Organised forces in Southern Sudan need programme for cordial relations
By Jacob K. Lupai
June 9, 2009 — Organised forces in Southern Sudan may be defined as the Government of Southern Sudan (GOSS) institutions that are legitimately issued with assorted firearms or guns to enforce the rule of law and order, and to protect the constitution and territorial integrity against internal and foreign subversion. In this context the organised forces include the Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA), the Police, the Prisons, the Wildlife and the Fire Brigade. Southern Sudan is yet to have its own Navy and Air Force. However, for the Navy people may think it is not necessary as Southern Sudan, after all, is a landlocked region or country? However, because of the Nile military strategists and planners may convince people for Southern Sudan to have at least a small scale Navy on the Nile. For the Fire Brigade as an organised force I do not understand why they should be included with forces that carry fire arms while their specific job is to handle fire extinguishing equipment. Probably it could be that Fire Brigade share the same ranks as other organised forces.
When a war broke out again in Southern Sudan in 1983 partly as a result of the abrogation of the Addis Ababa Agreement of 1972 and a deep resentment against marginalisation by predominantly Arab Islamic part of Northern Sudan, a point of no return to half solution to the problem of Sudan was reached. The main objective of the war was for the Sudan to be transformed from an enforced Arab Islamic culture on people into a secular united modern Sudan where marginalisation on the basis of one’s race and religion would be a thing of the past. The SPLA was born and ushered in an era that would make the Sudan never to be the same again for centuries to come. At the head of the SPLA was one charismatic individual with an iron fist and determination equal to none. According to the manifesto of 1983 of the political wing of the SPLA the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM), the programme was based on the realities of the Sudan and provided a solution to the nationality and religious questions within the context of a united modern Sudan. In brief the SPLM would spearhead the transformation of the Sudan. The conviction was to create a modern Sudan in which the Sudanese individual would enjoy absolute freedom from the shackles of injustices and a modern Sudan that would be free from racism, tribalism, sectarianism and all causes of discrimination.
The war lasted 22 long years from 1983 to 2005 and only ended when a comprehensive peace agreement (CPA0 was signed between the Government of Sudan and the SPLM. As could be imagined expectations were very high after centuries of marginalisation and acute underdevelopment. The SPLA were adored as heroes and revolutionaries who had liberated the marginalised masses from the tyranny of religious bigotry, Sudanese Arab racism and the gross abuses of human rights. Everywhere in Southern Sudan the SPLA were received with ululation and standing ovation with thunderous applauses. Seeing the SPLA in uniform was a sign of freedom and a guarantee of security from human rights abuses that the marginalised had suffered for so long under the falsehood of a united Arab Islamic Sudan. However, four years into the six-year interim period of the life of the CPA it may be very doubtful that the SPLA is seen 100 per cent as liberators and guarantors of freedom and security from basic human rights abuses. Insecurity is so rampant in Southern Sudan that one wonders where is the SPLA fire power that was glaringly evident in the bitter days of the war. How did the SPLA sustain the 22 years of war while maintaining the civil society on their side? Those are relevant questions because human rights abuses appear to be perpetrating allegedly by some elements within the SPLA. If left unchecked to discover the truth this may lead to the SPLA being accused may be unfairly. The SPLA had sacrificed so much to set people free that it should not allow themselves to be alienated. I hope people are aware that one rotten apple may spoil the rest of the apples in the bag. Surely something must be done to get rid of the rotten apples before the whole bag is lost. Of course it cannot be that the majority of the SPLA are abusing their positions to harass, intimidate and sometimes beat up citizens. If that was the case there would have been uproar throughout Southern Sudan. However, one thing people must accept is that there should be cordial relations between the SPLA and civilians. The SPLA should be seen as guardians of freedom for all and to promote respect for others. It is not uncommon to see an SPLA soldier beating up a civilian while in uniform. Even a senior SPLA officer may beat up a civilian who the officer may think uncooperative.
It is important to think of what should be done to make SPLA-civilian relations cordial. It is difficult to determine the rate of literacy among the SPLA. However, I would like to believe that there is a high rate of literacy among the SPLA. What may be needed is a programme for cordial relations and respect for others as a means of promoting harmony, peace and unity among the people of Southern Sudan. It is clear that behaviours of some SPLA may be a cause for concern. A prominent journalist who probably witnessed a horrifying incident recounted what was going on through his mind. It was on 26 May 2009 during the SPLA Day celebrations that one might have witnessed the ugly sight of SPLA. The Journalist who might have been among those beaten up by the SPLA appealed to his fellow citizens to forgive the organisers for what the SPLA did on that memorable day in the history of Southern Sudan. The 26th May should have been a day of celebrations and joy for the gallant SPLA who have brought a semblance of freedom to Southern Sudan. However, the behaviours of some of the SPLA soldiers in beating up people might have spoiled that festive day for others
On the 26th May I also became a victim on my way to the Mausoleum of Dr John Garang de Mabior to participate in the celebrations. An SPLA military police who probably planted himself as a traffic police at the roundabout near the Southern Sudan Legislative Assembly slapped me for no reason and of course not knowing who he was dealing with. The military police did not have a gum but was intimidating motorists and people with foul language. There were traffic police probably from the State who were very polite befitting the occasion. The traffic police directed the flow of the traffic smoothly in contrast to the chaotic military police that in all probability looked like somebody under the influence of something. When I approached the roundabout I stopped because there was a vehicle in front. Instead of directing the vehicle to move the military police came and murmured something only for me to be surprised with a slap on my hand. He tried to slap me on my face but missed either intentionally or as a tactic to frighten me off. When I looked into the eye of the ill-behaved military police with the animal in me growing wild by the second the military police shied away and pretended to be directing the traffic by pushing and yelling at people. One traffic police woman came over and advised me politely to move to the right to park. In my raging anger I did not bother to park and attend the SPLA celebrations. I will think twice to attend any SPLA function if that is how some of the SPLA soldiers have been trained to treat civilians. I did not forgive the man for what he did but blank out the incident from my mind as an act of a lone disgruntled individual who spoiled my mood for the historic SPLA celebrations. In fact the military police was disorderly and erratic, and in a distance I could see that he was being pushed and led away towards their barracks nearby.
Another uncalled for incident occurred when two armed SPLA soldiers stationed at Mobil roundabout in Juba near the All Saints Cathedral stopped a GOSS ministerial car and directed it to report to the police station in Juba town. The reason given was that the car had black tainted windows. Apparently the GOSS ministerial car being driven was carrying an SPLM State Minister in the Government of National Unity who was on a short visit to Juba. Coincidently I was driving behind and when I saw the GOSS ministerial car stopped by the two SPLA soldiers and seeing the passenger arguing with the armed SPLA soldiers I pulled over and enquired what the matter was. I was told that the car must report to the police station because of the tainted windows and those were orders from above, said the SPLA soldiers. I pleaded with the SPLA soldiers saying that the car was a government car with clear number plate bearing the inscription, GOSS and moreover the passenger was an SPLM State Minister. Reluctantly the soldiers let go the car. The question to ask was couldn’t the order from above include exemption for GOSS ministerial and ordinary cars which were anyway with tainted windows assuming the soldiers were right to obey orders?
One other incident took place when I was invited to witness ground breaking for a housing estate at Gumbo across the Nile on the east. After crossing the Nile we were not sure where the site for the ground breaking would be. I asked my driver to pull over near a site of a building under construction guarded by the SPLA. The sight of the SPLA gave us confidence that we would get information on the right direction. To my surprise instead of being given a straight answer regarding the direction to the place we were bombarded with a barrage of questions. In summary we were asked, “Where are you coming from and going where?”, “Why did you stop here?” and then “Why are you going to that place?” Politely we answered all the questions. At the end we were never given the direction to the place but instead ordered to back off apparently because a construction vehicle wanted to enter the site. We then went to another group of the SPLA on the opposite side of the road to ask for direction to the ground breaking site. The same tedious questions were repeated again but this time with a mild warning to know where to stop. We did not see anything wrong to stop and ask for information. There was no sign prohibiting motorists to stop. I was wondering how a simple question for information could have generated an argument of making an unnecessary long story out of a very short one. However, one SPLA soldier standing some distance from his colleagues told us how to proceed to the place. To be fair this suggests that there were some SPLA soldiers who could be very helpful.
In all it seems the SPLA leadership has some work to do in moulding out of the existing SPLA an army that respects civilians as part of humanity and is professional in all that is needed of an army in peace and war time. As things stand the sight of an SPLA soldier may become a cause of anxiety instead of joy as people’s guardian of freedom, peace and unity.
In conclusion there are three ways to address what is seen as poor SPLA-civilian relations. The first is that the SPLA non commission officers (NCOs) must receive improved and regular salaries so that they do not vent their frustrations on civilians. It is not acceptable in peace time that a soldier with a family to support goes for four months without pay. Such a soldier may even become a burglar or money grabber to feed his family. It is worth noting that the SPLA Affairs as a sector take the largest share of the budget. For example, in the GOSS 2008 Approved Budget the SPLA Affairs budget was 29.19 per cent while Agriculture (inclusive of Forestry, Animal Resources and Fisheries) which is supposed to the backbone of the economy of Southern Sudan got a miserable budget of only 1.58 per cent. For 22 years the SPLA fought as a volunteer army. I think it is now time for them to receive regular salaries.
The second solution to poor SPLA-civilian relations is education and training. There should be a programme of education and training for the SPLA. There are young SPLA soldiers who are young that their talents need to be realised through education and training. By the look of it the SPLA military police who slapped me was either younger or of the same age as my son and by military rank I could have been his most senior officer. There should be a school for the SPLA from primary to secondary school. Talented SPLA soldiers who wish to go to school should be encouraged up to college or university level. A vocational school is also appropriate to prepare the SPLA soldiers for civilian life. An educated and trained SPLA soldier may be well informed to treat fellow citizens with tact and respect. An illiterate and primitive individual may behave like an animal in the wild. However, this does not mean that education and training will wipe out completely the misbehaviour of some hard core SPLA soldiers who should not have been in the SPLA in the first place. Nonetheless education and training may go a long way to improve SPLA-civilian relations
The third solution is an awareness programme. The SPLA leadership needs to have at least a 30 minutes weekly programme on Southern Sudan Television or radio to address pertinent issues in relation to good neighbourliness between the armed forces and the civilians. The organised forces should be made to see themselves as more of revolutionaries and liberators than abusers of basic human rights of their fellow citizens. The SPLA leadership should also have an open discussion through phoning-in to assess the public mood with regard to their attitudes towards the SPLA. The aim is to promote and enhanced SPLA –civilian cordial relations for the common good.
In conclusion what is now needed is action to improve SPLA-civilian relations. Alternatively if there are other suggestions let’s be proactive for a better way forward in promoting mutual understanding, respect, peace and unity among Southern Sudanese.
The author is a regular contributor to Sudan Tribune and can be reached at [email protected]