Topic:
South Sudan national dialogue
Angle:
South Sudan has been rocked by Civil war since 2013.
South Sudan is new country who came to existence in 2011. The challenges of brand new country with no institutions existed hit the country. South Sudan is bog-down by Power struggle that resulted into civil war for the last three years. They agreement was signed in 2015 and the government of national unity was installed. Currently the implementation of that peace is going on.
However, running jobless population and expect harmony in the Country is too much dream to contemplate. Crime of robbery along the major roads is getting worst and the famine that was worsen by the failure of crops last year precipitate migration of refugee to neighbouring country even in the area that civil worry didn’t reached.
Despite the transitional government of national Unity and the implementation of peace going on well, President Kiir call for national dialogue in December as a pass way to reconciliation that can consolidate harmony.
Therefore, for national dialogue to start, Salva Kiir Mayardit, the President of South Sudan, call for national prayer on the 10th of March to include divine power to the quest for new Country’s peace and harmony.
Desired interviewee & rationale:
Dr Santino Atem Deng is Academia at Victoria University, he is a former Chairman of Sudan People Liberation Movement (army) SPLM/A in New Zealand. Dr Atem is always stay inform with South Sudan Political issues.
I caught up with him, during his supervisor farewell at Victoria University and asked him some questions about South Sudan National Dialogue. Below are the questions:
Would the national dialogue be inclusive?
The politic of South Sudanese has been always like that for a long time, those are talking of lack of inclusion are the very people who were asking president in the past to initiate the national dialogue. I Remember in USA, the former SPLM/A Secretary general, Mr Pagan Amum was talking about that now president has call for it. Yet there are people who still believe it is not inclusive. What I am hearing is everybody is invited, so, who are those people that not are included in national dialogue.
In your view, do you think it is a good step to be taken by South Sudanese?
Dr Atem, Absolutely, since independent South Sudan did not have opportunity to devolve the nationalistic ideas to feel like they are one nation, because the devastation of the war was so traumatised. What it is now this kind of national dialogue is good ideas because it will bring people together so that they can foster their national identity and dialogue discussed where they want to steer their nation to and reconcile. Also, may be talk frankly about what not been going well and how that can be resolve.
There is a concern about lack of transparency, would this national dialogue be transparent?
Dr Atem, I am not sure about where lack of transparency can be identified at this point in time, because it has just been initiated. What I heard is going to start at state level where they are going to start a dialogue and then to the national level. So, we cannot justify any lack of transparency at this point in time, based on what we know it has been called, and it is inclusive it has been call including South Sudanese from different back ground and different tribes. So we cannot really assess and that is a problem we have as South Sudanese sometimes. There are some voices out there criticising it, it is not going to be transparent give it try first! To see what happen, before people make negative comments and try to criticise it.
What part of the national dialogue could international community play?
South Sudanese are the one who can solve their problem as I always believe in that. We know in the past when South Sudanese sit down and talk and as brothers and sisters, they can find a solution to it. What regional or rather international need to do is to play a positive role may be financial support but not to take a lead.
Sometimes they tragic thing is different group with different interest would come in and try to take over and stir the process that does not help the process of healing and that dialogue itself need to be led by South Sudanese and support by everybody with no interest attached to it.
Treatment/Multimedia:
South Sudan’s national dialogue started off with South Sudan National Day of prayer
the public humble itself on the Holy ground as imbued by the deep thought of the reckless loss of innocent lives in the hands of a very citizen who are praying now for divine intervention to enable them to reverse the country self-inflicted pain.
The history of the national day of prayer
The National Day of Prayer (36 U.S.C. § 119)[1] is an annual day of observance held on the first Thursday of May, designated by the United States Congress, when people are asked “to turn to God in prayer and meditation”. Each year since its inception, the president has signed a proclamation, encouraging all Americans to pray on this day.[2], The modern law formalizing its annual observance was enacted in 1952, although earlier days of fasting and prayer had been established by the Second Continental Congress from 1775 until 1783, and by President John Adams in 1798 and 1799.
URL of pieces that you have used in your research so far (at least five):
The National Day of Prayer and Fasting in South Sudan: Verses, time, and date
