S. Sudan’s FVP urges Jonglei authorities to give peace a chance
May 10, 2017(BOR) – South Sudan first vice president, Taban Deng Gai has urged local authorities to cease hostilities and give peace a chance through negotiations between Jonglei and Boma states.
“How do the international community look at us. They said, you the people of South Sudan, we are sorry, we have made a mistake, that we have brought you out from Khartoum because when you were in Khartoum you were not killing yourselves. It is true that there was cattle rustling but it was not at the level of today”, said Gai.
“They are planning to bring their own president, I don’t know whether it will be white or black Africa, I want you take this seriously”, added the first vice-president.
The first vice president, currently in Jonglei, talked bitterly, condemning the current fighting between Murle and Dinka Bor youth saying peace would be the way forward.
“When I was coming, I want you to understand this well; the youth were shouting, that there is no peace if our cattle and abducted children are not brought back”, he said.
“I am sent by president with this delegation, we cannot allow Murle and Dinka to continue fighting. The government must help to develop, must give you the meant of development, giving you a strong policing, open schools and vocational training and gov’t must provide water for farming”, further stressed the first vice-president.
Gai said the government must open roads and change the life of Murle and Dinka as well opening trade between business people in Jonglei and their counterparts in Boma.
“If we are not for peace, this country will collapse”, said Gai.
The South Sudanese information and broadcasting minister, Michael Makuei Lueth, told the Dinka Bor community to stop fighting to give way for meaningful peace talks.
“If the fighting stops, people will talk. And if we start the peace talk, we must tell the truth, to understand what each of the sides is saying so that the mediators can judge the situation”, he said.
The governor of Jonglei state, Philip Aguer said for years, Murle ethnic tribesmen have organised insurgencies, killed people, abducted children and even looted cattle.
“To end this, let us bring together all community chiefs for more dialogue and come up with some guidelines. As the government, there is no way we can do this with the absence of law enforcers. The only practical way to end this is to form a joint police force between all the states neighboring Jonglei state and to a create security road that connects Gadiage area with its borders,” said Aguer.
“Since 2016, I have conducted three peace meetings and nothing has worked out. We need the committee to separate this youth which are fighting and am ready to move with you wherever you want to go,” he stressed.
(ST)