By Peter Mapuor Makur
Juba - ACI Africa
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| Most Rev. Stephen Ameyu, Archbishop-elect of the Archdiocese of Juba |
As combined armed forces of Government and Opposition group kick-start military training as envisaged in the September 2018 Revitalized Agreement on the Resolution of Conflict in South Sudan (R-ARCSS), the Archbishop-elect of the Archdiocese of Juba Most Rev. Stephen Ameyu has called on all South Sudanese soldiers to put the past behind and invest in peaceful co-existence through reconciliation.
“Let’s forget the past and go in for reconciliation,” Archbishop-elect Ameyu told the soldiers during the launch of the transportation of the forces to the Owinykibul Training Centre in East Equatoria.
“What separates us is that everyone wants to eat alone but from today we need to know that this country belongs to all of us,” the Prelate appealed while addressing the forces at the assembling point of Ibalany residential area in Torit on Saturday, January 4.
“All of you are our soldiers. We need you to stand in front of us as people who defend the country,” Archbishop-elect Ameyu told the army men and added, “If you put this poor person first, even God will be happy with you.”
Last December, President Salva Kiir and Vice-President designate Dr. Riek Machar agreed to intensify efforts to implement the outstanding pre-transitional tasks and pledged to form a unity government in February.
The rivals, who inked a peace deal in September 2018 under pressure from the regional bloc Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), the United Nations and United States have previously postponed two deadlines to form the unity government, first in May 2019 as envisaged in R-ARCSS and then in November.
“We need to unite together as we go for a new chapter in our country, not the country of chaos and I wish you all the best as you travel for your training,” he told the soldiers.
Pope Francis appointed Most Rev. Stephen Ameyu as Archbishop of Juba on December 12. The news was followed by protests from some circles but the Conference of Bishops has supported the Papal decision. Prior to it, the Archbishop-elect served as Local Ordinary of Torit Diocese since March 2019.