Unity State rebels: we want peace
Click here for updated background information on Gatluak Gai's rebellion by the Small Arms Survey
In an exclusive interview with SUDANVOTES, rebels in Unity State have expressed renewed interest for peaceful negations. Speaking from the bush by telephone, Major Gabriel Chuol, who belongs to the rebel faction of Gatluak Gai, said the group wanted to know if the South Sudan and Unity State Governments were ready to welcome them back. He said they had previously been offered an amnesty from the Government of Southern Sudan (GoSS).
"For any peace negotiation all rebels and State Government officials must meet at Dhornyakulang.”
The spokesperson of the State Government, Gideon Gatpan Thaor, who is also the State Minister of Information and Communication, welcomed the move by the rebel group. He said, "For any peace negotiation all rebels and State Government officials must meet at Dhornyakulang”, he said.
The state adviser for security affairs in Unity State, Micheal Chiengjiek Geay, had previously travelled to Koch County earlier to meet with the rebel group, accompanied by the County Commissioner John Chuol Geay said the security situation in that county is now calm and ready for fruitful peace negotiation.
Map of Unity State - source: wiki commons
GoSS Vice President Dr. Riek Machar Teny is leading negotiations with Gatluak Gai, who took arms against the regional government in Juba, and attempting to end the hostilities by the rebel leader in Unity State. Gai has demanded a number of conditions be met before he is willing for his group to re-join the regular Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA). His key demand is to have a share of power within the State Government.
The Deputy Commander in Chief of the SPLA, Lt. General Paulino Matip Nhial, speaking recently in Juba, called on rebel leaders in Unity State to stop fighting and work for development and peaceful co-existence, especially given the South is on the verge of becoming independent, and forming a new country.
He urged the citizens in the areas bordering the North to follow the law throughout the referendum process, in order for the South to secede smoothly. Matip called upon those in Unity state who took up arms against the Southern Government following last April’s general election - including Gai, whose forces clashed with the SPLA at the beginning of the voting period - to come together for reconciliation for the sake of achieving the region’s independence. He described Unity State as the eye of South Sudan, because of the significance of its oil fields and high population.
Detailed UN map of Unity State
