The trial of the first vice -president of South Sudan, Raik Macharas, trusted concerns about the delicate peace of the country and the future of its unity government. Maker, under the arrest of the house since March, registered a rare public attendance this week in a special court session in Juba, in which Petroleum Minister Poot Kang Chola joined 20 co-reporters.
He faces crimes against serious allegations, treason and crimes for violent clashes in Nasir earlier this year, including the white army militia with Nayar-series earlier this year.
Earlier this month, President Salwa Keer suspended Machar by decree, citing national security concerns. The move has effectively established the government under the peace agreement of 2018.
Call for transparency
Omra Joseph, a advocacy and protection officer in the South Sudan Human Rights Defense Network, told DW that Machar’s detention bears both symbolic and practical importance.
“This is a gesture that South Sudan can go for accountability,” Omra said, accepting the country’s long -term struggles with institutional justice.
However, he criticized the government’s decision to limit the media’s access to the trial, which was a hero in a site in typical for weddings and concerts.
“This is the time when we need international actors to apply pressure, because the world needs to know what is really going on in this test,” hey said. “Why should media be deprived of access and allow only state-rummed broadcaster?”
Political oppression?
Observers have warned that such restrictions can strengthen the perception that the test is politically motivated and unlikely to be fair.
The proceedings have trusted the antique tensions between Machar’s Noor Base and Dinka supporters of Kir. Civil Society activist Tabita Nanantin told DW that the leaders of South Sudan should give priority to national unity.
“We have many ethnic in this country, and leaders come from various ethnic groups,” he said. “If they do not change their mindset, we will not move forward like our neighbors in Kenya.”
Ethnic stress and political decline
Macker and Kir’s rivalry is from the 1990s, when Machchar led a broken faction accused of cheating the rebellious movement. His army was associated with a massacre in bore, deepening the misconception between two men.
Although he shared power in an unity government, analysts say that their relationship is Tensi. Daniel Akich, a senior analyst at the International Crisis Group, told Associated Press that the case against Macker seems to be “an excuse for a political power struggle”.
With repeated postponement in the presidential elections, the test threatened to derail the peace process and destabilize the country before 2026 votes.
The 2018 Shanti Agreement ended the five -year civil war, killing more than 400,000 people. Now, with Ekta Sarkar in Desere, the testing of Macha reduced the risk of years of progress and immersed South Sudan back into conflict.
As the test comes out, the stakes are high – not only for Macher and his colleagues, but also for the future of South Sudan.
Edited by: Mm Mefo Tagmbo