A plea for peace

We have received many reports that violence between Dinka and Murle civilians is flaring in Jonglei state, leaving many dead. Murle people tell us that innocent Murle are being attacked by Dinka angered over the cattle raiding and child abductions attributed to other Murle people. Meanwhile, violent raids continue, attributed to armed Murle groups.

We plead for all parties to cease violence. Don’t match violence with violence. Don’t blame certain people for other people’s crimes just because they share the same ethnicity or tribal identity. We condemn violence against all parties but especially against Murle with no proven connection to abductions.

Anyone who encourages inter-tribal violence, even with their words, is responsible for this backlash. That means you, cyber-diaspora. Anyone who speaks to anyone in South Sudan bears the obligation to direct their words to a peaceful outcome.

At the same we urge all Murle leaders to talk to the armed Murle groups and persuade them to cease raids and abductions. We appeal to Sultan Ismail Konyi in particular. The backlash is wrong, but stopping the initial crimes is the most essential part of stopping the backlash. Any leader who pursues such good works will receive the credit and support that he or she deserves, and we pledge to put the full weight of our campaign behind anyone who seizes that leadership role.

–Daniel Lynx Bernard

Read the sign held by the boy on the left in the photo below, reprinted with permission from the New Sudan Vision (NSV), www.newsudanvision.com, Nov. 28, 2007:

Original caption: Bor primary school students welcoming the first visit of SPLM leader Salva Kiir Mayardit since the end of the war with the signing of CPA, with placards reading, “Kiir Mayardit, stop child abduction for slavery will jeapordize the right of children” Photo: Kuai Biar/New Sudan Vision