South Sudanese security agencies at a past marching parade.[©Gurtong]
By Daniel Thon Deng
MALAKAL, 08 February 2010 (Gurtong) – The State Security Advisor Ludia Thomas Riak said last week that the just launched disarmament in the state is aimed at improving security.
“The exercise will start in Akoka County before moving to the other counties in this state and we hope that all illegal weapons will be netted in order to keep any insecurity at bay”, she said.
Mrs Riak, however, said there were still illegal arms in civilian arms and expressed her worries during the forthcoming general elections.
She said the United Nations radio station, Miraya FM has launched a weapons awareness campaign, adding that authorities and residents of the state capital Malakal need a lot of enlightenment on the proliferation of arms in their midst.
“Because weapons are easy to get in the South, even children between the ages of 15 and 17 have guns. This is a great threat to peace and security in this state”, she said.
She claimed that guns are being brought into South Sudan by some unknown people who then distribute them to citizens to cause chaos.
“They are brought by plane, boat and by vehicles before they are distributed for free to the citizens”, she claimed.
On the campaigns for the forthcoming general elections, the security advisor said there were concerns that some people would be bribed to sell their votes and discouraged all South Sudanese from engaging in such activities for their own good.
She said the indictment of Sudan President Hassan al Bashir by the International Criminal Court (ICC) would not affect South Sudan as it is being handled by an international body.
She said South Sudanese wanted a separation “whether the north likes it or not” and added that all South Sudanese now need peace more than anything else.
“We do not want another war, but we are insisting that we need to have our own rights. If the north decides to attack us then the international community will see that it is not our fault. However, all we want is peace”, she said.
She said that the state government will utilise all means of transport to ensure the disarmament exercise reaches the remotest villages in the state.