President Kiir forms new committee for national reconciliation
April 22, 2013 (JUBA) – South Sudan’s president, Salva Kiir , has announced the formation of a new national reconciliation committee in a move seen as a response to public concerns, a week after suspending the process.
Kiir on Monday appointed the Archbishop of Episcopal Church, Daniel Deng Bul, to chair the national reconciliation committee, deputized by the Archbishop of Catholic Church, Paride Taban.
This is the second time the president has appointed Archbishop Bul to chair a reconciliation process, after his first appointment to chair the process among the tribes in his home state of Jonglei, last year.
Bul, in the process of reconciling tribes in Jonglei, was accused by the Murle community of allegedly siding with the Dinka Bor, his tribe, prompting the Murle to withdraw from the reconciliation process and demanding for appointment of a neutral person to chair it.
It is yet to be clear whether his second attempt this time to reconcile not only tribes of Jonglei state, but also in the wider South Sudan will bear fruits, or at least not face similar rejection by some communities, particularly the Murle.
South Sudanese top political leaders have had disagreement over the agenda for the national reconciliation, with some advocating that the process be limited to preaching of reconciliation and forgiveness. Others, however, want it to include addressing the root causes of the conflicts and discontent; focusing on development, service delivery, good governance, land grabbing and land disputes, as well as socio-cultural issues, among others.
The former category perceives the wider scope of reconciliation to translate into political campaigns by individual leaders in the lead, while the latter argues that limiting it to the spiritual aspect of it without addressing the root causes, which are in the government’s jurisdiction and the government filling the identified gaps, the spiritual element of reconciliation alone will not succeed.
The dissolved organising committee was chaired by the presidential advisor on decentralization and intergovernmental linkages, Tor Deng Mawien, with government’s Peace and Reconciliation Commission serving as its secretariat.
Sources close to the national reconciliation process told Sudan Tribune that the spiritual aspect of the process was previously given a sub-committee under the wider umbrella, which included economic, socio-cultural and security issues, among others, that were to be addressed.
SOUTH AFRICANS URGE SOUTH SUDANESE TO RECONCILE
Two visiting South Africans have urged the various communities and individuals in South Sudan to reconcile and forgive the bitter past that was imposed on the people by the decades of war for independence.
Ginn and Latalapa, who previously overcame bitterness, told the 200 peace mobilisers undergoing training in Juba that they had to overcome racism and bitterness and reconciled as South Africans and individuals.
Ginn’s daughter was killed in an operation carried out by Latalapa, but the two finally reconciled and Ginn forgave Latalapa. The two became friends and now share their inspirational story around the world.
“We both came from opposite ends,” Ginn told the press in the capital, Juba as she was describing the differences that existed between her and the man who was responsible for her daughter’s demise.
“He was atheist and I was Christian; I was white and [an] old woman and Latalapa was black and [a] young man,” she continued.
Ginn’s daughter was killed when Latalapa, now a member of parliament in South Africa, ordered a security operation as commander that ended the former’s life.
The two said they have come to South Sudan to share their story across the country with the aim to help move this tribally-divided region to reconcile and forgive the past.
She said if she could reconcile with a person from another race that was responsible for the killing of her daughter, how come such courage to forgive would be difficult between South Sudanese tribes who share the same race and destiny?
Latalapa, on his part, reminded the nation that reconciliation and healing could not be achieved by legislation or codification because it is about inner change in oneself, given that it is a process.
(ST)