Thousands of members of Lasu Community has convened in Lasu town to take part in community dialogue for peace and reconciliation|Courtey

The community of Lasu Payam of Yei River County in Central Equaroria state have called on the army to vacate civilian premises to allow the return of the displaced households.

This followed a five-day community led dialogue in Lasu town where the locals called for peace and reconciliation among the local population.

The conference which saw football tournaments and storytelling brought together the local authorities, traditional chiefs, women, youths and the army.

The peace dialogue is a traditional practice by the community since 1998 through holding cultural festivities to strengthen peaceful coexistence of the natives.

John Malish who is one of the organizers said the event focused on dialogues among the community and reconciliation between civilians.

“This conference is a community led initiative which was there since 1999 or 1998 where all members of Lasu Payam from different location come together and eat the festive season together, have some dialogue if there is conflict between clans and families and resolve these issues.

He said one of the resolutions called for the evacuation of individuals occupying government properties such as the Payam headquarters and playgrounds.

“One of the resolutions was for the army to vacate the civilian’s premises especially the Payam headquarters. The soldiers settled there since 2019 up to date. People should not think that peace can be brought from outside.”

Other resolutions are the enforcement of laws to probe illegal logging in the area among others.

According to Malish, it is important for the local population to initiative peace dialogues at the grassroots level citing that peace starts from within the country.

For his part, Sabastian Hakim who is a chief in Lasu Payam emphasized on the important role chiefs can play in initiating dialogue among the community, adding that the locals are yearning for peace for the area to experience development.

“We did this conference because we want peace as the people of Lasu Payam because since 2016, we have been suffering and our people were displaced to neighboring Congo and they are living in suffering.”

Lasu Payam witnessed some of the rights violations  by armed forces including murder, rape and looting of civilian property with most the crimes remain unpunished.

From last year, the area has been witnessing gradual return of refugees due to improved security situation.