Activist end peace awareness campaign in Wau state
April 15, 2016 (WAU) – Global Development Service (GDS), a civil society body in collaboration with Democracy Institute have successfully concluded a one-month peace dissemination workshop to 25 traditional chiefs in Wau state.
A similar event targeting youth was organised in February, focusing on chapter one of the peace deal, which talks about formation of the Transitional Government of National Unity.
“This time, the workshop was targeting the traditional chiefs as the first leaders at the grassroots level who can easily sensitise the local population about the current stage of the peace agreement and its contents,” Gabriel Dhal Yak, GDS’s executive director in WAU state said on Thursday.
“It is important to make our citizens familiar with the peace agreement and own it because this peace is neither for Salva Kiir the president of the Republic of South Sudan nor for Riek Machar of the SPLM-IO, but for the people of South Sudan who suffer innocently behind the conflict as a result of political motives in the Country,” he added.
According to Yak, disseminating messages on the peace agreement is crucial in efforts to implement the accord.
“For us as citizens of South Sudan, we are all committed for peace not war, which is destructive. Let us work for peace now and the two principals of the peace agreement should stop causing havocs in the region, by accusing one another of violating the agreement,” Marko, a participant, said.
Yak, however, said it was important for the South Sudanese citizens to know the leadership of the TGoNU, and the three clusters, including the mandate of the unity government.
He appealed to the two warring faction leaders to work together and return the war-torn nation on recovery path.
Machar, the country’s first vice-president designate is expected in the capital, Juba on 18 April.
(ST)