRA up to DR Congo. People emotionally began to question the wisdom of Dr. Machar and opted for military solution without analysing the consequences and prepare for that premature war. He told you that the war against the LRA would complicate because he knew the mentality of the LRA. It is not a conventional force, it is fighting a guerilla tactics kind of war, where three, five, ten people can hit and run. Ambush and truck, burn it and hide. Abduct civilians and kill them or take them as soldiers. Also the Jalaba NCP might take advantage of the war situation and heavily arm the LRA to destabilize the Equatoria region. All these things were predicted by Dr. Riek Machar and concluded that the best way to neutralize or destroy the LRA and keep invisible hands out of the game is by exposing them to the peace process. In that way it is like counselling the LRA mentality to peace situation instead of barbaric killings in the bushes. People who wanted to play politics driven by jealousy and tribal sentiments made underground agreements with President Museveni and decided to attack the LRA inside Congo. Now the LRA has crossed back into South Sudan and is attacking almost every town in WEstern Equatoria and may reach Juba like they used to attack around Juba before the peace process started in 2006. The SPLA soldiers are just sleeping under the trees where they have been deployed and are refusing to fight the LRA because they know that the politicians are thieves stealing the money in Juba and not giving them their salaries. What a mess!!! The government ran by incompetent, greedy thieves could not perceive the risk of keeping the soldiers unhappy. You are compromising our security, money thieves. The SPLA command also has a problem!!! What a mess!!!
Mr Famous Big_Logic_Boy
Equatorian delegation meets with South Sudan VP on LRA
Bari community enough is enough, there is no point of asking any vote about the relocation of South city, Those savages can still vote for it to be in Juba claiming that the situation will be thesame even though its tranfer out of CES. We can give permission, just we need it out of Greater Equatoria and let them go and continue their barbaric culture in their states. It is a long process to turn waste materials into usefull material so why do we intend to look at those arrogance as something that can fix. The people of Greater Equatoria by themselves can protect their area and its people from LRA, but we need a space. Anyway we will see after 2011 no matter we are going through this blizzard pain.
J.James
Equatorian delegation meets with South Sudan VP on LRA
That is right.
The only tribes pressured for disarmament are Murle and Nuer, and may some subtribes from lake state.
Konyi who is the advisor for peace and reconciliation was not given full authority to exercise his powers across South Sudan. I heard there many meetings which are conducted without his knowledge leave aone about the budget our thing to do with hiring and the staffing to his ministry. He was instead sent to the Murle land as a messager to disarm his tribe, why not other Dinka areas as his status officiate?
Kiir need to think twice and choose between uniting Sudan and Dinka camp, otherwise it will be four let to mend it to unity.
We none Dinka are almost to the edge of the Rwandan theory. Because people like me don’t accept ugly person like Dinka to talk to me a lot, they deserve what criminal always deserve.
Dinka Please explain to me this: E+M+N+A+c+o-D = Southsudan Unity.
What does that mean?
I hope you smile it
God bless.