While the cultural diversity of South Sudan was on show through the vibrant and energetic performances of multiple ethnic groups at an International Peace Day event in Juba, it was the collective desire for peace, democracy and a brighter future that attracted most attention.

Nineteen-year-old performer, Everlyne Batista, described her participation as an opportunity to put the trauma of conflict behind her and embrace feelings of unity and hope.

“With peace, I can go to school, I can live without the stress I had before, including losing my relatives. That is the good news of the peace that I am enjoying now, even though everything is not all well. I want peace in South Sudan.”

Politics dominated discussions among the country’s leaders, civil society, and international peace partners at the event, particularly the extension of the transitional period of the government and postponement of elections for further two years.

Wearing a hat with the slogan, ‘peace is a right not a privilege’, civil society representative Edmund Yakani gave a fiery speech about the impact of the decision on the people of South Sudan.

“Unfortunately, we have seen our political leaders, and their various political establishments tend to treat peace for us as a privilege,” he said.

“Peace is not the responsibility for politicians to use it and keep us suffering in this economic crisis that we are in,” he said to applause from the crowd. “You have the responsibility, as our leaders, to make peace prevail in this country.”

“We are not suffering because peace requires the presence of donors. We are suffering because we need political leaders to say enough is enough to violence. Why are they spending millions of dollars to fight and buy guns, why can we not spend millions of dollars on ensuring the peace agreement is delivered?” said Edmund Yakani, from the Community Empowerment for Progress Organization.

The representative of the European Union described why it had not supported a resolution to extend the transitional period at a recent meeting between political leaders and peace partners.

“This was not a vote against the peace agreement. It was not a vote against peace. It was a signal of frustration and a message that this can’t be business as usual. A transition cannot go on forever,” said Ambassador Timo Olkkonen. “We need to see South Sudan, in the interests of peace, moving forward with its transition, forward with its democratization, forward with listening to its people in the formation of a permanent constitution. It is a question of a social contract and nation building,”