Civil-military dialogue organized by CEPO underway in Yei

YEI, OCTOBER 4, 2023 (SUDANS POST) – A civil-military dialogue organized by South Sudan’s civil society watchdog, Community Empowerment for Progress Organization (CEPO) commenced on Tuesday in Yei town of Central Equatoria State.

The three-day event is being held under the theme, “rebuilding durable trust together for peaceful co-existence in Yei” and it comes amid concerns over information gaps between the government, the organized forces, and the civil population.

At least 100 people, including religious Leaders, the organized forces, community leaders, youth, women, persons with disabilities, among others, are attending the event.

Speaking during the opening session of the event, Yei River County Commission Aggrey Cyrus Kanyikwa said that since the outbreak of war around Central Equatoria’s Yei River County, the organized forces and the civilian population have been put on a collision path.

“This dialogue is intended to bring us together to an understanding as government, military, and the community. Dialogue will allow people forgive themselves and opens opportunities for those who fled to return home,” he said, appealing for a comprehensive awareness to restore peace and stability.

Joel Yeka, a field officer with CEPO, said the 10^th civil-military dialogue seeks to restore peace, security and stability in the villages of Yei River County especially Otogo and Lasu Payams where some pockets of insecurity are still persistent.

“This dialogue is also expected to reconcile the religious leaders and boda-boda riders with the SSPDF mobile forces whose relationship has been very soar for some months now in Yei River County,” Activist Yeka said.

In recent months, a gap has been realized on how the military command flows from the top to the junior commanders in the remote villages of Yei. Also notable is how the SSPDF mobile forces in the grassroots have been handling the local authorities and the religious leaders in Otogo Payam of Yei River County.

“To fix this relationship between civilians and the military at the grassroot level, local authorities must work together to ensure the villages are secure,” said Yeka.

Meanwhile, the UNMISS Civil Affairs Division team leader in Yei, James Mugo Muriithi, said there is need to put into consideration the contexts, achievements, challenges and the existing gaps having conducted similar dialogues in the past.

“We need to look at how best we can address challenges and existing gaps, looking at hot spots and focus on accelerating efforts to address them,” he said.

Mugo, however, said there has been a lot of improvements in relations between the civilians and the military following a series of civil-miliary dialogues conducted.

He specifically cited the trust and confidence built among civilians and the military, internal capacity building within the military and the courts martials initiated by government to enforce accountability as some key achievements.