Africa-Press – South-Sudan. The presidential press secretary, Ateny Wek Ateny has described the recent call on President Salva Kiir Mayardit and his first deputy Dr. Riek MacharTeny to step down by a senior U.S lawmaker as ‘hostile and condescending.
Senator Patrick Leahy had called on the two leaders to exit the country’s political scene saying they had ‘failed to uphold their responsibilities to create the conditions for peace and prosperity, but rather prioritized self-preservation and corruption over the needs of the people.
Senator Leahy who is also the president pro tempore of the United States Senate wrote in a statement published on January 6, 2022, that the two leaders, “… would be well-advised to stand aside so that others, chosen in a free and fair election, can begin the process of uniting and rebuilding the country.”
However, in a press conference at the statehouse yesterday, Ateny Wek Ateny said the call on President Kiir and FVP Machar was ignorant of the consequences such eventuality could bring.
Ateny berated Senator Leahy for calling on Western powers to instead support alternative political groups including the People’s Coalition for Civil Action (PCCA), a group agitating for the toppling of the current regime and church leaders to realize the peaceful and democratic solution.
“The leaders of South Sudan appreciate the continued US support for the people of South Sudan and the strong ties between the two countries. Notwithstanding this mutual understanding, the Revitalized Government of National Unity (R-TGoNU) was shocked by the tone and language of the Honourable Senator employed in expressing his disapproval of the county’s current political situation. It was condescending and hostile.
The R-TGNoNU found it surprising that the Honourable Senator stands with would-be-rioters to achieve democracy in South Sudan but in the United States,” he said comparing the PCCA to the attack of supporters of former President Donald Trump attack the U.S Capitol on January 6, 2021,” he added.
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