South Sudan VP hosts peace talks between Lakes, Unity and Warrap States

By Bonifacio Taban Kuich

February 18, 2012 (MAPELS) – South Sudan’s Vice President Riek Machar Teny urged on Saturday the three neighboring states governors of Warrap, Unity and Lake States to work to create peaceful borders and relations.

Machar made the comments while addressing around a thousand citizens in Rumbek North County, which was attended by Taban Deng Gai Unity State Governor, Nyadeng Malek Warrap the governor of Warrap State and Chol Tong Mayay the governor of Lake State.

A recent peace initiative was interrupted by fighting raising tension between the three states.

In January this year officials say that 37 were killed dead and more than 13 injured, in violence between the three states.

Last week the South Sudan Legislative Assembly summoned the Unity, Lake and Warrap governors to explain the security situation between the three states, which has been punctuated by cattle rustling and revenge attacks.

The government is hoping that a revived peace process will be able to negotiate an end to the violence and for compensation be paid for people who died.

Unity State governor Taban Deng Gai has said that they have agree to compensate communities in the traditional way of giving cattle to the families of those who have died. He said that they would work to solve the crimes that had been committed.

Deng added that his government and Warrap state authorities shall work together in order to solves these issues and to coordinate the collection of cows as blood money.

However, local chiefs in Lakes State’s Rumbek North County blame South Sudan’s government and military for the insecurity. The southern army (SPLA) has been accused of supplying civilians with weapons in some areas of South Sudan and some chiefs say that the SPLA cannot be trusted to disarm people.

Despite efforts to disarm civilians since South Sudan signed a peace deal with the north in 2005, the region is still flooded with small arms from decades of civil war. As part of the peace deal South Sudan became independent last year.

Sultan Marial Cham said that it was a “big shame” that after independence the world is witnessing “us killing ourselves without reason in the South Sudan”.

Vice President Machar called on the three governors to work together in re-uniting citizens. Machar added that his government is to disarmament civilians in the three states of Lake, Unity and Warrap state.

He called on the 6th division of SPLA in Lake State to immediately disarm people from Lakes State to Unity State’s Rubkotna County and for the SPLA’s 3rd division from Warrap State to disarm the citizens from Warrap State and Unity State’s Mayom County.

“The reason why we are putting 6th division of Lake state to do disarmament from the two state is because we don’t want to hear complaints, that the governor of Unity State and Lake state have never done a proper disarmament”, said the vice president.

Machar cautioned citizens to comply with the laws of republic of South Sudan: “Anyone found of violating laws must be responsible for the consequences of punishments”.

He calls on the local chiefs from both Nuer and Dinka to go back to their historical backgrounds to fin ways to solve their grievances.

Machar said that he had travelled to Rumbek North County in Lakes State to encourage citizens to handover their arms and engage in peaceful dialogue. He called for a spirit of patriotism in South Sudan.

He added that: “The fighting that took place in Mayiandit between the government forces shall be address by the central government of South Sudan and will find out who is behind it”.

(ST)