Press Release
We the members of Bor Youth Association in Australia (BYAA) and the entire Bor Community in Australia are deeply saddened by and strongly condemn the Murle’s heinous and cowardice attack on people of Jalle Payam in Bor County, Jonglei State on 22nd October 2015. The attack which claimed 37 innocent lives and resulted in the raid of approximately 500 herds of cattle, destruction of numerous properties and displacement of hundreds of people is an excruciating reminder of the thuggery and anarchistic nature of the Murle community against peaceful Bor people.
May the loving God rest the souls of the deceased in eternal peace. We would also like to pass our inmost and heartfelt condolences and sympathies to the families and loved ones of the deceased at this very difficult time. We grieve with them and our hearts are bleeding for them even from a distance afar for sorrow knows no boundaries. We pray that they would find solace and comfort in the almighty God.
We vehemently call upon the government of Jonglei state, the government of South Sudan and the international community to quickly coordinate efforts to reach the survivors and provide emergency relief as a matter of high priority.
The Members of BYAA highly demand urgency in bringing the perpetrators of these reprehensible acts of barbarism to justice. We equally and vociferously call upon the international community to join the people of Bor in condemnation of the attack and provide adequate support and logistical requirements to halt future attacks of such scale and magnitude. Bor people have suffered enough, they have listened to enough voices and we call on the watching eyes of the international community to now see and hear for themselves the agony that Bor citizens endures each year round. Enough is more than enough!!
The members of BYAA request further considerations in bringing about lasting peace to Borland and urge the Bor youth to organize themselves in self-defense against future attacks. We also request the government of South Sudan to abolish discriminatory disarmament mechanisms against Bor people as this would ensure that they can protect themselves. This will bring about lasting peace and restore security in Borland.
Further to this, BYAA is calling on the government of South Sudan and the officials of the Pibor Administrative Area to restrain their youths and criminal elements within them if we are to coexist as neighbors and if we are to foster communal harmony as South Sudan continues to forge a way forward in bringing about peace and reconciliation.
Lastly, BYAA would like to pledge humanitarian support to the victims and families of these callous and wanton killings. We shall continue to communicate how this can be done in the urgency of time.
Signed by:
Majok Piel Mayen – President of Bor Youth Association in Australia
John Garang Kon Gai- Secretary General of Bor Youth Association in Australia
Email: byaa_inc@rocketmail.com