UDF denies link with South Sudan rebel leader, Yauyau

June 19, 2013 (BOR) – South Sudanese opposition party, United Democratic Front (UDF) has denied that it has any connection with their former member, David Yauyau, who launched a rebellion against the government last year.

Speaking to Sudan Tribune after meeting the Murle peace community, the UDF’s state secretary of information, Zacharia John Tut, said their party does not support Yauyau.

“We as a party have no communication with Yauyau because of the problem of the person you mentioned [David Yauyau]. UDF, like any political party does see arms as an option we support”, Tut told Sudan Tribune in the Jonglei capital, Bor.

Yauyau rebelled against South Sudan’s ruling party (SPLM) after elections – in April 2010 when, as an independent candidate, he lost his campaign to represent the Gumuruk–Boma constituency in Pibor County at the Jonglei state assembly.

However, Tut, who also doubles as the UDF spokesperson, said he would be happy to see peace in Pibor, saying the ongoing conflict has affected the majority of civilians in the county.

The Murle community sent a 15-member committee, composed of intellectuals, youth, women representatives, and politicians to Bor to ask the state government to give them a chance to meet rebel leader and lure him to respond to an amnesty call from South Sudan president, Salva Kiir.

“Our message is to encourage the community to be sound-minded to sit and bring peace to the area. We as the party, we are the party of the people, without the people, there is no UDF party, from the view of humanity and view of principle of peace, and spirit of peace in inside our party, we went and met the community and we encouraged them to hold together to bring peace in Pibor”, emphasised Tut.

He said Yauyau is less considered when it comes to peace realization in the county of Pibor and Jonglei state in general, stressing that the community must play a greater role in the peace process.

“The community is suffering. Actually the mission is not for Yauyau. Even us, as a party, we have no relation with Yauyau. We don’t want to talk to Yauyau, We want to talk to the community [because] the community has a solution to bring peace in Pibor”, he added.

MURLE PEACE INITIATIVE

Meanwhile, in a message to Sudan Tribune on Saturday, Ismael Konyi, the leader of the Murle peace committee, explained the community’s intention to work towards peace between Yauyau’s rebel group and government.

“We the community elders of Murle will talk to Yauyau so that he agrees to peace through the amnesty granted by the president”, said Konyi, who is also a member of the upper house of South Sudan’s National Assembly.

According to Konyi, his committee sought guarantee from both sides for the safety of the people who would be involved in the talks.

“In fact one cannot make assumption before he knows the problem. We sought assurances and guarantees from both sides. I came to sit with the governor [of Jonglei] and his team to search ways of solving this problem”, he said.

The committee, he further told Sudan Tribune, pledged to meet Yauyau “by any means to persuade him to stop his rebellion”.

Hussein Maar, the deputy governor of Jonglei said state government has agreed to give the Murle community a chance to try their best to bring peace to Pibor county,

“We have given the community the go-ahead. If they can bring peace, this is what we need. If the community members meet David Yauyau”, Maar said Friday last week.

The youth in the state have welcomed the peace initiative by the community, but have expressed doubt over whether the rebel leader will positively respond to their calls.

“Peace is good, no body can refuse for the country to have peace”, John Chuol, the speaker of the Jonglei State Youth Union Council told Sudan Tribune Wednesday.

Many people in Jonglei, including Chol, have questioned why it took the Murle community too long to engage Yauyau in the ongoing peace initiative.

(ST)