Opposition urges President Kiir to address grievances of wounded heroes

The opposition Common Peoples’ Alliance (CPA) has appealed to all political forces, parliament, and President Salva Kiir Mayardit to address the grievances of the wounded heroes who staged protest last at the premises of the ministry of finance and planning, demanding for their unpaid medical benefits.

 The Chairperson of CPA, Deng Bol Aruai Bol in a statement on Monday requested President Salva Kiir Mayardit to take a leading role in addressing the concerns of the wounded war veterans.

“We implore him to initiate swift and decisive action to ensure that our wounded heroes receive the medical benefits they rightfully deserve,”Bol said.

 “In addition, we call upon all political forces and the general public to stand in solidarity with our wounded heroes. Let us join hands in demanding answers, a fair settlement,” he added.

The wounded war veterans on Tuesday, last week held protest outside the national ministry of finance and planning demanding payment of their medical benefits.

However, the peaceful protest turned violent after the protestors were confronted by military police leaving scores injured in the melee.

Bol expressed deep disappointment with the derogatory remarks directed towards veterans and heroes by certain government officials, adding that strict measures should be implemented to ensure that wounded heroes are treated with dignity.

“We call upon parliament to fulfill its duty by holding the line ministries and the Bank of South Sudan accountable for the unaccounted $2 million allocated for our wounded heroes’ medical benefits,” he said.

“It is imperative that parliament takes immediate action to question these institutions and demand transparency. The citizens of South Sudan deserve to know the truth about the whereabouts of these funds, and it is the responsibility of parliament to ensure accountability,” he added.

Bol also urged the law enforcement agencies to avoid the use of live ammunition against protesters but instead employ non-lethal means for crowd control.

Bak Barnaba Chol, the minister of finance and planning in a statement said that the ministry of defence and veteran affairs is responsible for paying the benefits of the wounded war veterans and not the ministry of finance.