Lakes: More arrests in Rumbek over beer ban
May 21, 2013 (JUBA) - South Sudanese police and national security personnel continued their crack down on places suspected to be selling alcohol on Tuesday in Lakes state capital, Rumbek. The decision to close bars selling wine, beer and locally brewed alcoholic drinks was announced by Lakes state military caretaker governor Maj-Gen Matur Chut Dhuol in February. Critics of the move have argued that the order deprives women brewers, many of whom are widows, of the income they rely on to feed their children and pay school fees. Governor Dhuol has instructed the security forces to arrest anyone found drinking, either in town or in the state’s cattle camps. Daniel Deng Monydit, a member of South Sudan’s national parliament, claims that the ban is unlawful and is a threat to widows and other vulnerable people in rural areas. The MP, who owns the Naivasha and Canal bars in Rumbek, told Sudan Tribune that he had sent away security agents asking them to provide him with a written document stating that selling alcohol was banned. Monydit told Sudan Tribune that he asked the security agents to go away and come back with a document that states that alcohol sales are forbidden. He added that the duty of the state government was to protect civilians and provide security rather than detaining people for possessing or selling alcohol. A senior security officer said that they were “just imposing" the orders of the caretaker governor, however, he admitted that they with withdrew from Monydit’s bar after he questioned the legal basis of their actions. A resident of Rumbek market said "widows, and single mothers whose wines and beer businesses are again destroyed have been crying since morning”, adding that he had seen men and women arrested for drinking at informal bars on Tuesday. On Wednesday last week civilians in Yirol West of reported that local authorities, following the instructions of the county commissioner Colonel Majak Ruei, destroyed beers inside the market without compensating shops owners -- 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]. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/SouthSudanKob/CAJb14opsz2kSKnrzN_6kPgp2vCDTcBtSLvmQftNnR%3DMHnA1R7g%40mail.gmail.com?hl=en-US. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out.
