7 February 2014 - Peace in Western Equatoria State was the result of great effort rather than automatic, State Governor Colonel Bangasi Joseph Bakosoro said in the capital Yambio today.

“The message the South Sudanese want to hear is first of all peace,” said Col. Bakosoro. “We need peace but it cannot come automatically. We have to work to (create) peace. Let us avoid any avenues that may divide us.”

Although the state had suffered slightly from the rebel Lord’s Resistance Army activities over the years, Western Equatoria was “a shining example” for the other nine states in South Sudan, he added.

The governor said efforts that had allowed the state to maintain its reputation as a “green state”, or a peaceful state, included talking to the local population about ethnicity, teaching the value of hard work, and promoting human and child rights.

Col. Bakosoro denounced tribalism and sectarianism, which he said was counterproductive in attempting to establish a peaceful nation.

There were 10 different ethnicities in Western Equatoria, but only a few accounts of inter-communal fighting and violence, he noted.

“There is no country with only one ethnic group,” he said. “We can’t have one mango tree. We have many types of trees – that’s what makes nature beautiful.”