SOUTH SUDAN GOVERNMENT AN OBSTACLE TO PEACE
BY RALLY FOR PEACE AND DEMOCRACY (SOUTH SUDAN)
REF: RPD/PR-8/14
PRESS RELEASE
South Sudan remains in doldrums as the recalcitrant Juba Government defies the IGAD by refusing to implement the resolutions of the cessation of hostility agreement. Salva Kiir’s refusal to release the four political prisoners in Juba and the refusal by the Ugandan government to begin withdrawing its forces from South Sudan as stipulated in the agreement is a clear indication that the Juba government with its Ugandan ally, Museveni, are determined to continue to prosecute the war in South Sudan believing that military victory will come the way they determine it.
In the humble view of the Rally for Peace and Democracy (RPD), this adventure will not bring either victory to the governments in Juba and Kampala but instead it will continue to prolong and widen the killing and suffering of the innocent people of South Sudan. This is precisely why RPD would like to take this opportunity to condemn the behavior of the government in Juba that initiated the Juba massacre and later invited Ugandan armed forces to continue to persecute this war of attrition and ethnic cleansing.
RPD strongly believes that fighting will never bring peace in South Sudan. Indeed the people of South Sudan need to take this opportunity offered by the IGAD mediated talks to peacefully chart a democratic future for the country and create conducive atmosphere for reconciliation and forgiveness. The talks in Ethiopioa have created the best forum for the people of South Sudan to stand up and look back as to where they all have gone wrong, and be able to boldly envision a new future for the country, where every citizen has a right to live, prosper, interact and speak freely and be able to participate in the democratic process of the country.
South Sudanese need peace and reconciliation now rather than tomorrow. RPD echoes the concerns by the friendly countries of the United State of America, the United Kingdom, Norway and Ethiopia in demanding for urgent withdrawal of Uganda’s forces from South Sudan. The continued presence of mercenary forces has no basis in solving the current South Sudan conflict. Rather, it will work first to undermine the neutrality of IGAD as a mediator, as well as creating fertile ground for other actors to engage in the conflict; thus regionalizing or internationalizing the conflict.
It is our strong belief and hope that these countries will continue to exert pressure on both Juba and Kampala to come to the realization that the war they are waging is futile and is dividing the South Sudanese further and further. This is now time for finding solutions to frustration, disillusionment and hopelessness that the
government in Juba has created for the last eight-and-a-half years. The issue in the country is not struggle for power, but struggle to bring hope, unity, democracy and rule of law to this impoverished country, where looting, tribalism, dictatorship, nepotism, disregard for rule of law and democratic institutions, corruption and lack of development, has taken center stage. It is now time for all stakeholders in South Sudan to sit together under the good auspices of IGAD to begin to reinvent this failed state.
Finally, we applaud the IGAD for its persistent interest to finding a peaceful solution to the conflict in South Sudan. We also commend those countries that are standing by the people of South Sudan so that the peace talks in Debrezeit, Ethiopia, can result in comprehensive peace agreement that will have tackled all the intra-South Sudan problems.
February 15, 2014
Signed:
The Interim Secretariat of the Rally for Peace and Democracy in South Sudan
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