Prof. Jok Madut Jok, Executive Director of the Sudd Institute, a South Sudanese think-tank based in Juba, human rights violations and abuses perpetrated against civilians by government soldiers in the Upper Nile and Equatoria regions, sparked the mass resignations of top military officials from the SPLA army recently.
In an interview with Radio Tamazuj on Thursday, Jok Madut said the abuses perpetrated by the SPLA army have caused instability and massive displacement of civilians in Upper Nil and Equatoria.
Jok further said the ongoing military operations in different parts of the country would definitely affect the current government politically.
“Some of the top generals who decided to tender their resignations were part of the recent military operations, but now they don’t want to be part of the fighting which does not distinguish between an armed man and a civilian,” said Jok.
The South Sudanese researcher casted doubt on the national dialogue called for by President Kiir recently.
The observer said the only way to solve South Sudan’s problems is to engage all citizens in an inclusive national dialogue. He added that President Kiir should not be the patron of the proposed national dialogue to ensure neutrality of the process.
“The committees involved in the dialogue should put pressure on President Kiir to stop the ongoing war and declare a unilateral ceasefire in the country,” said Jok.
In December last year, President Salva Kiir assigned the Sudd Institute, Ebony Center, and the Center for Peace and Development Studies at the University of Juba to help in the national dialogue process.
Photo: Jok Madut Jok (2012 TEDx)