150-200 South Sudanese to hold peaceful Assembly during G20
Nov 14, 2014(Nyamilepedia) — About 200 members of South Sudanese Community in Australia will hold a peaceful and lawful assembly on Saturday the 15th of November, 2014. The assembly will begin by 1:30pm from St Andrew Anglican Church located at 160 Vulture Street, South Brisbane, Queensland. By 2:30pm the group will march from the venue through Good Will Bridge to Queensland Parliament’s back yard where the leaders will address the members and media. Many South Sudanese across Australian states and territories are expected participate.
The event is aimed at bringing the attention of the G20’s leaders to the political and humanitarian crises in South Sudan.
The current civil war in South Sudan erupted on 15 December, 2013 when a political disagreement within the ruling party, the Sudan People Liberation Movement (SPLM) turned violence. The political conflict occurred between the President Gen. Salva Kiir and his former Vice President and deputy chairman of the ruling party Dr Riek Machar Teny whom Kiir relieved from his position along with the entire cabinet in July 2013.
The President took another step in 2013 by announcing the dissolution of the SPLM party structures which resulted in Dr Machar losing his position as deputy SPLM party Chairman. Nevertheless, Dr Machar along with his fellow SPLM party veterans whom President Kiir dismissed from Cabinet in July 2013 planned and held a press conference in Juba, South Sudan on 6 December 2013. The reason for the conference was to re-assure the SPLM members and the public that the issues in the party will be peacefully resolved. However, The President was not in the country and when he came back he ordered the disarmament of his Presidential Guards targeted at members of Nuer ethnicity of the former Vice President Dr Riek Machar.
The Nuer men in Presidential guards had initially accepted to be disarmed along with other colleagues. But when they saw their fellow guards from the Dinka Community, the President’s tribesmen, then the Nuer men re-armed themselves by force and then the fight started. The fighting in the Presidential Guards Headquarters lasted from 15 December night and ended late on 16 December 2013.
However, when they Nuer in military were outnumbered and outgunned they fled the city along with the former Vice President Dr Riek Machar and went to Upper Nile Region. After that, the 15000 Dinka Militiamen who were recruited for the President by the then Governor of Northern Bahr El Gazal Gen. Paul Malong Awan were ordered to kill the Nuer Civilians in Juba. The President ordered his right hand man Gen. Paul Malong Awan to executive the GENOCIDE of over 20,000 Nuer Men and women in Juba alone. Also the Commander of the Presidential Guards namely Maj. Gen Marial Chinuong led a force to attack the former Vice President Dr Machar’s Resident killing all his guards including Machar’s civilian relatives.
For this reason, Maj. Gen. Peter Gatdet among other Nuer Generals stationed in upper Nile and other parts of the country declared their support to Dr Riek Machar.
This war has taken South Sudan decades back due to the enormous destruction of lives, properties, and mass displacement of civil population (2 million people). There are over 100,000 Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs), mostly from the Nuer ethnic group living under the protection of United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNIMISS) in Government controlled areas. But these people live in constant fear because they have been often attacked the Dinka elements in the Government simply because they are Nuers. And the live example is the raid on the UNMISS camp in Bor, Jonglei State which left nearly 100 men, women and children dead.
According to UN, 4 million South Sudanese are risk of dying of famine in 2015 if the war does not stop. Now, there is peace talk going on in Ethiopia between the South Sudanese warring parties. It has been mediated by Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) for 11 months without significant progress. The peace process has been complicated by the Ugandan President Yueri Museveni’s letting his troops to President Salva Kiir to help him fight the South Sudanese opposition forces in Greater Upper Nile Region. Furthermore, China who is the main explorer and customer of South Sudan’s crude oil continues to supply weapons to President Kiir’s troops boasting his military capabilities to perpetuate the war. The SPLM in Opposition demands the withdrawal of all the foreign mercenary forces. Further, the opposition leadership want the country to be governed on federal constitution. But President Kiir and his supporters oppose the idea although it is widely welcome in South Sudan across regions.
We want the G20 leaders to support IGAD mediators so that the root causes of South Sudanese civil conflict are addressed so that peace and justice for the war victims can be reached.
As a group we stand for peace with justice for the victims of Genocide which has been committed by President Kiir and his friend Gen Paul Malong Awan in Juba, Bor, Mapel and elsewhere in South Sudan. And we urge President Kiir to step down from power as he lost his legitimacy after killing innocent civilians in Juba. We urge the ICC to prosecute Gen. Kiir and Gen. Paul Malong Awan for committing genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity in South Sudan. We called for immediate withdrawal of Ugandan troops and Sudanese Rebel Forces from South Sudan. We urge China to stop selling arms to Juba’s Government. We urge the UNSC, EU and The US to impose clear arms embargo on President Kiir’s Government.
We call for UN to mobilise more humanitarian assistance for the victims of the war in South Sudan and refugees camps. Also, UN and the G20 leaders must condemn the mistreatment of South Sudanese Nuer Refugee men perpetrated by the Kenyan Police in Kakuma Camp. We urge the UNHCR, and the Government of Uhuru Kenyatta to release the detained Nuer men from the notorious Lodwar Prison.
All media channels are invited to listen and record speeches from our keynote speakers some of whom are survivors of South Sudan Genocide.
Speeches and interviews can be made at the starting and ending venues of the rally as required by the G20 (Safety and Security) Act 2013 (Queensland), Australia.
10 November, 2014
Media Contact: Biel Jal Liep – 0432657189
Gatluak War Jock – 0422734360
