After ten turbulent and often murderous years of independence, a coalition of South Sudanese civil society organizations has begun a public campaign to demand political reform, declaring “We have had enough.”
The world’s newest country has struggled to recover from a civil war that broke out only two years after its founding in 2011, and is now plagued by chronic instability and a severe food shortage.
South Sudanese residing at home and abroad are being urged to mobilize and “make their voices known,” with the People’s Coalition for Civil Action (PCCA) warning that if nothing changes, the country will return to war.
“We ask all South Sudanese citizens to join the coalition in their hundreds,” PCCA representative Rajab Mohandis stated at a press conference in Juba on Tuesday.
“Enough with the conflict, enough with the corruption, enough with the insecurity, enough with the economic problems, enough with the public neglect and leadership failure.”
President Salva Kiir’s current administration “has absolutely failed in its duties,” Mohandis said, warning that unless South Sudanese take action, the country will lose another ten years.
It is the first time in South Sudan’s brief history that such a broad range of voices, including academics, civil society, think tanks, attorneys, women’s and youth organizations, and former senior government officials, have joined together to urge for public action.
The coalition administration has yet to respond to a 12-page declaration published by the PCCA on Friday to mark the fifth anniversary of the murder of rebel leader John Garang in 2005.
Any public protests, however, may be met with a harsh response from security forces.