Activist urges security forces to respect human rights as Kiir directs army to end Nimule violence

JUBA – The Executive Director of Community Empowerment for Progress Organization (CEPO), Edmund Yakani, has welcomed today’s directives by President Salva Kiir Mayardit to the security forces to end, with immediate effect, the ongoing violence in Eastern Equatoria’s Nimule.

Kiir on Tuesday evening met in his office with the deputy army chief, General Gabriel Duop Lam, and deputy chief of National Security Service (NSS) Internal Security Bureau, General Yiei Dak Wieh, and directed the security chiefs to start intervention and end Nimule violence immediately to prevent further escalation.

Speaking to Sudans Post this evening, Yakani who had appealed to Kiir yesterday for immediate intervention to end the violence welcomed the latest presidential directives and urged the army to respect and human rights during the law enforcement operations.

“CEPO welcomes the positive response of the president to our call for urgent national government intervention by directing the army to end Nimule violence with immediate effect. This is remarkable decision and it should be executed with full respect of human rights and rule of law and the army must abide to the principle of civilians rule,” Yakani said.

“It is essential that the leadership of the army should ensure that soldiers should not end up harassing, intimidating, raping women and looting the civilians including discrimination of the civil population on ethnic lines,” the outspoken activist added.

DISARM CIVILIANS

The prominent activist further urged the army to conduct disarmament exercise saying that communities are armed on ethnic basis and said that this fact is dangerous for peaceful co-existence between the communities.

“The army should totally engage in disarmament the civilian population seriously without any form of favor or fear. The indication that communities are armed on ethnic lines in Nimule is real and dangerous for the future of peaceful co-existence in Nimule. The civil population disarmament should be for consistent 3 months,” he stressed

He further urged the local government in Nimule to have a proper set up and honor the slain Anzara chief John Ebele who was killed by a group of armed youth while he was on a community meeting sparking violence in Nimule on Monday.

“CEPO is urging for proper set up of Nimule local government administrative authority for promoting rule of law and respect of human rights. The slain Chief John Ebele should be honored by ensuring the local government administration of Nimule is based on the local government act, 2009,” he said.

“Finally, the arrested perpetrators should be hold accountable without any favor or fear for justice to prevail as a solution for preventing revenge,” he added.