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Protesters interrupt U.S diplomat’s visit to UN camp in Juba

October 25, 2017 (JUBA) – Dozens of protesters, preaching anti-government messages, briefly interrupted the visit of Nikki Haley, the United States diplomat on a visit to South Sudan from touring the United Nations camp, which houses up to 30,000 displaced people.

Nikki R. Haley, United States Permanent Representative to the UN, at the UN Security Council meeting on 7 February 2017 (UN Photo)
Nikki R. Haley, United States Permanent Representative to the UN, at the UN Security Council meeting on 7 February 2017 (UN Photo)
The demonstrators, mainly supporters of South Sudan’s former vice-president and rebel leader, Riek Machar carried messages that portrayed government in bad light.

“South Sudan IDPs [internally displaced people] and refugees love President Trump, the peacemaker and supporter of human rights,” reads a message carried by the angry protesters.

A UN official was quoted saying the US diplomat’s failure to hold talks with the demonstrators could have angered the pro-Machar group.

Eyewitnesses said UN security guards fired tear gas to disperse the crowd of over 100 people who rioted after Haley left UN premises.

US President Trump last month announced Haley’s visit to Africa during a meeting with African leaders on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly session in New York. Haley becomes the highest-ranking US official to visit South Sudan, where nearly five years of civil war has killed tens of thousands of people and displaced millions.

While in Juba, however, Haley had what she described as a “very frank” conversation with President Kiir about the lack of progress towards peace since civil war broke out almost four years ago.

The senior US diplomat said Washington, particularly under the new Donald Trump administration, would not accept to wait anymore.

“We have lost trust in this [Kiir] government and we now need to regain that trust. The only way to regain that trust is through the actions of taking care of all of the people. President Kiir is the president of everyone, not just one tribe, not just one group. In order to be a leader you have to be willing to take care of all of your people,” said Haley.

“Time for action is now, we are not waiting anymore, we need to see a change and we need to see it right away”, she further stated.

While speaking in Ethiopia on Tuesday, the US official said her government would not abandon the people of South Sudan who have been put a cross point since the president does not does care about the suffering of his people”.

“So first to go back to that you know when you look at South Sudan, you have to really think hard before you pull U.S. aid because President Kiir doesn’t care if we pull U.S. aid. He doesn’t care if his people suffer”, the US diplomat said as a press briefing organized after she held discussions with Ethiopia’s prime minister and African Union officials.

“And that is the concern we have as we don’t know that it will make a difference by pulling U.S. aid or not. That is the conversation we will have. And we will try and see exactly what will move President Kiir so that he does take the moral high ground and start to really look at creating a safe position for his people,” she added.

The senior US official said President Trump was likely to pile pressure on regional leaders to end South Sudan war.

(ST)

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