By Awan Achiek
Senior officials and lawmakers of Sudan People Liberation Movement-In Opposition (SPLM-IO)were last week brutally beaten and briefly detained by security personnel in Aweil town of Northern Bahr el Ghazal.
Dut Majokdit, Chairperson for Northern Bahr El Ghazal Relief and Rehabilitation Commission, said the incident happened last week during the launch of the SPLM-IO office in Aweil.
“A member of parliament Regina Aluel Garang who doubled as deputy chair of the specialized committee for human rights and humanitarian affairs was stopped, slapped, and beaten up,” Majokdit told this newspaper in an interview on Sunday.
Majokdit disclosed that Garang Chan Atak, a member of the state parliament in Northern Bahr el Ghazal was also beaten into where he was rushed hospital.
He accused members of SPLM, the ruling party in the state of working against the progress of the SPLM-IO.
“This happened simply because they want to scare and provoke the situation for people not to attend the launching, they want to disrupt the launching of the office,” he said.
“As I speak to you now we still have the chairperson for Anti-Corruption Commission Anei Rok Akuei is still in prison. Those who were arrested with him have been released but he is still in prison,” Majokdit disclosed.
He said the lack of political space in Northern Bahr El Ghazal is hindering smooth implementation of the 2018 revitalized peace deal.
“There is no political space in Northern Bahr El Ghazal as we speak, and there is a lack of cooperation between state government from SPLM and SPLM-IO members,” he said.
“The political space has been denied and this is the work of the SPLM in the government,t and I think, we are in the same government and we can’t fight ourselves,” he added.
