Bor, December 22, 2013 (SSNA) — South Sudan’s General Peter Gatdet Yak who recently announced his rebellion against the government, says his decision to fight against Juba is the right choice.
The defected powerful General controls Bor, the capital of Jonglei State.
“I want South Sudanese to know that my force is not rebel. I am fighting for the freedom of the people of South Sudan under the dictatorial leadership of Salva Kiir Mayardit’s Warrap Bandits, who fight on tribal bases”, General Peter Gatdet said in a telephone interview.
The reference to Warrap by Gen. Gatdet indicates that he is linking presidential guards who killed innocent civilians in Juba to Warrap State—a state where Salva Kiir comes from.
“If Kiir wants to attack my forces, let him do it, but, I assure you he [Kiir] will regret and not only that, he will get a lesson of a life time”, Gatdet warns.
Gen. Gadet said that Salva Kiir had arrested Key SPLM Leadership elements in the Capital Juba, and destroyed their houses and murdering innocent Nuer people just because they are from the Nuer ethnic group. He says his force is basically fighting to protect the mission and vision of the country’s main stream party SPLM that signed the 2005 lasting peace with Khartoum government which brought about freedom to the people of the new nation. Gatdet also questions Kiir’s leadership in many ways.
“A leader who doesn’t tolerate serious challenges within the leadership is not a leader but tyrant. You don’t kill people on tribal lines and at the same time claim to be a leader for all people”, says the General.
Political differences within the South Sudan’s ruling party, the SPLM, have been going on since 2012 and shrunken in July this year.
Most senior members of the SPLM disagree with Kiir’s rule saying the party’s chairman abandons the principles of the party.
On December 14, senior party members pulled out of meeting of the National Liberation Council (NLC), labeling the process as “undemocratic”.
“Salva kiir arrested his ruling party colleagues for no reason at all. The only cause he arrested them is because he wants to rule South Sudan without anyone challenging him, he [Kiir] also killed Nuer simply because they are Nuer”, Gen. Gatdet added.
General Peter Gatdet also said that the community of nations will now understand what exactly Kiir stands for.
‘”The international community and the Human Rights advocates will now understand that Salva Kiir has been and continues to be behind the killing[s] of innocent civilians including those cases in Jonglei State”, Gen. Gatdet said.
General Peter Gatdet also condemns the Uganda’s authority for bombing his forces and declines to give further statement in regards to the bombing carried out by the Ugandan government. But, warns that “any mercenary who is willing to back up Kiir will be dealt with and crashed very badly—a direct reference to the Ugandan president’s military support to Kiir.
Fighting broke out in Juba on December 15 after disagreement between units of presidential guards, but Kiir claims that a “coup” was ordered by his political rivals.