Western Equatoria refutes allegations of unwillingness to end tribal clashes

March 27, 2011 (KAMPALA) – Western Equatoria on Sunday denied Lakes state charges that it had reneged peaceful solution to the tribal clashes between the people of Mvolo County and Yirol East County in Lakes state and renewed willingness to exert the necessary effort to end it together with other stakeholders.

The commissioner of Yirol West county of Lakes state, Makur Kulang Liei, in ststements to Sudan Tribune last week, claimed that his counterpart of Mvolo in Western Equatoria state refused to talk with him over the telephone on the recent clashes between pastoralists of Mapuordit payam and those in Mvolo county in Western Equatoria state.

However WES government has strongly refuted the claims made by Lakes State Security Advisor as published on Sudan Tribune on Friday March 25.

“Lakes’ Security Advisor stance was built on distorted information to smear the Western Equatoria State’s policy on ethnic minority people in Mvolo,” said Western Equatoria state government spokesman Gibson Bullen Wande.

“Western Equatoria has been coordinating with Lakes state government for initiating peaceful dialogue in vain,” Wande further said.

In denouncing the Lakes’ allegations, Wande said the Western Equatoria government had conducted extensive visits to the region after first clashes took in February this year.

After having been aware of the clashes in Mvolo, Western Equatoria authorities undertook an intensive effort to contact Lakes officials for amicably solution to the chronic tribal fighting in the state of Lakes including the state governor, Wande stressed.

Wande queried that “Why would we need to do this? Western Equatoria would receive absolutely no benefit from harboring tribal clashes. Western Equatoria strongly rejects these allegations.”

“All the areas mentioned: Kokori, Doli and Barigirindi are all the payams and bomas of Western Euqtaoira, the distance between those areas and Lakes is 20 miles away.”

He added they have never mobilized any of Mvolo youth to attack “our brothers” in Lakes state as alleged. He instead accused Yirol officials of mobilizing their people dressed in South Sudan Police Services (SSPS) uniform to attack Barigirindi, “as evidenced by an SSPS Lakes state registered AK-47 and the machinegun is now in Mvolo County.”

WES governor and his counterpart of Lakes states met in Mvolo last month. The two delegations agreed to form an independent inquiry body from different tribes to investigate the first incident which claimed the life of one trader.

However, the committee which was formed in Lakes states was composed of Dinka tribes in Yirol East and Wulu counties who are part in the tribal conflict, according to Wande.

“Another second attempt to broker peace among the two communities was when, WES government sent a delegation headed by WES Minister of Local Government Sadigi Ismail to Mvolo, but he did not get positive response for his counterpart in Lakes state – he talked to the Commissioner of Yirol East but did not get positive response regarding the matter.”

“The clinics and villages that were burned by youth from neighbouring Lakes state are in Western Equatoria, so why would WES attack its own people if not they have been attacked by their fellow brothers in Lakes state,” the Mvolo official said.

He however renewed his offer to discuss peaceful solution and he urged “our brothers” in Lakes to refrain from inflammatory media publicity and pursue peaceful agenda.

(ST)