“Kiir has betrayed the hard-earned independence of South Sudan,” Thomas Cirillo

"Kiir has betrayed the hard-earned independence of South Sudan," Thomas Cirillo

In his speech marking the 9th independence anniversary of South Sudan, NAS Chairman Thomas Cirillo urged the people to be “steadfast and maintain the resilience needed to transform South Sudan into the country our people struggled for, and aspire to achieve.”

He went on to point out that South Sudan – that achieved independence through a popular vote a referendum in 2011 – has been reduced to a global sad story with civil war and multiple government-sponsored inter- and intra-ethnic communal violence raging all over the country.

“The current regime in Juba under President Kiir has betrayed the hard-earned independence of our people. Our country has been reduced to a global sad story. Today, the country is still in a state of civil war and ethnic conflicts.

“The regime has been engineering and promoting inter- and intra-ethnic and communal violence by arming one group against another. Our communities of Lou-Nuer, Murle and Bor Dinka in Jonglei State have been instigated to kill one another without the intervention of the regime in Juba. In Bahr el Ghazal, inter-communal violence is rampant among the ethnic groups in the region especially between the communities in Warrap and Lakes States. The regime is now orchestrating a plot of another ethnic fight between the Azande and the Balanda ethnic groups in Western Equatoria State

“Almost a decade after independence, the people of South Sudan still lack basic services. The resources of the country have been mortgaged to foreign countries and international companies by the elites of the regime.” read the speech in part.

Thomas Cirillo then called upon community leaders and civil society organisations to initiate and step up awareness-raising programmes to help prevent ethnic violence and communal fights.

“The ethnic violence and communal fights are part and parcel of the regime’s policy of divide and rule aimed at diverting the attention of the people from their mismanagement of the country.

“The National Salvation Front (NAS) calls for the unity of our people, based on tolerance and respect for one another,” read the speech.

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