S. Sudan political parties condemn shooting of activist
August 5, 2014 (JUBA) – South Sudanese political leaders have condemned in the “strongest” term last week’s shooting of the country’s civil society alliance chairperson in the capital, Juba.
“We will be remiss if we do not condemn in the strongest terms possible the attempt on the life of the leader of civil society organisations delegation to these talks, Mr. Deng Athuai, and we call for a speedy investigation so that the culprits are brought to book”, said Lam Akol, the leader of 18 political parties in a statement at the opening session of the peace talks in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
“We are for peaceful dialogue, not for settling scores by arms”, he added.
Athuai, a vocal activist, has been at the forefront of the struggle for democracy, human rights and anti-corruption. In 2012, he was allegedly kidnapped, tortured and discovered some days later in the outskirts of Juba.
(ST)