Kiir calls for peaceful coexistence to reinforce harmony
March 29, 2013 (JUBA) – South Sudan’s President Salva Kiir marked the Easter holidays on Friday by calling upon the troubled young nation to join hands to strengthen communal harmony and brotherhood.
“If there is anything we should fight for in this country now, it is the unity. Let us all be united. We must all be ready now to embrace change in the way we think. We must embrace change in our attitude towards one another, change in our attitude to our work and responsibilities and change in our attitude towards our nation. We must be united by the symbol of our country”, Kiir said in an address at Kator church in Juba.
He called on the church to consider preaching messages aimed at promoting peace and dialogue as means to resolve disputes at all levels of the nation.
The minister in the office of the president, Emmanuel Lowila, said President Kiir has called on all South Sudanese to mark the Easter holiday peacefully and celebrate by showing love to their family members.
Kiir also asked people to refrain from violent behaviour, which he said were against the teachings of God.
“The President, Salva Kiir, sends special greetings to all South Sudanese. He wishes every one of us happy Easter,” Lowila told reporters on Friday.
South Sudan, which split from Islam-dominated Sudan in 2011, has a secular ethos and values, according to Lowila.
Referring to the country’s border conflicts with Sudan and internal instability and violence, Minister Lowila said that this had led to heavy human and economic losses and severely damaged the South Sudanese tradition of communal harmony.
“We know it is a constitutional responsibility of the government to provide security and maintain peace in the country amongst its people but it is also important that our people work together with the government because governments anywhere are created for the people and by the people. All are the stakeholders and we have to work together so we have to fully restore and strengthen the same spirit of reconciliation and accommodation”, explained Minister Lowila.
Meanwhile, Paulino Lokudu Loro, Archbishop of Juba diocese described Easter holiday as important period for Christians not only in South Sudan but across the whole world because it is the period during which believers come together to consolidate their faith and reflect on the suffering Christians believe Jesus went through while on earth.
He also called on South Sudanese to embrace peace and tolerance during the festive season.
(ST)