Response to Allegations

Response to Allegations on Lou

By: Lou Nuer Community International: lounuermail@gmail.com

The Government of South Sudan (GOSS)
H.E. President Salva Kiir Mayardit and his Cabinet
H.E. SPLA Chief of Staff General Gathoth Mai and his Administration
H.E SPLM Secretary General (SG) Mr. Pagan Amum Okiech
H.E Southern Sudan Legislative Assembly (SSLA
HON. Mr. Gier Chuang Aloung, the Minister of Internal Affairs
HON. Mr. John Luk Jok, the Minister of Energy, Mining and Industry
HON. Mr. Isaac Mabuto Mamur and Georgy Athour
HON. Nassir Commissioner Mr. Gathoth Gatkuoth
HON. Akobo Commissioner Mr. Goi Jooyul Yol
HON. Mr. Nhial Deng Nhial the Minister of SPLA Affairs.
The Humanitarians Aid Agencies
And Distinguished web readers

Dear :Your Excellencies and All

The Lou Nuer Community has greatly objected the allegations placed on the SPLA soldiers and Lou Nuer civilian army on the open letter submitted by the Nasir and Ulang County Communities in Diaspora for allegedly killing the Nassir civilian innocents. The Nasir authority and its civilian armies are responsible and should be blamed for attacking the 28 United Nation barges that carried food aid to the starved people in Akobo County Lou Nuer area. The Lou Nuer Community has discovered the act carried by Nasir civilian armies to attack the Humanitarian aid convoys that was escorted by the SPLA army troops, as being coordinated by Nasir authority mainly the Commissioner. According to the secretary General to the SPLA Mr. Pagan Amum Okiech reported to BBC, the riffles used by Nasir civilians to attack the food aid convoys were provided by the Northern government. Recent findings by Lou Nuer communicators have confirmed that, the guns were distributed to Nasir civilians through Guel Guk County. Nasir County is known to operate under the NCP system before and after the CPA; therefore, the Commissioner of Nasir County Mr. Gathoth Gatkuoth and his civilian armies should be questioned by the South Sudan Government for the act, and determine whether their actions and claim would help the South Sudan and her people to enjoy the peace and security in that particular region.

Lou Community has also confirmed that, Nassir authority and some important figures in the SPLA/M have a handful in all crimes committed by the Nassir army civilians. The authority have influenced the entire Nassir society including its Diaspora communities to spread false allegations that, their civilian army attacked the food aid convoys because they suspected three barges to have carried guns and ammunitions to Lou Civilians in Akobo County. They claimed that guns and ammunitions might have been provided by Dr. Riek Gai Kok, the first advisor to the Sudan president Omer El Bashier. The General Chief Staff of the SPLA Mr. Hoth Mai has also told the BBC that Nasir civilians have found guns and ammunitions in those barges. Lou have discovered that, Nasirian claims was a careful plan to confuse or distract the UN, GOSS, Lou Nuer and the entire Nations’ thinking from the action they have taken. The Nasir County and its communities are suspicious themselves, and their claim should not be consider by the GOSS, the UN, Lou Nuer and all witnesses to this incident. The following reasons indicate that Nasir County and its communities are purely playing the false games.

a)The food aid was loaded from Malakal Upper Nile region. The Governor of Upper Nile State in the city of Malakal is Mr. Gatluak Deng Garang from Nasir. The security in Malakal is under Governor Gatluak Deng and the force is also a combination of integrated army forces from both the Sudan and SPLA soldiers. How can Dr. Riek Gai put Guns and ammunitions into the Boats that were loaded and checked by the Upper Nile State Security without discovering?

b)Between Malakal and Nassir counties, there are several SPLA security check points that stop and checks every boat that come and go through. In what way can the guns and ammunitions pass through all these check points?

c)All the boats were detained in Nasir for almost a month and half, the security in Nasir have frequently checked the boats but did not find anything suspicious. Does it make sense for Nasir and Ulang Communities to reveal such suspicious after all these days?

d)The SPLA arm force was the ones ordered by their SPLA army commander to escort the food aid to Akobo County. The forces were under the SPLA authority we all know; in what way can the SPLA soldiers help transporting the guns and ammunitions to its own civilians to kill other civilians in its Southern Controlled area? How come the SPLA soldiers who help escorting the convoy did not find any guns and ammunitions in the boats they were escorting?

e)Finally, in what way can the civilians exceeding the government security intelligence and happen to suspected and attacked the barges themselves?

Anyone with the sense of human being will understand that Nasirian claims are contrarily to the truth. The two main reasons behind the attack were:

1.Nasir civilian thoughts the children and women who were on boards to Akobo are all from Lou families. They have intention to kill them in revenge to their Torkech families.

2.Both the Nasir authority and its civilians are not happy to see the barges loaded with UN food aid to go to Lou Nuer Akobo County. They have an intension to starved Lou Nuer civilians. In addition, Nasir County itself has sided with North Sudan Government unexpectedly. Lou have recently confirmed that the Nasir commissioner along with his local society leaders have signed a deal with Sudan Government through Guel Guk county to hands arms to Nasir civilians. These are the weapons used by Nasir civilians to attack the SPLA soldiers and Humanitarian food convoys. The government of South Sudan GOSS needs to take necessary steps to investigate what is behind the action of our Nassir counterpart.

The women and children killed in the barges were actually from Lou and some of SPLA families. The attack claims the life of 132 people, and wounded more than 80 others. The Nassir civilian gun men have captured all the boats including the three SPLA army boats. The guns and ammunitions they claimed to have been included in the barges were the SPLA army equipments. They looted all the boats including those heavy machine guns from the SPLA army unit and turns barrels to the SPLA soldiers, killing about 57 uniforms army.

The Southern Sudan Legislative Assembly should summon Mr. Hoth Mai, Yien Mathew, and Gathoth Gatkuoth for questioning on those statements and accusations they said against Lou.

Torkech /Konyerek incident Vs. Misinformation

The GOSS and web readers might not understood the fact behind all claims made by Nasir communities. Konyerek village is located in Akobo and the people who live there for the last 150 years are from Lou Nuer. The vulnerable children and women who lost their life from there were all from the Lou Nuer community. Not a single Nasir civilian lost his/her life in Konyerek area. On March 12, 2009, a group of Nasir civilian gun men murdered 13 people, 11 of them were women and children, and wounded 5 others aged 14 and below. The murder occurred when Lou young fighters followed their stolen cattle in Murle Lil Kwangole area early in March.

The incident of Torkech on May 8, 2009 which killed 47 people and wounded 23 others was a revenge of March 12, Konyerek Akobo area that killed Lou women and children. The Nasir communities along with their commissioner happen to confuse the media by stating that, their civilians are being killed while they were the very people who started the killing of innocent women and children of Lou!

The Lou Nuer Youth Association (LNYA) in Africa had strongly condemned the Torkech incident, but the Nasir communities and its youth have never condemned the killing of Lou Nuer civilians in Konyerek.

It is not the first time for Nasir communities to cry after they murdered people. They have done that for many years, but Lou community has never bother to response to all the allegations puts on them by their Nasir community neighbors.

Nasir community tried every effort to harm the Lou Nuer community. Between 1993 and 1996, when a fierce fight between these two communities break out, Nasir community influenced the ETHIOPIAN government calling Lou civilians the former Ethiopian President Mangisto Hailimariam soldiers. The Ethiopian government troops fought with Lou Nuer young fighters for two complete weeks which result in thousands of life lost from Lou Nuer civilian side. When Ethiopian troops found out the fact, they stopped the fight and apologized to Lou civilians. The Lou Nuer community has never disclosed such information to the media simply because Lou intellectuals considered these incidents as villager issues. In 2006, Lou and Nasir civilians clashed in Ulang County. Nasir civilians strike first, then Lou civilians strikes later. At the end, the Nasir community accused the Lou Nuer community to the United Nation stating that Lou Nuer gun men came and killed people including government workers in Ulang County. But Lou community failed to report anything because it was considered a lack of security and that it was civilian issue.

Lou Nuer lives in remote areas; there for, when Lou traders travelled to Ethiopia for businesses, they go crossing the Jikany land. Nasir community as the closer neighbors to Lou influenced other Jikany Communities to tax Lou traders higher than expected. Lou Community had never complained, but always remains vigilant to restore peace and normal communication between themselves and their neighbor communities.

The recent Humanitarian aid relief that was attacked by Nasir civilian gun men was detained in Nasir for a month and half. The Lou Nuer community never wrote a letter to the South Sudan government to claim about the food delay. But our community understands that the South Sudan government is working very hard to rescue its own civilians from hunger and all dangerous issues facing the Southern population. The Nasir community whom its civilian gun men attacked the barges and killed the number of helpless civilians on board and SPLA soldiers happen to claim that they are being killed. The SPLA security agents need to check the link between the Nasir and Guel Guk Counties, and the relation of Nasir authority with Northern Sector.

In conclusion, the Lou Nuer community wants to aware the GOSS, SPLA, United Nation Agencies, and all web readers that, all claims placed on our community by Nasir and Ulang communities are false allegations. Everyone must read any letter from the Nasir community with caution before drawing a conclusion. The entire Lou Community is here by presenting all these issues to the GOSS table for evaluation, and determines whether the accusations would be the result for the chronic conflict between these two rival communities.

Signed by: the Lou Nuer Community
Reach us at lounuermail@gmail.com