Local authorities in Kajo-Keji County of Central Equatoria State on Friday affirmed their commitment to improving civil-military relations in the area.
Lack of mutual respect between civilians and military personnel, lootings, harassment, killings and highway blocks have been recognized as among the points affecting peaceful co-existence between civilians and the military in Lainya County.
Evans Pere, Director of Peace in Kajo-Keji County, told Radio Tamazuj on Friday that a civil-military dialogue supported by the Community Empowerment for Progress Organization (CEPO) brought the community and the military together for dialogue to reduce tensions.
“In that dialogue, we came up with 26 resolutions. These are very strong resolutions which can ensure that the military respects the civilians so that no more atrocities will be committed here in Kajo-Keji,” Pere said.
The director said during the peace dialogue, a committee consisting of 13 members was formed to supervise the implementation of the resolutions.
“The Bishop of the Internal Province of Central Equatoria, Paul Yugusuk, was the leader in that dialogue. So, I believe if these 26 resolutions are implemented, the relations between the civilians and the army will improve,” he said.
“There are penalties for civilians and military if the resolutions are violated. In the dialogue, the military and civilians have pointed out what each side has done to provoke the each other,” he added.
The peace director pointed out that the resolutions would be disseminated to all the members of both sides.