Western Equatoria refutes allegations of unwillingness to end tribal clashes
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March 27, 2011 (KAMPALA) – Western Equatoria on Sunday denied Lakes
state charges that it had reneged peaceful solution to the tribal
clashes between the people of Mvolo County and Yirol East County in
Lakes state and renewed willingness to exert the necessary effort to
end it together with other stakeholders.
The commissioner of Yirol West county of Lakes state, Makur Kulang
Liei, in ststements to Sudan Tribune last week, claimed that his
counterpart of Mvolo in Western Equatoria state refused to talk with
him over the telephone on the recent clashes between pastoralists of
Mapuordit payam and those in Mvolo county in Western Equatoria state.
However WES government has strongly refuted the claims made by Lakes
State Security Advisor as published on Sudan Tribune on Friday March
25.
"Lakes’ Security Advisor stance was built on distorted information to
smear the Western Equatoria State’s policy on ethnic minority people
in Mvolo,” said Western Equatoria state government spokesman Gibson
Bullen Wande.
"Western Equatoria has been coordinating with Lakes state government
for initiating peaceful dialogue in vain,” Wande further said.
In denouncing the Lakes’ allegations, Wande said the Western Equatoria
government had conducted extensive visits to the region after first
clashes took in February this year.
After having been aware of the clashes in Mvolo, Western Equatoria
authorities undertook an intensive effort to contact Lakes officials
for amicably solution to the chronic tribal fighting in the state of
Lakes including the state governor, Wande stressed.
Wande queried that “Why would we need to do this? Western Equatoria
would receive absolutely no benefit from harboring tribal clashes.
Western Equatoria strongly rejects these allegations.”
“All the areas mentioned: Kokori, Doli and Barigirindi are all the
payams and bomas of Western Euqtaoira, the distance between those
areas and Lakes is 20 miles away.”
He added they have never mobilized any of Mvolo youth to attack "our
brothers" in Lakes state as alleged. He instead accused Yirol
officials of mobilizing their people dressed in South Sudan Police
Services (SSPS) uniform to attack Barigirindi, "as evidenced by an
SSPS Lakes state registered AK-47 and the machinegun is now in Mvolo
County."
WES governor and his counterpart of Lakes states met in Mvolo last
month. The two delegations agreed to form an independent inquiry body
from different tribes to investigate the first incident which claimed
the life of one trader.
However, the committee which was formed in Lakes states was composed
of Dinka tribes in Yirol East and Wulu counties who are part in the
tribal conflict, according to Wande.
"Another second attempt to broker peace among the two communities was
when, WES government sent a delegation headed by WES Minister of Local
Government Sadigi Ismail to Mvolo, but he did not get positive
response for his counterpart in Lakes state – he talked to the
Commissioner of Yirol East but did not get positive response regarding
the matter."
"The clinics and villages that were burned by youth from neighbouring
Lakes state are in Western Equatoria, so why would WES attack its own
people if not they have been attacked by their fellow brothers in
Lakes state," the Mvolo official said.
He however renewed his offer to discuss peaceful solution and he urged
"our brothers" in Lakes to refrain from inflammatory media publicity
and pursue peaceful agenda.
(ST)
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