SOUTH SUDAN: Catholic Bishops in South Sudan Visit President, Request to be Part of Peace Negotiations

Sr. Jecinter Antoinette Okoth, FSSA

A group of Catholic bishops in South Sudan on Tuesday, July 27, paid solidarity visit to President Salva Kiir Mayardit to discuss the implementation of the Revitalized Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in South Sudan (R-ARCSS).

The bishops appealed to the Head of State to include Religious leaders in the country’s peace negotiations.

“Since the signing of revitalized peace agreement, we as bishops of South Sudan had not paid visit to the President and we thought it better to do so and assure him of our support towards the process of peace implementation,” Archbishop Stephen Ameyu Martin Mulla told AMECEA online in an interview Thursday, July 29.

“We asked him to include some Religious leaders in the peace negotiation process since none of us is involved and it is necessary we too take part,” Archbishop Ameyu of Juba Archdiocese underscored stressing on the Rome initiative peace talks between the Revitalized Transitional Government of National Unity (RTGoNU), the South Sudan Opposition Movements Alliance-South Sudan United Front/Army (SSOMA SSUF/A), SSOMA-Real Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SSOMA Real SPLM),which the Religious need to part of.

In the previous week, the community of Sant’Egidio in Rome, Italy hosted a four-day peace talks from July 15-18, between RTGoNU, SSOMA-SSUF/A, SSOMA Real SPLM, in the presence of observers from the international community.

Archbishop Ameyu highlighted further that Religious leaders should also be involved in the process of reconciliation justice and peace among the worrying parties.

“Nothing is as good as having peace and guns be silenced. When there is peace, people have the opportunity to live normally and stay happily,” Archbishop Ameyu recounts their conversation with the President, adding that “the opposition should also seek for the common good of the people of South Sudan who have suffered for years.”

He further expressed the need of striving to have peace in the country saying, “It will be good for the government to continue implementing peace even if it is as slow as tortoise pace, it will have some positive impact.”

The three prelates who represented the Episcopal Conference during the solidarity visit included Bishop Stephen Nyodho Ador Majwok of Malakal Diocese, and Bishop Emeritus Paride Taban of Torit Diocese have appreciated the existence of good relationship between the Church and the State.

“The government has been helpful to us, we are able to travel securely wherever we are to go, and any time we are to have a new Bishop in the country they have been very supportive,” Archbishop Ameyu said during the Thursday interview.

He added that “even for the shooting incident of Bishop-elect of Rumbek Diocese Msgr. Christian Carlassare, they have apprehended the culprits and moved them to Juba from Rumbek awaiting court process.”

According to the Archbishop, President Salva Kiir appreciated the solidarity visit by the Church leaders and positively welcomed the prelates’ requests to be included in peace negotiations hoping that in the next Rome deliberations which will focus on power sharing and other important issues, the Religious leaders will be part of the delegation.