VP Machar tells religious leader to deliver amnesty document to rebel leader Yau Yau
ArticleComments (44) EmailPrintSave May 3, 2013 (JUBA) – South Sudan’s vice-president, Riek Machar, has urged a top religious leader from Jonglei state’s troubled Pibor county to hand deliver a copy of the general amnesty issued by president Salva Kiir to rebel leader David Yau Yau. South Sudan’s vice-president, Riek Machar (AFP) Last week, Kiir declared a general amnesty to all the rebel leaders in the country, including their forces. Another rebel group in the oil-rich Unity state, the South Sudan Liberation Army (SSLA), responded to the amnesty and declared their intention to join the national army (SPLA). However, Yau Yau and his forces defied the peace offer and reportedly launched a fresh attack against SPLA forces in Pibor county, home of a minority Murle community from which Yau Yau hails. On Thursday, Machar told Reverend Joseph Moti, the moderator of the Presbyterian Church in Pibor, to do his best and deliver the document to the rebel leader in person. Moti has previously met with Yau Yau’s deputy, James Kongkong, but has so far been unable to meet the top rebel leader. Other Murle intellectuals in Juba, such as Ismail Konyi and Kengen Jakor, among others, have also tried to meet Yau Yau without success. Machar’s press secretary, James Gatdet Dak, told Sudan Tribune that the meeting between Machar and the top church leader in Pibor stressed the importance of reaching Yau Yau and persuading him to respond positively to president Kiir’s amnesty. Yau Yau rebelled against the government in 2010, angered by his failure in elections while contesting to represent Gumruk constituency in the state parliament, accusing the ruling party, the Sudan People Liberation Movement (SPLM), of rigging the poll. He briefly re-joined the government in response to a presidential amnesty last year, only to rebel again later. (ST) -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "South Sudan Info - The Kob" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out.
