Former Minister for Education in South Sudan Stephen Par Kuol speaking during the interview on December 23, 2013.
A pointman of South Sudan’s fugitive former Vice President Riek
Machar has accused President Salva Kiir of not being honest in calling
for talks to end the crisis in Africa’s youngest nation.
Mr
Stephen Kuol, a Minister in the troubled Jonglei State of South Sudan
told the Drive Hot Blog on Monday that President Kiir is “not serious” about
talks because those he should be talking with have either been scared
away or have been put in custody.
“Salva Kiir was just
under pressure from the region, from south Sudanese themselves and the
international community to accept dialogue. It wasn’t his initiative and
up to now I don’t think he is serious,” Mr Kuol said in an interview in
Nairobi.
“There is an agreement that there should be
dialogue. What is not clear now is whether President Salva Kiir will
release political prisoners. The way forward is this: Salva Kiir must
release all political prisoners so that they participate in the
dialogue. It should not even be a contest between Riek Machar and Salva
Kiir.”
The said political prisoners are top politicians
in the SPLM, the ruling party, who Kiir accused of influencing a mutiny
supposedly engineered by Machar. But Kiir terms them as ‘rebels’ who
should be put away as per the law.
“Those who may want to take the law into their hands, the long arm of the government will get them,” Kiir said last week.
“Those
who have killed a person or persons will be taken to court and face the
law. It's right of every South Sudanese to be protected,” said Kirr.
Mr
Kuol is the minister for Education in Jonglei State, even though the
area has now fallen under the control of rebels loyal to Machar.
South
Sudan has been in chaos for the last one week when soldiers allied to
Machar fought the army under President Salva Kiir. Kiir later announced
that it had been a failed coup attempt but still offered to hold talks
with his opponent.
But the conflict has since morphed
into what looks like a tribal contest between Dinka and Nuer,
communities that dominate South Sudanese politics, leaving a
humanitarian crisis in its wake.
Thousands of South
Sudanese citizens have been seeking refuge at UN missions around the
country while foreign countries have been evacuating their citizens.
On Saturday, President Uhuru Kenyatta ordered the Kenya Defence Forces to evacuate more than 1,600 Kenyans stranded in Juba.
Foreign
Affairs PS Karanja Kibicho on Monday said the government will increase
flights to three starting Tuesday to evacuate Kenyans stranded in South
Sudan as the situation there remains volatile.
On
Monday, Medical charity organization Doctors without Borders (MSF)
announced that it was taking the situation in South Sudan “very
seriously” and had sent more emergency medics to help.
But
the situation in other parts mainly controlled by the rebels remains
uncertain. Kenyans caught in trouble in far-flung parts of South Sudan
continued to cry for help on Monday.
Ms Jane Owino
told the Nation she has been trapped in a humanitarian camp in Bentiu,
Unity State but were running out of supplies.
“We have
been here for the past five days. The UN mission here has been giving
protection, but there is no water and food is scarce,” she said adding
she was in the company of about 200 people many of who are Kenyans.
Ms
Owino who said she has been a clothes dealer in South Sudan since 2011
is a frequent traveler between Juba where she lives and the Unity State.
“Right now, we can’t leave because there is no transport and it doesn’t look safe because there has been fighting in this area.”
Bentiu
is about 900 kilometres north of Juba and the South Sudanese government
has admitted that it was no longer controlling Unity State meaning
there was no guarantee for safety of those stranded there.
“Bentiu
is not currently in our hands. It is in the hands of a commander who
has declared support for Machar,” a Spokesman for the South Sudan
government tweeted.
Although the Kenyan government
ordered the military to evacuate stranded Kenyans in South Sudan, the
mission was mainly limited to Juba and emergency support for those in
accessible UN Mission camps. On Sunday, another group of Kenyans claimed
they had been trapped at Yirol after escaping Jonglei via a boat.
“We
have been stuck here for the past five days and we are running out of
water. We have been surviving on biscuits and there are no vehicles,” Mr
Martin Wabweni told the Drive Hot on phone from Yirol, a town about 300km
north of Juba.
“The vehicle drivers refused to continue
fearing for their safety. Since then, the number has increased. We are
about 80 Kenyans but the whole group is about 180 people. We have been
accommodated at Comboni missionary centre here but we are afraid it may
get worse,” he said
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