By CAMERON LUCADOU-WELLS
ABOUT 70 South Sudanese Australians marched through Dandenong’s streets last Wednesday, decrying the recent outbreak of hostilities in their newly-independent homeland.
Members of Nuer and Dinka tribes rallied side-by-side even as accusations swirl of atrocities against civilians during fighting between the two groups in South Sudan since December.
By the United Nation’s latest estimates, more than 700,000 civilians have been displaced – more than 100,000 fleeing over the country’s borders.
In a desperate situation, the UN was harbouring about 10,000 in its own compounds.
Khan Ruon said he joined the demonstration out of concern of reported mass killings of Nuer civilians.
“They kill us,” he said.
“We got independence (seceding from Sudan) a few years ago.
“Now there’s a lot of people involved in the war – Uganda, Conga… They kill us.”
Dobuol Wuol, a former secretary of South Sudan’s Ministry of Housing and Planning, reluctantly fled to Australia after sheltering in a UN compound during the war.
Like many others in the nation, Mr Wuol hopes for democracy and peace in the nation.
He said “a target was on my head” because he opposed what he described as “corruption and dictatorship” under president Salva Kiir and his Dinka government.
Mr Wuol said the hostilities began with pro-Kiir troops killing Nuer civilians in the city of Juba, sparking retaliatory fighting.
Peace can only proceed if the president steps down and the Ugandan troops supporting him are withdrawn, he argues.
“He lost legitimacy when he started killing his own civilians.
“Up to now the grass roots and the politicians are for the change – it’s only one person dictator propped up by his tribe and Ugandan troops.”
Standing on the steps of Settlers Square, rally leaders called for President Kiir to step down and for Ugandan troops to withdraw.
“We’re here today to make people in Australia see what’s happening in South Sudan.”
It was hard to miss the protesters marching en masse to the Government Services Building, holding an array of placards – one including an image of charred corpses of a mother and child.
