Jonglei Governor calls on South Sudanese to embark on nation building

By John Actually

July 9, 2011 (BOR) – As thousands of people attended South Sudan’s independence celebration in Bor, Jonglei’s governor called on the people of the Republic of South Sudan to “prepare for the next toughest war”, that of nation building.

Addressing the crowd in Bor’s Freedom Square, governor Kuol Manyang said the independence of South Sudan marked a new dawn and the end of discrimination and oppression of South Sudanese by the Khartoum regime. He asked those South Sudanese both SPLA – South Sudan’s army and former rebel movement – and civil society to join hands in building the nation.

“We are free at last, said Kuol. “Our discrimination by northern powers has ended today”.

The North-South civil war that broke out for the second time in 1983 in Bor at a small town of Malualchat few kilometers away from Jonglei’s capital resulted in the deaths of more than two million people.

In 2005 the SPLA and Khartoum signed the Comprehensive Peace Agreement that allowed Southerners to vote in a referendum in January on self determination. The South voted to secede overwhelmingly by 98 percent of the vote.

Governor Manyang, an former SPLA general who retired after the 2005 peace accord expressed his gratitude to the fallen heroes and heroines in the struggle for the freedom of South Sudan saying “the true liberty is seen today”.

He urged the people to work hard to feed and support themselves, saying laziness is was having a negative affect on South Sudan’s development.

The women’s groups and Jonglei farmers associations that attended the celebration sang songs of appreciations to the freedom fighters and pledged their commitment to embark on agriculture production once there is peace between Jonglei’s tribes.

The flag of the Republic of Sudan was lowed in Jonglei at 12:25 PM and the flag of the new nation, the Republic of South Sudan was raised at 12:30 PM, some minutes before it was raised in Juba. The hoisting of the flag sparked rampant dancing across freedom square for half an hour.

SPLA soldiers saluted the flag of the new nation, Africa’s youngest and 54th nation, by shooting 21 bullets into the air symbolising the 21 years of war between North and South Sudan. Red Cross reported that at least 8 people were treated for shock as they were so over joyed by the occasion.

Jonglei’s governor condemned the occupation of the contested Abyei region by the northern military. The occupation of the area by the Sudan Armed Forces has displaced around 100,000 people according to UN.

Manyang asked Jonglei citizens to live in peace and harmony to enjoy the fruits of the new nation. He said he was angered by continuous tribal clashes over cattle and child abduction.

The governor promised to initiate dialogue between Jonglei’s tribes to resolve their differences peacefully in days to come.

Fighting between Nuer and Murle had been going on for weeks in both north and east of Jonglei. The chairperson of Youth Pibor County, Nyany Korok Kolithok, says that over 400 people have been killed and tens of thousands of cattle stolen.

The Luo Nuer who have been accused of carrying out the raids have denied they were involved.

Jonglei is also host to George Athor‘s rebel movement which started after he failed to beat Manyang to the governorship of the state in last year’s elections.

In his speech in Juba on Saturday the new president of the Republic of South Sudan, Salva Kiir, re-issued his amnesty to all of South Sudan’s armed rebel groups.

(ST)