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JUBA - 25 Oct 2016

Aweil legislator slams relocation of humanitarian workers

Alfred Wol Malith, Chairperson, Public Accounts Committee at South Sudan Transitional National Legislative Assembly has expressed disappointment with the decision by the United Nations High Commission for refugees (UNHCR) to relocate citizens from other regions and tribes living and working in the areas of Northern Bahr el Ghazal, due to fear of being targeted. "Our peaceful and cohesive community of Greater Northern Bahr el Ghazal has for the first time in the history of South Sudan, been implicated by the UN Agency for refugees (UNHCR) to have threatened the lives of Equatorian Citizens serving with the UN and other international organizations in Aweil; leading to their evacuation. The UN cited "hate speech" on the social media as the reason for the evacuation. "These conclusions by the UN are not only divisive but they are maliciously dangerous because, they bring the communities of our country to a head on collision and eventual disintegration of the Republic of South Sudan. I believe there is no such a plan or intention to do this whatsoever", said Wol He attempted to justify the peaceful coexistence of the community with other neigbouring communities with nomadic tribes which accesses the area from neigbouring Sudan, claiming the decision was divisive."Our peacefulness is shown in a way we currently interact and live together with Missiriya and Rezaigat who devastated and massacred our people. They now live and trade freely in Aweil. Moreover, they are foreigners (Sudanese). Due to misuse of the social media, we have earned ourselves this name in the end. I am saddened and angry", he explained. He appealed to youth from the area to desist to misusing the social media as the flat form for hurling and delivering hate speeches and messages. " My dear South Sudanese youth in general, and those of Greater Aweil particularly, what is happening in our country today affects you the most as the future of this country lies in your hands. It is your future that is being destroyed by the current generation. Would you rather participate in its destruction or try harder to save it? It is true that some of us took the recent events with emotions, while others took the trouble to circulate unfounded messages which I believe led to this action by the UNHCR. Let's desist from this with immediate effect. Those who kill our are thugs and should not be reciprocated. They are to face justice and not the bad messages". Multiple sources at the United Nations high commission for refugees from the area told Radio tamazuj in a series of interviews on Monday that the agency was forced to relocate staff members from other regions because they were finding it difficult to move freely in fear of hate messages. "No one I know has been attacked so far but fear and uncomfortable situation has been created by this situation. There are people I know who are talking negatively about us. The way we used to interact with people here has changed, even our colleagues now avoid us", a source from Equatoria said Monday when asked about their situation and whether they were experiencing any threat to leave. But while natives of other regions and tribes from Equatoria claims a change in the way they have been interacting with their colleagues and local people in the area, Aweil East governor Deng Deng Akuei downplayed, saying all of them, the three governors have agreed to control the situation and to hunt for those inciting violence and hold themselves accountable. He said the governors were surprised by reports of relocation of humanitarian workers even after making public statements and held public rallies at which they jointly denounced violence and promised to provide adequate security to people from Equatoria.