South Sudan's English Daily Newspaper
"We Dare where others fear"
By Jenifer James
The Executive Director of the Community Empowerment for Progress Organization (CEPO) Edmund Yakani, has called on South Sudanese leaders to prioritize peace and national dialogue in light of escalating political instability in the country.
“We have urged IGAD and the African Union to collaborate with our leaders to address the recent political unrest. We also appreciate His Excellency, the President, for meeting with them and demonstrating a commitment to making peace and stability a top priority for all South Sudanese,” Yakani said in a statement yesterday.
Yakani underscored the need for cooperation between regional bodies and national leaders to restore stability.
He expressed hope that recent high-level meetings would lead to tangible results, beginning with a cessation of violence and adherence to existing peace agreements.
“Among our key expectations are the immediate cessation of violence and a commitment to the 2017 permanent ceasefire agreement,” he stated. “The ongoing violence is causing unnecessary suffering among citizens, who gain nothing from it.”
He urged signatories to the peace accord to resume political dialogue and resolve differences through negotiation rather than conflict.
“Violence brings no gain, but dialogue offers us the opportunity for a national conversation and consensus on how to transition from conflict to peace,” he said. “We must implement the pending tasks of the peace agreement together, in the spirit of unity.”
Yakani also called for the release of political detainees so they can participate in the national dialogue process, which he believes is essential for a successful transition.
“We want our leaders to understand that the responsibility to restore peace lies in their hands,” he added. “They should not be discouraged. We believe that, as South Sudanese, if we sit together and talk, we can resolve our political differences.”
He warned that continued violence might invite foreign intervention from regional institutions, potentially resulting in imposed solutions that may not favor the country.
“If we fail to act, others may act on our behalf. And while we may not like the outcome, it will be a consequence we invited,” Yakani said.
Despite the difficulties, he called for reconciliation and justice to be handled through proper legal processes, not as tools for political retaliation.
