30/03/2025
28.3.2025 : A message of peace from Dr Riek Machar.
A Message to My People in These Difficult Times
When I came to Juba in 2020, I came carrying a message of peace. I came because I believe in South Sudan, the homeland that has suffered greatly, tasted the bitterness of war, and endured what no people should have to bear.
I was born in a time of war, and I grew up amidst conflict, but I have never wanted another generation to bear what we have endured. I have never feared for my life, but my constant fear has always been for the lives of the innocent: the mothers struggling to feed their children, the youth searching for opportunities in a world that has closed in on them, and the elders who have witnessed destruction beyond bearing.
These are the ones who pay the real price of war.
Today, as we face new challenges in our homeland, I speak to you not as a leader, but as a son of this good land, which deserves more than this ongoing conflict.
What I hope for, and what I fight for, is a South Sudan filled with peace and prosperity. A country where everyone wakes up to the sounds of children in their schools, farmers in their fields, and families rebuilding their lives away from violence and destruction.
To my brothers and sisters, do not let fear and division kill our unity. We are one nation, and we must hold together and stand as one.
To those who seek to divide us, who bring mercenaries and weapons instead of peaceful solutions, know that South Sudan does not belong to a few who benefit from war, but to the millions who dream of peace and stability.
May history remember us in our darkest days, that we did not accept defeat. And may the whole world remember that the people of South Sudan will stand firm, no matter the challenges. And let us all understand that nothing gained through force is worth the suffering of an entire people.
O Allah, let peace reign in our country, now and forever.
Dr. Riek Machar Teny Dhurgon
Chairman of the Sudan Peopleβs Liberation Movement - In Opposition.