Deng Athuai Mawiir: Opening Statement at the IV Session of Phase II IGAD-led Peace Talks

“I was going to my office to pick up my car but one gunman was hiding waiting for me. As I approached and opened the door and wanted to drive off but this man fired the first bullet that missed me. I then stopped the car and started running to seek shelter then i returned the fire because I was also armed with a pistol.” …….Deng Athuai

Deng Athuai a South Sudanese activist injured in assassination attempts (SBS RADIO)

*******

Your Excellency Amb. Seyoum Mesfin

Chairperson of IGAD Special Envoys for South Sudan Peace process

Members of the IGAD mediation teams

Representatives of Trioka, the European Union and China

Government of the Republic of South Sudan

SPLM/A in Opposition

And Representatives of various stakeholders

Ladies and gentlemen

First and foremost, allow me on behalf of South Sudan Civil Society to first thanks God for this wonderful day, a day that we are all witness to making peace in our country. Time for peace is now and we must bring peace to our country by immediately stopping fighting and commits ourselves for peaceful settlement under IGAD mediation process.

I must underline enough is enough as our country is undergoing turmoil that cost reportedly 10,000 lives and destroyed properties; 4 million people in need of humanitarian aid with only 1.4 million people reached with humanitarian assistance; 359,000 people displaced to neighboring countries while 1.3 million people are internally displaced with only 75,000 sheltering within UNMISS camps throughout the country according to UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs latest report.

At this stage in order to quickly avert this violence conflict, our collective efforts must be put together with that of the international community particularly the IGAD, AU, UN and the Troika to address this unfortunate and senseless killings of our own people just because of power struggle within governing Sudan Peoples’ Liberation Movement SPLM party by the leaders. However, all South Sudanese stakeholders made their position clear from day one that the armed conflict is political in nature and must be resolved only through political settlement.

In light of this situation, we welcome the landmark agreement to resolve crisis signed on 9 May, 2014 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia between the President Salva Kiir Mayardit and Dr. Riek Machar of the SPLM in Opposition, where all South Sudanese stakeholders were agreed to participate in the peace process.

With this agreement, we deplore the behaviors of the parties to the armed conflict as they are in continuous violation of the ceasefire agreement. I called upon the international community to speed up urgent deployment of monitoring and verification mechanism to ensure implementation of this agreement so that this phase of negotiations with interim calm produce peaceful outcome.

Bless are the peace makers for they are call children of God Mathew. 5.9

 Deng Athuai Mawiir Rehan

 Chairperson, South Sudan Civil Society Alliance

  And Head of Civil Society Delegation to the peace process