South Sudan's English Daily Newspaper
"We Dare where others fear"
By Aluong Maker Aluong
The Executive Director of the Community Empowerment for Progress Organization (CEPO) Edmund Yakani, on Wednesday, urged political party members to implement a power shift within their parties that prioritizes the well-being of citizens and avoids leaving them in challenging situations.
In a statement to the media, Edmund Yakani expressed concern that the recent political developments have left citizens in worrying, disturbed, and panicked situations in South Sudan.
“As an activist, I believe that a shift in power can be harmless if it is legitimate within the legal framework of the political party. However, citizens perceive this shift as a potential trigger that could plunge the country back into war,” he said.
According to Yakani, citizens live in fear and are often pushed toward conflict, which frequently results in innocent people paying a heavy and painful price.
He urged political leaders from various parties not to let the shift in power lead to unrest. Instead, he emphasized that this transition should bring the peace and stability that the country has yearned for since 2013.
Yakani pointed out that politics played without sincerity and honesty often makes violence the preferred option for resolving differences.
“We appeal to you to take primary responsibility for ensuring that peace and stability prevail. Embrace dialogue as a means to resolve your political differences,” Yakani stated. While he acknowledged that political disagreements are inevitable in any society, he warned that the South Sudanese tendency to resort to violence as a means of resolution is a political curse for ordinary citizens.
He urged political leaders to prioritize dialogue over violence in addressing their grievances, to prevent citizens from feeling cursed by conflict.
“Dialogue! Dialogue! Dialogue! is the only viable option for political establishments, parties, and leaders to achieve consensus and transition from violence to peace. This is what we want in South Sudan,” he declared.
Yakani denounced those who view violence as a means of transitioning the country from war to peace, labeling them as liars. “All we need is sustainable peace in this country,” he stressed.
He concluded by urging political leaders to embrace dialogue, noting that the South Sudanese are tired of human rights violations and the displacement often inflicted upon them.
On Tuesday, President Salva Kiir Mayardit, who also leads the ruling Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM), reshuffled the party’s top leadership, replacing his first deputy, Dr. James Wani Igga, a long-serving veteran of the liberation war, with Vice President Dr. Benjamin Bol Mel as the first deputy chairperson.
