By Hou Akot Hou
Residents of Northern Bahr el Ghazal State have urged the government to open civic space and avoid infringing on civil and political rights.
They are urging authorities to reconsider their approach and allow for open dialogue and dissent.
The call comes on the heels of a two-day workshop organized by the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS). The event, which concluded on Thursday, brought together government officials, youth, civil society activists, and representatives from both the ruling party and the opposition.
James Garang, a local youth activist, highlighted the discrepancy between government claims and the reality on the ground.
While officials deny restricting freedom of expression and assembly, Garang contends that these rights remain severely curtailed.
“The government denies the infringement and even disenfranchisement as they hold people back from the assembly as we have seen in recent past whereby as a youth at Maper-Akot we were denied right to assemble for a meeting and they wanted us to produce the document from security for gathering,” said Garang.
“It beats one’s understanding what they mean when they say that as government they don’t prevent people from talking about what is wanting or missing or to assemble for discussion,” he continued.
In response, Deputy Governor Dr. Tong Lual Ayat stated that the Unity Government aims to expand political and civil space, allowing everyone to freely express themselves.
As a former member of the Other Political Parties (OPP) and now serving as a governor, he emphasized the importance of registering other political parties and granting them freedom of assembly.”
“Some political parties have not joined the political council which licenses the parties, so how can people be granted the right to assembly when you have not joined the political council that legitimizes the parties,” said Lual
He urges the parties to first get registered to obtain legitimacy and recognition.
Some youth also blame the ruling party, SPLM for infringing on people’s right to assembly.
Reacting to the accusations, Stephen Ayaga, the secretary general in the state said that they don’t arrest people who follow the right steps.
“Some people just don’t follow the right procedures and as a ruling party we work through ethics and norms but other political parties are partnering with us in this Unity government unless you never follow the right steps such as notifying the government’s organized forces such as police, security in order to serve you with the document to give you a go-ahead,” he noted.
Bulis Nguak, the chairperson of civil society association said they want people to do a lot of awareness in the rural areas.
Nguak said that events such as elections require people to talk and assemble and this would be the right time for people not to be subjected to intimidation.
He noted that the political and civic space is of course wanting and the government could do more to improve on that.
The workshop was organized by Civil Affairs Division a project of UNMISS in the state.