Lawmakers representing Mayom County in Unity State Legislative Assembly on Monday started holding a series of peace dialogues in all the payams county, which will culminate in a peace conference in Mayom Town on Friday.
The peace meetings, which started on Monday in Bieh Nyang, Ngop, and Riathiang payams, aim to sensitize about and check cattle raiding, revenge killings, and early and forced marriage among other depravities.
The launch of the peace dialogue was graced by Unity State Parliamentary Speaker Niger Nger Banguot, State Human Rights Advisor Father Abraham Dak Ruathzeath, and 18 state legislators from Mayom County.
Speaker Nger, who is leading the delegation of legislators, said they went to advise the communities in Mayom County to stop attacking and raiding cattle from Warrap State and Ruweng Administrative Area.
“If you do it, you will be bombed by planes, like what happened in Kueryiek Payam, where there was an airstrike. This peace conference was our initiative as parliamentarians after we saw your suffering. When you continue raiding cattle, your suffering will not stop,” he said. “That is why we asked Governor Riek Bim Top to support us financially to come here to ask you to stop cattle raiding, revenge killings, and early and forced marriages among other vices.”
“This peace conference will come up with resolutions which will be read out on Friday when we conclude in Mayom Town,” Speaker Nger added.
For his part, Bieh Nyang Payam Chief Madut Gatluak said the peace initiative was timely because of the rising insecurity in the area.
“For the insecurity to be contained, the government must deploy soldiers along the border of Unity and Warrap states and construct the road between Bentiu and Mayom up to Bieh Nyang Payam so that security can intervene quickly when there is a problem,” he stated.
Meanwhile, Ghar Duop, the head of the cattle keepers in Ngop Payam, admitted that members of the community are involved in cattle rustling but said that local leaders cannot advise the perpetrators to desist from the practice for fear of being targeted or even killed.
“I can say it is the responsibility of the government to arrest those who raid cattle and support revenge killings,” he said.
Another resident of Riathiang Payam, Nyajany Tut, said that the peace conference will end the revenge killings.
“These criminals often steal people’s phones and women in the forests of Mayom County,” she said.