File: Participants at the opening session of the Greater Upper Nile Regional Dialogue Conference in Juba on Monday, May 20, 2019/Emmanuel Akile/Eye Radio.

A peace and reconciliation conference for Upper Nile state is set to begin in Juba on Wednesday, the Office of the First Vice President, Dr. Riek Machar has announced.

The three-day conference in Juba is expected to be attended by nearly 500 participants comprising of political and community leaders from Upper Nile State.

They are drawn from Sudan, Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda, Juba, and Malakal IDP camp.

According to a senior official of the SPLM-IO, the conference presents an opportunity for the people of Upper Nile to dialogue and address their grievances.

“The conference is for reconciliation and healing for the five communities of Upper Nile state,” Puok Bulang, the Director of Information and Public Relations for the SPLM-IO said on Monday.

“Secondly, it is for the cohesion among the communities living in the state and cohesion among the political leaders in order to develop the Upper Nile state.”

The conference was agreed upon by the Presidency last week when they resolved to form nine state governments and local governments except for Upper Nile State.

This is because there is a disagreement over the appointment of SPLM-IO nominee, General Johnson Olony.

Asked whether the conference shall determine the appointment of the governor, Mr. Puok said:

“This conference has nothing to do with the appointment of General Johnson Olony the SPLM-IO nominee. This conference is basically for the reconciliation of the people of Upper Nile and for the harmonious interaction after the appointment of the SPLM-IO nominee Gen. Johnson Olony. So there is no relation between the appointment with the outcome of the conference.”

President Salva Kiir and Dr. Riek Machar are expected to address the participants.

The communities in Upper Nile — the Chollo, the Nuer, the Dinka, the Maban, and the Koma — have lived peacefully for years until 2013 when civil war destroyed their social fabric and displaced thousands out of their homes.