Petition Letter to President Salva Kiir and Governor Clement Wani Konga.
5 min readBy Arkangelo Gaudensio Wol
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His Excellencies,
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February 23, 2015 (SSB) — We have the internally displaced persons living in the backyard of your houses in Juba, in the UN camp who are starving and lacking nutritious food and clean water. What I mean by back yard is that these people are living few kilo meters away from your office and your house.
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They are not supposed to be starving. They are not supposed to be insecure in the middle of capital city- the seat of the president. They are not supposed to live away from their properties.
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This is all because, the primary purpose of government is to save lives, protect properties, and preserve order. However, when government failed to perform these basics and ultimate goals, it automatically loses its legitimacy. We don’t want to see this and we don’t want this to happen.
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So, first, if the primary purpose of government is to preserve order, then providing security to yourself, your citizens, including providing security to the IDPs is your sole responsibility, not the responsibility of the UN. Therefore, as government you should not stop visiting your starving people in the UN camp because of fears of insecurity.
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Again, if you cannot provide security in the capitol city, how would you be able to preserve order in all parts of the country? Also, if you cannot provide order, how will these IDPs be able to come out from UN camp and return to their homes and properties?
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A fear of insecurity is not a good reason for failing to visit and help your people in the back yard of your house and office. They are your people, they are your responsibility. Leaving them under the mercy of UN to breastfeed them is a problematic.
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Secondly, if the primary purpose of the government is to protect properties, then you must be able to protect the houses and properties of these IPDs. If their properties are safe, then these IPDs are not supposed to live inside UN camp in the capital city. It’s a sham.
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Government must have an urgent program to solve the unfolding problems of IDPs, by rehabilitating them, and preparing them to return to their homes and properties. They deserve to live and enjoy the benefits of citizenship like any other citizens. Depriving them from the benefits of security of persons, free and save movement, and owning properties, makes them refugees inside their mother land, hence become second class citizens.
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Thirdly, if the primary purpose of government is to save lives, then the responsibility of protecting the lives of the IDPs rest solely on the shoulder of national government and the government of Central Equatoria. Where is the governor of the Central Equatoria, H.E. Clement Wani Konga? Are these IDPs living in the camps in Juba not under the jurisdiction and care of the state government? If the president can not at all visit these IDPs and help them, why not the governor of Central Equatoria?
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However, leaving these citizens under the mercy of UN alone is problematic. It means government has failed to its job. I don’t like that. Therefore, I am appealing to you that you take care of these IPDs. You should be able to visit these IPDs from time to time and go and have a meal with them in the camp to show them and the world that you care for your people. If you have a good will, and I believe you have, you should give up one meal per a day and offer it to the needy in your back yard.
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Again, Where is the governor of central equatorial, Clement Wani Konga? Are these IPDs not under your jurisdiction and your care? Why did you failed to visit them and provide them with food and water? I heard that the minister of information Micheal Makui Lueth has threatened to close down UN office and Radio Miraya FM. That is OK, but if you cannot feed these IPDs, and you want to close down the UN, who will feed these people and save their lives?
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What minister Michael Makuei did last time when he tried to visit the IDPs in UN camp in Greater Upper Nile was wrong. You cannot enter the UN compound with a bunch of soldiers and guns. My intentions for this petition are very pure. UN should not operate as a government inside another government of sovereign state.
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But, in order to protect our sovereignty and dignity, and prevent outsiders to interfere with our internal affairs, we must always stand our ground, by doing what government is supposed to be doing, and by respecting and promoting human rights and fundamental freedoms.
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Log live Republic of South Sudan.
Long-live President Kiir Mayerdit.
Long-live vice president Clement Wangi Iga
Long-live SPLM/A
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