December 14th, 2018 (Nyamilepedia)-The leadership of the Lou Nuer called upon the Chairman of the SPLM/A-IO Dr. Riek Machar Teny, the government of South Sudan under President Salva Kiir to establish 15th of December as a National Holyday for the people of South Sudan.
The calls came after the community is preparing to commemorate the 15th of December, the day when the Nuer massacred took place in Juba, capital of South Sudan triggering the first South Sudanese civil war.
“We call upon the entire populations within South Sudan and all over the world to move beyond this devastation, and petition the Chairman, Dr. Machar, and South Sudan government to designate the 15th December (2013) as a National Holyday and support the establishment of Hybrid Court for South Sudan for justice, accountability and reconciliation between the war affected communities as a way to move beyond this sad reality in the country.”
The community blamed the massacred upon the government of South Sudan for not doing enough to control it rather being part of the “national policy” according to Africa Union investigation carried out in 2016.
“The Onus of responsibility of all the killings rests with the system in Juba, notwithstanding the retaliatory actions of the young men who lost families during the Government’s orchestrated massacres in Juba, that in the process collaterally killed more innocent South Sudanese civilians in the Greater Upper Nile and other States. We do not forget that many other ethnic groups also lost a great number of people i.e. prior to and after the 15th December (2013) massacres.”
However, the leadership asks the people of South Sudan to overcomes the horror of pain, “social mistrust” as they commemorate the day and share the memories of those slaughtered and encourages all the ethnicities to work together and hope for a better future as one people with an intertwined common destiny.
“Today, we remember December 15th, 2013 genocide. This day created a huge social mistrust within our country, especially when those who were constitutionally mandated to protect the citizens became the very ones carrying out scorched-earth operation policies through pillage, torture, rape, kidnapping and targeted killing of civilians, national and international journalists, and aid workers, an action which forced about 4.3 million people out of their homes.”
In a letter extended to Nyamilepedia editorial desk, the leadership sends out its heartfelt and comforts those who lost their loved, survivors and the escapees during this difficult time in the history of South Sudan and called for reconciliation and reconstruction of lives in the postwar South Sudan.
“This note is a commemoration of those who were killed during the war. Our collective heart-felt memories go to the victims and survivors. The SPLM (IO) Lou Nuer leadership acknowledges the need to support strategy for preservation and transformation of the tragedy as a learning curve for reconciliation and reconstruction of lives in the postwar South Sudan. As we deal with the Pain today, we hope that the recently concluded peace agreement in Khartoum, Sudan, will prepare a conducive ground for healing and reconciliation between scared communities and generate a push for leaders to provide justice and accountability to the victims of 2013 genocide and the war.”
On the night of 15th December of 2013, following the clashed between the presidential guards in their military base in Tiger, Juba South Sudan. The targeting killing already started that evening with major locations like Logologo, Khor Williams, Gudele, Rockcity, and New site being the main places of killing. For the next five days, more than 20,000 civilians of the Nuer tribe were systematically killed.
With some sources saying, first of its kind after Rwanda genocide.
