My Appeal to IGAD, UN Secretary General and UN Security Council to put pressure on South Sudan President Salva Kiir to order Amadi State governor Joseph Ngere to stop further violations of cessation of hostilities agreement

Dear Chairman of  IGAD, United Nations Secretary General and UN  Security Council  President,

By Rev.  Wesley Bokati  Natana Abraham,

Jan 5th, 2018(Nyamilepedia) — As you very well know, since  the signing of cessation of hostilities agreement  in Addis Ababa on January 21,2017,the governor of Amadi State Joseph Ngere and SPLA Division Six Commander  Major General Korokoni  Yepete, have intensified dry season offensive in all areas controlled by  SPLA/M IO  forces. As a result, they have displaced  the entire populations at Bari, Medewu, Ladingwa, Bangolo, Koto’bi  and Karika in Mundri West County  and  Lozo, Lanyi, ‘Buagyi, Dosho  and Wandi in Mundri East County. Civilians in these areas have been looted, their houses burnt and some have been killed by South Sudan Government Army upon orders  of governor of Amadi State Joseph  Ngere  and SPLA Division six commander major general Korokoni Yepete. Civilians in these areas are now sleeping in the bush with no food, shelter, medicine and clean drinking water. This being a crop harvesting period in Greater Mundri,  these innocent civilians have now left their crops under  the care of wild animals and birds. Death rate among children and elderly men and women is at the increase in the bush due to starvation caused by the actions of South Sudan government army and the governor of Amadi State Mr. Joseph  Ngere.

It is worth mentioning that what Governor Ngere and Major General  Korokoni  Yepete are  currently doing  in  Amadi State  is a serious violation of the signed ceasefire, human rights, international  humanitarian law and the law of armed conflicts and must be stopped with immediate effect.

I  therefore  appeal  to IGAD, UN Secretary General and  President of  UN  Security Council to talk to  South Sudan President to urgently stop the governor of Amadi  State Joseph Ngere  from further violations of the signed cessation of hostilities agreement, human rights, international humanitarian law  and the law  of armed conflicts in Amadi State.  President  Salva Kiir must be told  to take the following lines of action  so as to bring  lasting peace to the suffering  people  of  Greater  Mundri in particular  and  South  Sudan  in general:-

1. Respect  the  signed cessation of  hostilities agreement, signed  peace agreement with all opposition parties/groups  and  together, start  doing  the following :-
2. Total demilitarization of Juba
3. Return the country to ten States
4. Immediate establishment of cantonment sites for all SPLA/M IO and other  opposition  forces.
5. Reconstitute the parliament and allow the Equatorians to choose a Speaker of their choice without any further manipulation.
6. Reconstitute/establish all institutions of governance
7. Start reform process of all institutions of governance
8. Recall all ambassadors, South Sudan Representatives to the United Nations and appoint new ones jointly with other parties, taking into account tribal, geographical and regional balancing.
9. Support   immediate and speedy deployment of a regional, neutral protection force to Juba and other disputed towns in South Sudan.
10. Remove military from all roadblocks and check points in the Country and replace them with new trained police, so as to allow free movement of goods and people in and out of the country.
11. Lift the state of emergency and allow people leaving the country to go without unnecessary security investigation and clearance.
12. Release all individuals who are arrested because of having connections with SPLA/M IO and order the security forces not to arrest, torture or kill any civilians or loot their properties.
13. All those who have lost their properties be compensated so that they can rebuild themselves and start a new life.
14. Dismiss the current so called First Vice President Mr. Taban Deng Gai as he is the real obstacle to any peace agreement and has no control over SPLA/M IO Forces. He is no longer a member of SPLA/M IO and has no SPLA/M IO Forces under his command. He is now part of South Sudan government and uses South Sudan Army to fight SPLA/M IO forces. Therefore, anything to do with SPLA/M IO should not involve him.
15. The government must stop use of relief food as a weapon against the people of South Sudan. As I write to you now, civilians who are living in SPLA/M IO controlled areas are prevented from receiving any humanitarian assistance from UN and other humanitarian agencies. NGO working in South Sudan are not allowed to operate in SPLA/M IO controlled areas. This is a violation of human rights and international humanitarian law.
16. Order immediate withdrawal of South Sudan Government army from Bari, Medewu, Ladingwa, Bangolo, Kotobi, Karika and Lozo, so that civilians in these areas can return to their homes, rebuilt their burnt houses and harvest the balance of their crops before birds and wild animals can finish them. This is very important point  because civilians in these areas have lost confidence in the South Sudan Government  and are afraid to live together with them, due to atrocities committed by the government to them.
17. Dismiss the governor of Amadi State Joseph Ngere with immediate effect, as he is an anti-peace person.

Your excellences , in case the Government of the Republic  of South Sudan refuses to take all the above mentioned actions, so as to bring lasting peace  to the suffering people of South Sudan, I call upon  IGAD , AU,  and  UN Security Council to  impose  Sanctions , including arms embargo, assets  freeze  and travel ban  on the  governor  of Amadi State, other  government  officials  who are committing atrocities  and violating  cessation  of hostilities  agreement, so as to force them to come to genuine negotiation table and sign a new, all inclusive, genuine  peace agreement with all warring parties  and opposition  groups in  February 2018 so as  to end the unacceptable long suffering of the innocent people of South Sudan. Our people have suffered enough and we need to end their suffering now. This is only possible through genuine peace talks as South Sudan problem cannot be solved militarily. Let the  leaders of the government of South Sudan put the interest of their suffering people above  their own.

Rev.  Wesley Bokati  Natana Abraham

E.C.S.S,

Diocese of Mundri,

January 5, 2018,

Email: bnatana@yahoo.com