United States, February 7, 2014 (SSNA) — The Union of Jonglei State Communities in the United States urged the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), African Union (AU), and the Troika countries (UK, Norway, and U.S.) to call for an interim administration in the Republic of South Sudan in the next round of peace talks in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa.
“To this end and in order to have any chance of genuine peace, we are calling on the mediating IGAD, the AU, and the troika countries (US, Norway and UK) to call for an interim administration in South Sudan in the next round of talks as the only logical way forward until elections are held in 2015”, UJC-USA said in statement.
In a strongly worded statement signed by the Union of Jonglei Communities in the US and seen by the South Sudan News Agency, the joint union of greater Jonglei communities criticizes Kiir’s government for failing to provide security in South Sudan, particularly in Jonglei state for almost a decade. The block also said that the government repeatedly refuses to provide them a much needed protection in the state and questions why the government that failed its own citizens was able to bring in foreign troops in just few days when it sees a threat to its existence.
“It indeed had the capacity in Uganda! We have been bleeding for nine (9) good years and there was no capacity. Juba was under threat for one day and the government found capacity in an instant as it was occupied by Uganda in the name of providing security. In a twisted irony, the very same UPDF (Uganda Peoples’ Defense Forces) that was purportedly brought in to provide security for the president and his colleagues bombed our state capital to ashes. Now our state – not to mention our country, is under foreign occupation”, the statement added.
The umbrella of Jonglei communities questions the reasons behind the invitation of Uganda’s soldiers in the young nation’s internal affairs and declared that the Republic of South Sudan has never been at peace since 2005.
“South Sudan, under the current leadership, has never been at peace since the signing of the CPA in 2005 – that is 9 years and counting. In that unfortunate reality, Jonglei state has been the dreadful symbol of the government’s inability to provide security for its citizens”, it recalled.
The group also warns the world not to allow the current South Sudanese government to reach 2015 as it will only add more tragedies.
“Leaving the current leadership in power until 2015 will be a recipe for further disaster beyond 2015. In the event of elections, there will be no fair, transparent and democratic elections as the leadership will simply stage another coup d’état against itself with the intention to send into exile or rebellion anyone who dares aspire to seek leadership. This cannot be allowed!”, it said.
The union also emphasizes that the people of South Sudan lost hope and trust in kiir’s administration.
“It is now clear beyond doubt that the current leadership has lost legitimacy after orchestrating and allowing ethnic-based massacres of various ethnic groups in Juba and greater Upper Nile region. We are also calling for lifting of the state of emergency so that aid organizations can save our dying citizens”, the statement continues”, it added.
The agency further asserted that South Sudanese president Salva Kiir’s own actions are the cause of the current conflict, saying the president uses “inflammatory and divisive political rhetoric”.
Kiir accuses his political adversaries of launching a coup attempt, but, the claim has been widely discredited in South Sudan and around the world. Most South Sudanese believe that the coup claim is a plan orchestrated by kiir in an attempt to try to get rid of his political rivals. The alleged coup has also been linked to the Ugandan president Yoweri Museveni who is widely hated in South Sudan.