June 20th 2018 (|Nyamilepedia) – South Sudan citizens in the opposition-held Phow state have welcomed the return of the prominent opposition and SPLM-IO leader Dr. Riek Machar Teny who arrived today in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa with a hug crowd turn-out.
In attendance was the Phow state deputy governor Maj. Gen. Peter Puok Koang who said in a welcoming statement that the people of South Sudan have been suffering for the last two years of Machar’s confinement in exile.
“On behave of the leadership in Phow State the Deputy Governor Maj. Gen Peter Puok Koang do hereby welcome H.E Dr Machar which had been in confinement for the past two years in South Africa to Addis Ababa for the next peace deals in Ethiopia Capital,” the spokesman of the Phow state government, John Toang Beliew, said in a statement extended to the Nyamilepedia.
The deputy governor who addressed an approximate number of 25,000 citizens who turned out for the reception of Machar said the people of Phow state have suffered enough and that this time is for peace to be given a chance.
“The people of Phow state have suffer enough and it is a time to give peace a chance, he added. We have the duty to protect the life of an unborn child and we have to struggle for better nation,” he said.
Maj. Gen Peter Puok, the deputy governor, also warned the SPLA in Ayod town to observe a moment of peace across the Jonglei territory.
Several high-ranking state government officials were in attendance as well as an approximate number 25,000 of citizens across the state who gathered to welcome the release of Dr. Machar to participate in the ongoing peace process in Ethiopia.
Phow State Secretary for Information Hon. John Toang Beliew calls for the freedom of press in the country to allow journalists advocate for peace and reform across the nation.
Addressing local media houses today in Jiech, Toang urged the journalists to distance themselves from tribalism and work for the common interest of the suffered populations in the country.
