Salva Kiir declares amnesty for rebel groups in South Sudan
Kiir made the declaration in a speech after taking oath as the first president of the Republic of South Sudan on Saturday.
I would like again to declare a public amnesty to all those who may have taken up arms for one reason or another, to lay down those arms and come to join your brothers and sisters to build this new nation,” Kiir said.
Photo by: Gabriele ErbaHe noted that many detractors” had written off South Sudan even before its independence, fearing the country would slip into a civil war as soon as its flag was raised because South Sudanese could not resolve their problems through dialogue.
Kiir said it was incumbent upon the population to prove the skeptics wrong and urged citizens to share the responsibility of sustaining a new sovereign nation.
Ever since the Comprehensive Peace Agreement was signed in 2005, the Government of South Sudan (GoSS) has been battling insurgency caused by armed militias, mostly headed by renegade officers of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLA).
The armed groups include, among others, those led by George Athor and Peter Gatdet. Gabriel Tanginya recently heeded the amnesty call and quit the bush with over 2,000 of his fighters.
Download the full speech here
The Khartoum government, led by President Omar al-Bashir’s National Congress Party (NCP), has been repeatedly accused of perpetrating instability by supporting militia groups with training, logistics and ammunition in a bid to destabilise the South.
Authorities in the north have repeatedly denied the accusations, despite incriminating evidence presented to the UN Security Council that proves Khartoum’s support of southern insurgents.
Commenting on the instability in Darfur, Abyei and Southern Kordafan, Kiir promised the population in those troubled areas that his government would work with President al-Bashir and the international community to ensure lasting peace.
When you cry, we cry, when you bleed, we bleed.”
The president also pledged to foster development, defend the constitution, protect and promote unity and preserve the integrity and dignity of South Sudanese.
Kiir urged neighbouring countries of Ethiopia, Eritrea and Somalia to pursue peaceful means in resolving their differences, saying that a stable South Sudan requires a region at peace.
