Sudan’s Nuer condemns disarmament process in the Nuerland

May 25, 2006

H. E. Salva Kiir Mayardit

President of Southern Sudan, and

Commander in Chief of the SPLA Armed Forces

Juba, South Sudan.

James Wani Igga

Speaker of South Sudan Legislative Assembly

Juba, South Sudan

The Nuer Condemns the Disarmament Process in the Nuerland

Your Excellency,

We, the undersigned members of the Nuer Community worldwide, are appalled and shocked by what is going on in the Nuerland; and we condemn it in the strongest terms possible. Truly speaking, the Nuer, from various political stripes and spectrums (SPLM, NCP, SSDF, SANU, SF, etc.) do acknowledge and support the disarmament, demobilization and reintegration exercise as stipulated in the Constitution of the government of Southern Sudan.

However, the means, procedures and time for disarmament carried out by some unprincipled and ruthless Commanders, with no due respect for constitution and rights of the civilians, prove to be ineffective, premature, and at worst catastrophic; which in turn is a clear violation of the constitution itself. Furthermore, the very notion that the forcible disarmament is carried out under the banner of peacekeeping and restoring order shakes and challenges the foundation upon which our constitution was laid.

The vivid images of horror of a series of conflicts in the Nuerland have burnt the glaring pictures of truth in the minds of Naath nation in particular, and South Sudanese in general. In addition, such horrifying memories of human rights abuses are appalling, shocking and dreadful, and still alive in people’s psychics. It’s hard for any sound-minded person with a soul and compassion to stomach what is happening. Ironically, such panic-stricken memories insult our fledgling government that we fought and continue to fight for to be a substitute for an oppressive and Islamic regime in Khartoum. Wretchedly, however, instances of these horrible incidents taking places in the Nuerland have been in existence for so long due to the absence of a governing body. But these have recently been intensified and escalated by the primitively executed disarmament process in Jonglei state in the name of law enforcement and order by some rogue SPLA Commanders, namely Peter Bol Kong, George Athor Deng and their accomplices. Why the horrors of war continue to haunt us while we are at peace and have a government in place? Some people do make sarcastic remarks by saying that the Nuer don’t recognize peace and believe in lawlessness. That’s absurd and intolerable! It’s a wrong perception; a sheer distortion of truth; and a colossal insult to the revered Nuer integrity and heritage.

Mr. President, we thought and believed that when you ascended to power things would change for the better; and majority of the Southern Sudanese hoped that the transition would usher in a new beginning of democracy in our land, Junub. Moreover, that transitional disposition that was expected from your leadership could open a promising and new discourse based on self-determination for the majority of marginalized and neglected Southern Sudanese after despotic rule of your predecessor. Therefore, we unreservedly welcomed you and your leadership with open and clean arms and hearts as a person committed to the cause, social justice and equality. Indeed, we have seen so far some remarkable achievements when you united various Southern military and political foes leading to the historic birth of Juba Declaration on January 9, 2005. It would be a great mistake on our side if we may fail to appreciate such a magnificent gait you undertook. It was the hardest and the most compelling of all priorities to undertake, but you took the pain to do it anyway and unite all Southerners. But we expect more than just the silence of guns and political squabbles.

Nonetheless, to our dismay, the SPLA forces under your command and control, Sir, rather intensified their gross violations of human rights and continued to silence any opposition against their gruesome actions in the Nuerland.

Mr. President, you swore when you were inaugurated, as in section 101 of the Southern Sudan constitution, before the South Sudan Legislative Assembly that,

“I, Salva Kiir Mayardit, do hereby swear by the Almighty God/Solemnly affirmed, that as the president of the Government of Southern Sudan, I shall be faithful and bear true allegiance to Southern Sudan and shall diligently and honestly discharge my duties and responsibilities in a consultative manner to foster development and welfare of the Southern Sudan; that I shall obey, preserve and defend this Constitution and the Interim National Constitution and the law; and shall protect and promote the unity of the people of southern Sudan and consolidate the democratic decentralized system of government and preserve the integrity and dignity of the people of southern Sudan; so help me God/and God is my witness.”

Mr. President, defending constitution, protecting and promoting the unity of the people of Southern Sudan and consolidating these democratic ideals into a single feasible entity, as parts of your oath, remain murky and abstract, unless they are translated into a more practical and concrete manner in real life. This is yet to be seen. Your Honour, the Nuer nation contributed a lot in the liberation struggle more than any other tribes in the south who are now benefiting from peace dividends. While the Nuer who first rebelled in 1975 against Jallaba policies before the abrogation of Addis Ababa Accord, and who were the dominant revolutionary soldiers to arrive at Bilpam in 1983 are left in the cold. Needless to say, the Nuer soldiers were the only forces who gave you and your predecessors (late John Garang, William Nyuon, and Kerbino Kwanyin Bol) the ultimate power to lead the movement, as there were no enough Dinka in sight. Why now the Nuer are left out in the cold, whining and groaning, as the free-riders who never even smelt the smokes of the guns, leave alone sacrificing their lives and livestock (goats, sheep, cows, and cooked food to feed the SPLA soldiers & freedom fighters), are now the beneficiaries? We don’t deny the contribution of others in the struggle and we hold no grudges against the free-riders who are benefiting at the expense of others as long as they are southerners; but we demand an equal sharing of a pie. This is one of the causes for resistance and opposition to disarmament.

Succinctly, as aforementioned, we, as members of the affected community, accept peaceful and voluntary disarmament as opposed to the use of force; and therefore, we implore, beseech and beg on our knees that some appropriate course of action be taken by your office to aid this tormented people, the Nuer. But under certain conditions. We would like to assure you that, disarmament may not succeed if issues of underdevelopment and inequitable distribution of resources, under-representation and security guarantees and promises, which have widened the two solitudes between the Nuer and now the GoSS-reinforcing old prejudices and fuelled decades old grievances-are not well-addressed. The grudges that the Nuer hold against the government are deeper and bigger than the mere disarmament. Policymaking experts in the government of South Sudan need to carefully study and scrutinize this objectively, cast off the dust of tribalism from their eyes, and see clearer and deeper into real problem. Holding guns or resisting disarmament is not a problem in itself, the problem is why people hold guns. In the South, we have mountains of tribalism, nepotism and corruption, on the one hand and gun possession on the other; so which one to choose to eradicate? These are tough choices to choose from and obscure puzzles for your presidency to solve.

To make a tangible and cooperative problem-solving plan, as in our case, power sharing relies upon the joint exercise of power, trust, confidence, mutual understanding and benefits. In doing so, we feel that reasonable frameworks for resolving disputes in a more efficient, peaceful, productive and less confrontational manner should be developed before next disarmament mission takes place.

Therefore, to guarantee smooth, peaceful, effective, and successful disarmament process, the following issues should be taken into account:

If mediation or other informal conflict resolution efforts, as attempted by Dr. Riek Machar, Vice-President of South Sudan and Thon Leek, the governor of Jonglei state, proved unacceptable or unsatisfactory, a neutral body, like UN agencies, will be available to help parties in conflict work out their grievances. Then such a neutral body should initiate formal grievance proceedings under the supervised guidelines detailed in the Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration (DDR) policy under section 158 (2) of the Southern Sudan Constitution. As part of DDR Commission, local chiefs, UN peacekeeping mission in Sudan (UNMIS) experts, and the Nuer grassroots personnel composed of scholars, politicians, local chiefs, church leaders, and SPLA/SSDF/SSUDA officials should be involved for transparency and fairness reasons. Nevertheless, the likes of Bol Kong and George Athor should not take part either in the disarmament or negotiation process.

Formation of a new Civil Defence Forces (CDF) or transformation/revolutionization of the old, existing White Army-as a Home Guard-to back up the SPLA army, to protect civilians and provide the SPLA with all necessary required security information. They must be registered and disciplined with ranks except that their duties and missions are limited to only defending their respective communities. Hence, their services and functions should be temporary and disbanded when the SPLA is ready to provide full security to a wider civil population in the south. Why CDF? The Nuerland, especially in Lou Nuer and Jikany areas with common borders with Murle tribe, is very volatile. The regular Army (the SPLA) cannot monitor and control the intractable Murle tribe because they are mobile and lacking permanent settlement. Therefore, the CDF can act on the defensive and inform the SPLA of any irregularities and suspicions beyond their mandate; and this will prevent future incidences similar to what took place in recent past when Murle militiamen attacked and killed disarmed Nuer and looted properties near Jekou, Upper Nile state and Akobo, Jonglei state.

Compensations of guns-it is true that no one or any agencies that freely supplied the Nuer youth with arms. They bought those arms by and through other means accessible to them, including money or livestock exchange to protect themselves and properties when there was no central government in the south. So compensating them would be an incentive and motivating.

Public enlightenment about the CPA since 2/3 of south Sudanese population is not well-informed about the peace deal signed in January 2005. And educate them about what it means to live in peace; enlighten them about the dangers of holding guns and the benefits of living in a gun free society. Not just the absence of war. Likewise, the SPLA forces must also be retrained and disciplined so that they are aware that their missions and duties are to defend the land from external aggressions; and respect the rule of law and human rights. And they can’t simply be loose and act with impunity as they did in Yuai, Jonglei state, when they killed women and children, and looted properties (cattle). Whoever does humiliate, harass, intimidate, loot and kill innocent civilians, as it used to happen in wartime, must be brought to justice. Furthermore, they (SPLA soldiers) should be politically and ideologically sanitized to “make a clear distinction between the military functions and partisan political functions” and “shall not be used as instruments of physical intimidation of the civilian population” as written in the constitution, section 151 (3) article 2b & 2c.

Dialogue with SSDF elements operating in the Nuerland. The existence of SSDF armed forces pose great dangers to civil-government relations. If SSDF is now officially integrated into SAF, then the government of National Unity (GNU) should assign the SSDF a clear jurisdiction where it cannot collide with the SPLA in most contested areas. More importantly, the National Congress Party (NCP) should orientate its army, SSDF included, not to cause havoc if it’s not party to this mess.

Security and development guarantees and promises: these may include, among other things, protection of humanitarian and governmental agencies who are committed to building, roads, schools, hospitals and other basic services in the Nuerland.

Disregard of unlawful imprisonment of public (civil) servants. It’s unlawful for any members of police and armed forces to arrest MPs for protesting injustice of which is a part of their constitutional and administrative duties and responsibilities. Because they are there to represent their constituencies. For instance, the unwarranted arrest of John Jok Chol, Rachael Nyadak Paul Gil and Rebecca Nyakal Waat, who protested and condemned brutal killings and inhumane treatments of innocent civilians, manifests a sheer violation of the constitution.

Extending development and reconstruction efforts to all parts of the country. It’s self-evident that the Nuerland remains neglected and marginalized in contrast with other regions. The article 40(1) guarantees “the equitable distribution of wealth, redressing imbalances of income and achieving a decent standard of life for the people of Southern Sudan”, but in reality, such a thing doesn’t exist and still remote in sight. While provision of basic services continues to flourish in Bhar el Ghazal and Equatoria, conditions in the Nuerland of the Upper Nile region continue to deteriorate. The Nuer believe and suspect that the absence of teaming up roads construction and markets linking Eastern and Central Nuer (Jikany and Lou) with Ethiopia has an ulterior motive behind GoSS indifference and policies. It could be conceived as a mere speculation, but the reality of it will come to surface in the near future.

Lastly, guaranteeing Lou Nuer a safe passage and access to water points. Unlike other Nuer, Lou are located in semi-arid and waterless environment, especially in and during dry seasons. So the government has to assure the public that water system, such as wells, pumps, taps, etc., be built so that this may reduce spontaneous mobility or seasonal migration for search of water and pasture. In addition, the GOSS should also facilitate peace and reconciliation efforts amongst nomadic-pastoralist tribes (e.g., Dinka Bor, Lou Nuer, Jikany and Gawaar) who often come into conflicts with one another in grazing lands (Toich).

In conclusion, we recommend that those alternatives outlined above, if taken into consideration, would pave a way for peaceful and lasting disarmament process as well as enjoyment of peace and stability in the Nuerland in particular and Southern Sudan in general. Repeatedly, we would like to reiterate that the moral, physical and mental tortures inflicted upon the Greater Nuer by conditions of war, which cut them off from the outside world; that strip them of all hopes and humanity will fade away as time goes by. The prevalence of law and order would allow them to breathe the pure air of a free society where they can live in peace and enjoy the fruits of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA). This can happen if and only if policies devoid of Nuerophobia are instituted and implemented by the government of South Sudan.

Thomas Jefferson once stated, “The strongest reason for the people to retain the right to keep and bear arms is, as a last resort, to protect themselves against tyranny in the government.” In this sense, before and during the war era, the Nuer had acquired, owned and retained guns to protect themselves and their properties since there had not been a legitimate, democratic and just government that could provide security. Now our government in Juba is established and we hope it will act constitutionally to protect life, liberty and property; otherwise, it will be upto the Nuer to choose to live under “democracy” where equality, rule of law and human rights are the basic principles or under “tyranny” where corruption, nepotism, tribalism, and human rights abuses are the norms.

God bless you and the people of the South Sudan!

Signed & Endorsed by:

Bor Gatwech Kuany, Melbourne, Australia /
Changkuoth Joch Yiech, Calgary, AB, Canada /
Changkuoth Thiang Luony, Calgary, AB, Canada /
David Deng Chuor, Calgary, AB, Canada /
David Kang Kok, Calgary, AB, Canada /
David Mai Tang, Sioux Falls, SD, USA /
Deng Yiech Bachech, Saskatoon, SK, Canada /
Gatwech Banban, Calgary, AB, Canada /
Isaac Kueth Gang, Hattiesburg, MS, USA /
Joseph Makuei Nhial, Calgary, AB, Canada /
Joshua Panom Lam, Calgary, AB, Canada /
Khor Gai Rut, Calgary, AB, Canada/
Malakal Chuol Luak, Calgary, AB, Canada /
Peter Pal Thokbuom, Calgary, AB, Canada /
Simon Chuol Dieng Nyoat, Calgary, AB, Canada /
Stephen Yang Chol, Calgary, AB, Canada /
Tut Jock Mangok, Calgary, AB, Canada /
Tut Puot Yut, Calgary, AB, Canada.

Contact:

Deng Yiech Bachech

The Nuer Congress International

403-203-2011

[email protected]