The Diaspora Lou Nuer Community Leadership in the US, Canada and Australia Endorse Kitgwang Declaration
Breaking News: The Diaspora Lou Nuer Community Leadership The United States, Canada and Australia
August 11, 2021: THE LOU NUER DIASPORA COMMUNITY PRESS RELEASE IN FAVOR OF THE MAGENIS (KITGWANG) MILITARY COMMAND’S LEADERSHIP DECLARATION.
The Lou Nuer Diaspora Community Leadership has declared its support to the Magenis (Kitgwang) Military Declaration under the 1st Lt. Gen. Simon Gatwech Dual for the following two reasons:
- First, when the Lou Nuer community worldwide learned about a misunderstanding between the former Chairman and Commander in Chief, Dr. Riek Machar, and the Army Chief, 1st Lt. Gen. Simon Gatwech Dual, about the lack of security implementation part of agreement, the Lou Nuer community leadership in collaboration with elders from the greater Nuer Community took an initiative right away and dispatched a team of elders to meet both Dr. Machar and Gen. Simon Dual to investigate the roots causes and to find a solution that would be in the best interest of the SPLM/A (IO) leadership in particular and the people of South Sudan in general. However, the delegation was turned down by Dr. Machar after promising them a failed meeting that was scheduled on August 4th,
2021. - Second, the same team was also delegated to meet Gen. Simon Gatwech Dual who responded promptly and convened a meeting on August 6, 2021, that resulted in a mutual agreement that Gen. Simon would not initiate any military confrontation that could endanger the life of any soldier of the SPLM/A (IO). General Simon Dual respected the outcome of the meeting regardless of any grievances he might have against the whole situation and did not violated the agreement.
- Based on the steps mentioned to resolve the issues between the two leaders, the Lou Nuer and the greater Nuer community peace delegation was so disappointed that Dr. Machar was intentionally creating a new war within the SPLM/A (IO) after his refusal in meeting the delegation. In assessing the situation after Dr. Machar refused to meet the delegation, the Lou Nuer community in Diaspora, Canada, United States and Australia, convened a general assembly meeting on the following dates: Canada and the US convened their meeting on August 7, 2021; Australia convened a meeting on August 9, 2021.
- After hours in deliberation, the members reached a unanimous decision in support of the Kitgwang Military Declaration. In the recent attack carried out by the forces loyal to Dr. Machar on positions of Gen. Simon Gatwech Dual in Magenis, which was his intention to incite a new war in South Sudan again, the Lou Nuer community in Diaspora charged Dr. Machar for violating the cessation of hostility that he and Salva Kiir signed during the peace negotiation in 2018. Therefore, the team agreed that whatever the outcome of his intention would be, Dr. Machar will be fully responsible. As one of the backbones of the SPLM/A (IO) movement, the Lou Nuer community despises senseless war between the SPLM/A (IO) itself, and the loss of any soldier’s life is disastrous.
- This press statement allows the South Sudanese and the world to know that the Lou Nuer community deserves all the rights to express their feelings on Dr. Machar, misleading the Nuer in particular and South Sudanese in general for over 30 years. The Lou Nuer community members risked their lives in grave a lot to protect ideals of freedom and protected Dr. Riek Machar’s leaderships in the past, and equally endured the suffering under his failed leaderships. The Lou community fought wars for Dr. Machar, but his relatives often harvest the fruits when the wars are over through overt practices of favoritism and nepotism.
- Dr. Machar has rejoined the government prematurely without a full implementation of prerequisites for agreement to succeed, such as the implementation of security arrangements. Dr. Machar is now part and parcel to the regime in Juba that is notoriously known as human rights violator in so many accounts. Dr. Machar himself has turned against the very people who protected his life with their blood for so long.
- Like other communities globally, we would like to see a government that protects its citizens rather than turn against and exterminate them while favoring only a few within a society. A government that kills and divides its citizens into ethnic lines has lost its legitimacy to lead. What use is any system if it gives undue rights to the ruling oligarchs while denying the majority of people rights to live and depriving them off the basic human rights to survivors?
- In the strongest term possible terms, we condemn the war between the SPLM/A (IO) that Dr. Riek Machar has orchestrated while people are eying the implementation of the peace agreement.
- We stand with Lt. Gen. Simon Gatwech Dual one hundred percent because he has not done anything wrong in this situation. We didn’t reach this conclusion because he hailed from this community. Still, we did because it is a life and death situation that Dr. Riek Machar put the Nuer community and other South Sudanese communities in. Dr. Riek Machar is fully responsible for the lives of the SPLM/A (IO) soldiers.
- Together as South Sudanese people who care about one another, regardless of ethnic lines, we shall rise above and change the injustice, culture of impunity, corruption, extrajudicial execution, kidnapping, and food deprivation that every South Sudanese person faces at the moment.
- Signed by:
Simon Yuer Dang, Chairman
Lou Nuer Community Association in Victoria, Melbourne (Australia).
Khot Hoth Duop, Chairman
Lou Nuer Community Development International (USA).
Maker Gatluak Thoah, Chairman
Lou Nuer Community Development Association, (Western Canada).
Nyalok Tot Weay, Chairlady
Lou Nuer Community Development International (USA).
Gatwech Guol Duany, Chairman
Lou Nuer Community Association, Queensland, (Australia).
Peter Gatbang Keak, Acting Chairman
Lou Nuer community Development Association, (Eastern Canada).
Gatluak Koak Ruei, Chairman
Lou Nuer Community Association in Perth, (Western Australia).
Viva – SPLM (IO) Magenis Military Command’s Leadership Council Viva – 1st Lt. General Simon Gatwech Dual
Viva – Lou Nuer Community
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