Civil society leader Edmond Yakani has urged South Sudan’s political and military leaders to honour the sacrifices of the country’s martyrs by choosing dialogue, reconciliation and peace over renewed conflict.
Speaking during a commemoration of South Sudan’s martyrs, Yakani said those who lost their lives in the struggle for independence sacrificed themselves with the hope of building a stable and peaceful nation.
He called on the country’s political leadership and what he described as the “gun class” to draw lessons from the sacrifices of the martyrs and end political confrontations that continue to impose a heavy cost on civilians.
“The lives and the blood of our martyrs are supposed to be a driving factor that will make you prefer peace and stability,” Yakani said, urging the rival political camps to embrace dialogue to resolve their differences.
Yakani said South Sudan had already experienced the consequences of political disputes turning into armed conflict, noting that the country descended into war only two years after gaining independence.
He appealed to both the government and opposition groups to forgive one another, reconcile and return to the negotiating table.
“Let us go to the table of dialogue and put down the barrels of the guns, which is making the citizen pay a very expensive price with their lives and their properties,” he said.
The civil society leader also called for genuine, inclusive political dialogue aimed at rebuilding national consensus and moving South Sudan from violence towards lasting peace.
He further urged authorities to consider forgiveness for political detainees, while encouraging those released to also embrace reconciliation rather than revenge.
Yakani said forgiveness, tolerance, justice and accountability were essential to securing the future of South Sudan and ensuring that the sacrifices made during the struggle for independence were not undermined by continued political violence.
“Without forgiveness, without tolerance, without embracing each other … the viability of our nation, the Republic of South Sudan, which was won by the lives and the blood of our martyrs, may not prevail in the way that our martyrs wished,” he said.
He ended his appeal by urging the government and opposition to commit themselves to inclusive political dialogue as a way of restoring political consensus and creating conditions for a peaceful transition away from violence.
