S. Sudan rebel commander says opposition will consider all options for peace

October 5, 2014 (JUBA) – A South Sudanese rebel commander said on Sunday the opposition group they are prepared to consider all options to bring change for which he has taken up arms for the second time, stressing that a just war is better than bad peace.

General Dau Aturjong, who declared his defection from the government earlier this year after he joined rebel forces led by former vice-president Riek Machar, has accused the government of “deliberate intransigence”, saying it has refused to negotiate “in good faith” as “crush the rebellion militarily”.

“The deliberate intransigence with the government delegation in the talks is because of the false belief that they will bring peace through military means, but I think they are wrong,” Aturjong told Sudan Tribune on Sunday.

“The cause of liberation struggle is not about territorial gains. It is about the issues which are in the hearts and minds of every citizen. Unless these issues are identified and resolved amicably, nothing is certain about permanent peace in South Sudan,” he added.

He said the rebel faction would explore other options if current peace talks with the government in Ethiopia failed to bear fruit.

“Our first thing now is to give peace talks a chance. The second goal is to restore a sustainable calm in the country so that our people get to know the exact cause of war. The third goal is that we are working closely with our people to join the rebellion. And I think if they get this message right, they will respond. Already some of them have come and we are giving them training and to use this opportunity to recruit our friends from the international community and the region to demilitarise the government of [president] Salva Kiir and his friends in Juba,” Aturjong said.

He said that “small coteries” around the president are the real challenge facing the country and its people, saying the cliques are almost inseparable from the president, urging the people of South Sudan to rise up against the government and join the rebellion.

“I have always told our people that change [will] never come without efforts. The changes that occur everywhere do not happen by miracle. I tell them there is nowhere in this world where things happen by themselves without efforts. Sacrifices must be made first,” he said.

(ST)