Weapons are destructive for South Sudan unity
By Simon K. Kuay*
Feb 16, 2006 — The destructiveness of weapons in Southern Sudan is immense. You and I know that, the continue use of weapons would be catastrophic. Weapons pose an intolerable threat to all communities in South Sudan and its habitat, yet tens of thousands remain in arsenals built up of small arms and even bigger machine guns at an extraordinary time of peace. the government of Southern Sudan (GOSS) is telling people that, the risky time has pass and it’s time to put your weapons down and enjoy the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA), but still the people who in the past experience terrible things from both SPLA and NIF, continue to resist this call because they do not see the development, security and justice in their areas.
These facts are obvious but their implications have been blurred. There is no doubt that, if the peoples of South Sudan were more fully aware of the inherent danger of weapons in the hands of untrained individuals and the consequences of their use, the GOSS and all State governments would work together with all communities leaders — not just Lou Nuer in particular — to reject them, and not permit their continued possession or acquisition, even for an alleged need for self-defence if the State governments promise their people full protection in case of an attack by people like LRA.
Weapons are held by a handful of people in all communities in South Sudan which insist that these weapons provide unique security benefits, for this reasons, a central reality is that weapons diminish the security of all citizens of that community. Indeed, community which may give up their weapons at this time will then become targets from the community that hidden their weapons from the authorities.
The members of Lou Nuer Community call upon the GOSS, GOS, the United Nation, the U.S and the U.K to take the lead by committing themselves, unequivocally, to the elimination of all dangerous weapons in South Sudan in a way that local people will be comfortable with. Such a commitment would propel the process in the most direct and imaginative way. All other governments such as States must join this commitment and contribute to its fulfilment and not let the local commanders, who in the past had problems with communities, deal with civilian as they did in some of Lou Nuer areas.
The members of Lou Nuer Community in North America (LNCNA) identified a series of steps which can be taken immediately by GOSS and States governments which would thereupon make South Sudan a safe place. The recommended steps are:
– Setup a none partisan disarmament team which will comprise some local leaders
– Start the communities disarmament at the same time
– Deploy some military police unit at each community border
– Have some negotiation with communities first before disarmament can take place
– Give local people some kind of benefits/package by giving up their weapons
Finally, weapons in South Sudan can be secured and maintained through political commitment and anchored in an enduring and binding legal framework with local communities, any use of force will always result in problems and the CPA will mean nothing to the people of Southern Sudan. We need to understand that we are still in the State of war, the NIF still do not recognize our existence and will continue this attitude until we vote for our freedom in 2011, let us be smart when talking about the disarmament process, the local people always have major role to play during and after our struggle for freedom, remember that we will need the white army or local people when they (NIF) dishonor our succession in years to come. I hope that what had happened in Lou Nuer area will not happen again anywhere else, enough is enough let us do things the right way now, the GOSS is full of smart individuals who can identified some better way to deal with South problems.
* Simon K. Kuay, is a Sudanese based in the United States
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