A civil society leader, Edmund Yakani, has called on the country’s leaders to use the SPLA Day commemoration to promote reconciliation, forgiveness, and inclusive dialogue among citizens.
Speaking yesterday ahead of the 43rd anniversary of the founding of the Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA) on May 16, 1983, Yakani reflected on the progress made since the start of the liberation struggle.
Yakani, the Executive Director of the Community Empowerment for Progress Organization (CEPO), questioned whether the current situation in South Sudan reflects the original goals of justice, equality, and prosperity that inspired the movement.
“My question before the speakers of tomorrow’s event is What we are facing today, does it define the founding objectives for 16th May, where we can see civil servants have gone for quite a number of months or years without salaries, where we have seen safety and protection of civilians is no longer a priority of those who are in uniform with ranks, where we have seen corruption on the peak of everything.
“And we have seen ourselves detaining each other and arresting each other and keeping each other as detainees. Was it not the same objectives that on 16th May we stood up against, what I define as oppression and marginalization?” he wondered.
Yakani also appealed for the release of detainees and renewed dialogue among South Sudanese as a way of addressing the ongoing political and security challenges.
“So our appeal to you is, can we use the day of tomorrow to pronounce reconciliation and forgiveness where our own brothers and sisters whom we detain across the country should be free and then we see it on the table of talking to each other as South Sudanese,” he appealed.
Yakani said South Sudan’s past conflicts were resolved through dialogue and urged leaders to prioritize peaceful engagement instead of violence.