Juba, South Sudan,
July 30, 2021 –
Fellow citizens,
Today, on Martyrs Day, we honor brave South Sudanese, chief among them, our leader comrade Dr. John Garang De Mabior who gave their lives for our freedom.
On this day, I would like to honor the families of our martyrs: their parents, spouses, children, and their siblings who continue to live with the void left by their loved ones who fell in the course of liberating our country.
Today, I call upon you, our citizens to salute our martyrs who bore the brunt of hardships that came with our liberation struggle but never faltered. To these men and women, the quest for our freedom came above all else.
It is therefore incumbent upon us the living, especially our men and women in uniform to be guided by selfless actions and sacrifices of our martyrs as we focus on moving our country forward, despite the challenges of our post-conflict status.
The selfless action of these men and women who did not live to see the birth of our republic holds important clues for us on how we should overcome our present-day challenges.
As I mentioned in my public statements this year, we all need to focus on achieving total peace in our country, and once again, I am calling upon you the people to support us by promoting peaceful coexistence within our communities.
Our efforts and investment in inclusive peace are the surest way to the provision of services to our people and to the long-term development in the country.
I wish you a happy martyr’s day and urge you to give this day the respect it deserves by observing social harmony in your interactions.
