April 2nd 2019 (Nyamilepedia) – A civil society umbrella in South Sudan’s Western Lakes state has appealed to the national government in Juba to pressure the newly appointed Western Lakes state governor, John Deng Mamer Yuol, to reconsider the dismissal of civil servants and releases those illegally detained.
Mamer who was appointed in late January to replace his long-time serving predecessor, Matur Chut, has been accused by rights groups of carrying out arbitrary arrests against state members of parliament as well as youth he sees as opposed to his government.
In a statement issued on Friday and seen by the Nyamilepedia, the Chairperson of Civil Society Organization Network (CiSON) in Lakes region, Hakim Chipuounyuc Awur, said in a statement that the group is concerned about a recent statement by the government of Western Lakes which stated that it is not ready to accommodate politicians opposed to it and plans to dismiss elected members of parliament.
“We the civil society under CiSON Lakes State are concerned about the of arbitrary arrest and the suffering of the MPs and Youth in Western Lakes State,” Hakim said in the statement obtained by the Nyamilepedia.
They called upon the national government in Juba to intervene and investigate the dismissal of members of the civil service in decrees by the governor and to further lecture the governor on how to carry out his work.
“We appeal to the national government in Juba to reconsider its positions and re-instruct the governor not to continue harassing the citizens, dismissing the elected MPs who represent their constituencies without notification from the constituents,” he said adding: “We hereby, motivated by our duty as the civil society to speak on behave of the voiceless.”
