Mr. John Maker Marial speaking to Gurtong in Juba [©Gurtong/ Moses Lopu]
By Lopu Moses
JUBA, 20th April 2012 [Gurtong]
This came in a press conference at South Sudan Hotel yesterday morning where the Chairperson of the SPLM Diaspora Committee, Abeny Kuol said, “we call on the government to implement as soon as possible, the SPLM National Liberation Council resolution which called for a body to be set up in the government to handle Diaspora issues”.
The Diaspora Committee said that the need for the creation of the Diaspora Commission or Ministry is urgent and that the government of South Sudan should take serious and concrete steps to meet the demand.
Kuol said that South Sudan has a large population in the Diaspora and that it is important for them to come back home and contribute in nation building.
He added that team from Diaspora has taken nine months persuading the government on the importance to creating this body. “Experience from other countries with large populations in Diaspora shows us that they have developed rapidly compared to countries with little Diaspora population”, said Abeny Kuol.
He added that the Diaspora people are willing to return back home and to mobilize international community to support our government in a call for peaceful co-existence with Sudan.
In an interview with John Maker Marial, a member of the committee who is also a member of the National Liberation Council and a representative to the Middle East and currently based in Syria stressed the importance of forming the commission.
He told Gurtong that the Commission will not be for the benefit of the SPLM members in the Diaspora alone but also for members from other parties.
He said that the commission will also enhance cooperation between the South Sudanese in the Diaspora and those back home as well as a means of sharing experiences.