A civil society activist is appealing to President Salva Kiir to withdraw a statement he made while addressing delegates at the Jonglei-Pibor Administrative Area peace conference.

On Wednesday, President Salva Kiir told the communities in greater Jonglei that he would not intervene again if they engaged in ethnic conflict – angering some members of the public.

Reacting to the statement, the executive director for Foundation for Democracy and Accountable Governance described it as an incitement of conflict.

“For the president to utter that statement. To us, it sends a very negative signal. In any case, it will encourage communities now to fight simply because there will no body intervening,” Jame Kolok told Eye Radio on Thursday.

After a series of violent clashes in recent years, Kiir last year tasked vice president James Wani Igga with identifying the root causes of the intercommunal conflicts there – which observers attributed to cattle raid, graze lands, child abduction and revenge killings.

After Igga presented his investigation committees findings, the presidency organized the peace and reconciliation conference in Juba.

Representatives from the Anyuak, Dinka, Jie, Kachipo, Murle, and Nuer participated in the conference at Freedom Hall in Juba.

However, several officials including the incumbent governor of Jonglei State believe that the conflicts in greater Jonglei are fueled by politicians in Juba, the seat of the Kiir administration

Kolok said that such a statement should not come from the head of state.

“As the civil society, we demand that that statement be retracted so that it does not send a message to citizen to get engage in violence simply, because they feel nobody is going to intervene no matter how much they fight,” he continued.