The Transitional National Legislative Assembly (TNLA) on Wednesday moved the Commission for Truth, Reconciliation and Healing Bill 2024 and the Compensation and Reparation Authority Bill 2024 to the third reading stage.
The purpose of the Commission for Truth, Reconciliation, and Healing Bill is to establish a commission to spearhead efforts to address the legacy of conflicts and promote peace, national reconciliation, and healing.
Addressing journalists after the session, Oliver Mori, the TNLA spokesperson, said the two bills are very important in South Sudan’s journey to achieving lasting peace. He pointed out that the population of South Sudan currently needs reconciliation following the 2013 and 2016 conflicts that destabilized lives and led to deaths and loss of property.
“It is important to note that these bills were supposed to have been tabled in parliament three months after the agreement but it is better late than never that they have been tabled today because the population of South Sudan needs this reconciliation,” he stated. “We have wronged each other and therefore there is a need for us to reconcile, to forgive one another as people of South Sudan.”
Mori emphasized that as the country embarks on reconciliation and healing, it is very important for the process to start with the top leadership.
He said the Compensation and Reparation Authority Bill which has six chapters and 25 sections is also in conformity with the 2018 peace agreement and the constitution.
“Individuals indeed lost a lot of lives and properties, but to fulfill this, the first step is for people to reconcile and this has to start with our top leadership and then the grassroots,” Mori said.
His sentiments were echoed by Faruk Gatkuot, the Chief Whip of the SPLM-IO, who said reconciliation should start with First Vice President Dr. Riek Machar and President Salva Kiir.
“If we are talking about peace, we want to see Salva Kiir and Riek Machar walk in hand in hand in South Sudan. This might be our demand in this house because I think peace is not necessarily the silence of the guns. Peace should be the strong ground for reconciliation, peace, and other aspects.”