Washington, DC, July 30, 2014 (SSNA) — South Sudanese rights agency, the Alliance for South Sudanese in Diaspora (ASSD), has announced its objection against the invitation of South Sudan’s president Salva Kiir Mayayrdiit, by the United States President Barack Obama to attend the 2014 US-Africa Leaders Submit scheduled to take place on August 6.
The conference comes after more than seven months of fighting in South Sudan.
The Alliance for South Sudanese in Diaspora is deeply troubled by the invitation of the leader of the war-torn nation, according to the group’s press statement obtained by the South Sudan News Agency.
"ASSD Protest[s] the South Sudanese President Salva Kiir’s visit to the U.S. and Call on South Sudanese-Americans to Participate in Peaceful Demonstration in Washington, DC and across America”, the Alliance declared.
The block questions the decency behind the invitation and stated that it will join other South Sudanese civil society agencies to demonstrate against Kiir, adding that the South Sudanese leader has committed serious crimes and that he does not deserve to be invited by the human rights champion, the United States.
"The Alliance for South Sudanese in Diaspora (ASSD) protest[s] the invitation of the South Sudanese President Salva Kiir to the United States of America given the atrocities committed and human sufferings endured by innocent South Sudanese citizens under his administration; ASSD will be joining other South Sudanese civil society organizations in the upcoming Peaceful Demonstration scheduled for Wednesday, August 6, 2014 in Washington, DC”, the ASSD said in its official statement.
The three-day summit will focus on strengthening ties between the United States and the African nations.
“Discussions will center on how to encourage progress in key areas that Africans define as critical for the future of the continent: expanding trade and investment ties, engaging young African leaders, promoting inclusive sustainable development, expanding cooperation on peace and security, and gaining a better future for Africa’s next generation”, The White House Says on its website.
The forum will be attended by more than forty five (45) African leaders, official documents have shown.
The US-based rights group also calls on other human rights organizations to express their discontent against Kiir’s leadership. The ASSD further stated that survivors of Kiir’s December 2013 Juba massacre will join the planned demonstration.
The visit will be Kiir’s first trip to the US since the war broke out in Juba late last year.