South Sudan opposition critical of Juba over deadly land dispute
March 11, 2012 (JUBA) – South Sudan’s largest opposition group, Sudan People’s Liberation Movement for Democratic Change (SPLM-DC), on Sunday expressed disappointment over the method and level of response by the government to address the causes of a deadly land dispute in the capital Juba.
Clashes erupted on 4 and 5 March between members of the Bari community, the traditional inhabitants of Juba and non-Bari, particularly members of the Dinka and Nuer ethnic groups. Reports indicate that more than ten people were killed, although Alison Manani Magaya, South Sudan’s minister of interior, said last week that only four had died.
The SPLM-DC said it was regrettable that the government had tried to play down the number of deaths. Family members carried the coffins of some of the deceased to South Sudan’s parliament on Sunday in protest.
The governor of Central Equatoria State, Clement Wani Konga, has asked citizens not to politicise the incident in the Kemeru locality north of Juba’s Munuki area and has ordered the demolition process that triggered the conflict in the area to be stopped while an investigation is carried out.
On Sunday the SPLM-DC condemned the killings and blamed the government for having not considered the problems facing South Sudanese people, especially in Central Equatoria State.
Security services have been deployed to the area to try and diffuse tensions but the SPLM-DC said that many of South Sudan’s security issues were caused because police and soldiers were allowed to carry their weapons even when they are not on duty.
Having seceded from Sudan last year, South Sudan has seen that independence has not resolved local disputes over politics and resources, which have in many cases have taken on tribal dimensions. Conflicts normally occur in rural areas, so the fighting in the capital is a worrying development for the ruling Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM).
Salah Lumumba Cosmas, a member of the SPLM-DC urged the government to investigate the matter and bring those involved to justice. He said that demolition of the area was part of development policies of the authorities running Juba city.
Partly in an attempt to avoid ongoing land disputes in Juba, South Sudan announced shortly after independence that it plans to build a new capital Ramciel, in Lakes state at the geographical centre of the new nation.
Political differences created by the 2010 general elections have compounded tribal disputes often associated with either land or territorial rivalry. South Sudan’s several rebel groups are seen as a threat the national stability and the government fears may put off potential investors.
Senior officials from the ruling SPLM often accuse Sudan of backing South Sudan’s rebellions. A claim Khartoum has always denied.
The SPLM’s secretary general Pagan Amum has also accused the SPLM-DC of being associated with Khartoum backed militia in Upper Nile State, where many of its members are from.
Lam Akol, the SPLM-DC’s leader has vowed to take Amum to court over the allegations but has since returned to South Sudan having reconciled with President Salva Kiir.
(ST)
ST – Land dispute leaves over five people dead in South Sudan’s capital, Juba