Open letter to President Kiir from Ruweng/Panaruu Community on marginalization

To: Salva Kiir Mayardit, President (South Sudan), 1st Vice President (The Republic of the Sudan), Chairman (SPLM), and C-in-C (SPLA)
Date: September 12, 2010

Cc:
• Dr. Riek Machar, Vice President (South Sudan) and Deputy Chairman (SPLM):
• Pagan Amum Okiech, Secretary General (SPLM) and Minister of Peace and CPA Implementation (South Sudan)
• Lt. Gen. James Hoth Mai, Chief of General Staff, Peoples’ Army (SPLA)
• Lt. Gen. Pieng Deng Kwol, Deputy Chief of General Staff, Logistics (SPLA)
• Dr. Majak Agoot, Vice Chairman, Sudanese National Intelligence and Security Services
• Maj. Gen. Mayik Jaw, Major General, Peoples’ Army (SPLA)
• Maj. Gen. Mayik Michar, Major General, Peoples’ Army (SPLA)
• Gov. Taban Deang Gai, Governor (Western Upper Nile State)
• Col. Mabek Lang M. Bilkwei, Commissioner, Ruweng County.
• Mr. Benjamin Majak Dau, Member of the National Liberation Council
• All Ruweng County Members of National, Regional and State Assemblies
• All Officers, men and women of Ruweng County in uniforms
• Chief Malwal Minyiel Ayuel, Paramount Chief, Ruweng County
• Chief Jaw Jiel, Paramount Chief, Ruweng County
• All the Youths, Ruweng County
• All Citizens, Ruweng County

Subject: Systemic Marginalization of Ruweng People: A Note to the President

Dear Mr. President,

Introduction:
Compelled by an unreserved love for our community; driven by an inexorable patriotism for our beloved country; alarmed by the deteriorating situation in Ruweng County and the “fierce urgency of now, not later;”
We, the undersigned and concerned citizens of Ruweng County/Panaruu, would like, first of all, to share with you the wisdom of the greatest American Civil Rights Movement leader, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. that “history will have to record that the greatest tragedy of this period of social transition was not the strident clamour of the bad people, but the appalling silence of the good people”.
With those few remarks, we would like to acknowledge upfront that we are pitifully aware of the magnitude and complexity of issues or problems that come to your desk daily. However, with both political and social situation deteriorating uncontrollably in Ruweng County, we urgently appeal that you would use your presidential powers to immediately and wholeheartedly avert this unfolding crisis in Ruweng County once and for all. Our community has been befallen by numerous tragedies before, but we would like to state in no uncertain terms that, as a community sitting at the bleeding edge of South-North border, we have suffered immeasurable loss and untold sufferings during the struggle for FREEDOM, JUSTICE, PEACE and LIBERTY, and EQUALITY for all and, therefore with the signing of the CPA, the hopes and aspirations, of those whose beloved sons and daughters had fallen in the Struggle, were once again rejuvenated and restored by an ardent belief they are “free at last” as they would be governed finally by a government which puts their needs and wellbeing above the temptation of self-serving. While it is our moral and social obligations and duty as citizens to make things happen, we on the other hand, believe that national, state, and county government should create a secure and conducive environment in which all citizens are accorded equal degree of respect and treatment. As much as this slogan may sound like a common sense universally, it does not mean that is it common everywhere, as Unity State, and Ruweng County particularly, is a place where Ruweng County Commissioner, Col. Mabek Lang Miading, ‘asks for the heads’ of those who talk about fairness and equality for all in Pariang. Exceedingly mindful of the daunting tasks and looming challenges during these six years of the CPA interim period, people of Ruweng County have remained resolute and unremittingly committed to the very cause for which South Sudan and other marginalized areas have lost more than 2 million lives.
Mr. President, it is with heavy hearts and hopelessness that we note the fact that the interests of Panaruu community have largely been ignored for far too long, and it is a gut wrenching fact that our people have been made objects rather than subjects of our common Struggle for the pursuit of JUSTICE and EQUALITY. Therefore, as expounded in our first letter to you on May 29, 2010, we would like to remind you once again and call your attention to but not restricted to the following areas of grievances:

1) The Right of equal Citizenship and the sad Existence of Internal Marginalization in Unity State:

Although, it is a value-laden concept in terms of both its legal and philosophical understanding, the right of equal citizenship and protection as a common principle, is plainly and unequivocally enshrined in the Interim Constitution of South Sudan, under the Bill of Rights, and we quote it as follows:
Every person has the right to liberty and security of person; no person shall be
Subjected to arrest, detention, deprivation or restriction of his or her liberty except for specified reasons and in accordance with procedures prescribed by law (Chapter II, Part One).

As stipulated above, it is self-revealing that an individual should be accorded full and equal rights pertaining to his or her legal status as a citizen of South Sudan, implying that citizens ought to fully participate in shaping the destiny of their future and that of their community and the nation at large. In this regard, we assume that Unity State is charged with the responsibility of building institutions that are inclusive; that promote personal and economic development but more importantly, should consolidate their day-to-day political harmony with others so as to encourage political stability and economic prosperity by empowering the citizens through universal suffrage and enfranchisement. This basic understanding, of the tenet of South Sudan Interim Constitution, has however been ignored and recklessly disregarded by both the Unity State and Ruweng County Administrations to an extent that those who civilly oppose this dysfunctional and abysmal failure of leadership, are thrown behind bars without any due process in the court of law, especially in Ruweng County where South Sudan interim Constitution has been thrown into the dustbin! As typical of a despotic style of leadership, Ruweng County commissioner, Col. Mabek Lang Miading trashes and ignores the principle of “the right to liberty and security of person” as assured under the law of the land because he was not appointed through popular consultation with the approval of Pariang citizens, but rather handpicked by Gov. Taban Deng Gai on the ground of being a “yes” person to the Unity State governor.

In the backdrop of the above important statements, we would like to emphasize that one of the leading fundamental tenets of political citizenship is the right to vote or having the citizen’s views considered in the democratic process in the sense that the most important civil liberty there is, is the right to vote. Where legal instruments are silent on the mode of voting or where there is no direct method of choosing leaders such as through direct elections, it is still imperative that one’s voice ought to be heard at some point, particularly when the law vests power in some entity that is not directly at the disposal of the citizens. This is not to make a statement of moral alchemy or political sophistry. It is, rather, a universal truth that holds true across all social institutions, societies and nations. To claim otherwise would be an understatement of its imperative significance.

The citizens of Ruweng County, unlike other citizens across South Sudan, have been deliberately deprived of these inalienable rights of FREEDOM, JUSTICE and EQUALITY. We are expected to sheepishly comply with and be led by whoever is handpicked by some; super external entity in Bentiu but not by the ones we choose to lead us. These patterns, of disenfranchisement, have leisurely continued unabated, notwithstanding the fact that we have persistently voiced our concerns regarding our desire for, for instance, a new and different commissioner. Such concerns have frequently been brushed aside or dismissed as cranks both by the state and South Sudan’s authorities, including your esteemed office. As it is often the case, the inevitable consequence in failing to listen to citizens’ genuine grievances, unquestionably, often leads to blatant marginalisation and alienation.

The magnitude of the internal marginalisation of Panaruu people is utterly shocking. Even something as simple as consultation with the community has become difficult an exercise , despite the existence of the political convention that the governor of a state can only appoint the commissioner after wide ranging consultations with, and approval of the community. In fact, Article 175 (1) and (2) of the Interim Constitution of South Sudan clearly provides that state legislatures, “shall provide for the role of traditional government authority as an institution at local government level on matters affecting communities….” This is not to suggest that the states ought to leave the position of the commissioner to the traditional authorities but rather that the state has a duty to consult with the concerned community as part of constitutional arrangement that banks on decentralisation of decision making. Where a governor (especially a governor who harbours ill-intentions towards a given community as in this case) is given unfettered and unchecked authority such as arbitrary handpicking of a candidate of their choice and scornfully ignores the community’s wishes and approval, the voice of the community is trampled upon. In such circumstances, there is monopoly of power, and consequently, the governor only chooses the one who follows their whims rather than the one qualified for the job, since there are no checks and balances in the system in such an environment. In effect, this situation has always meant that the commissioner is only answerable or accountable only to the governor who is responsible for their appointment and not to their people. In short, the commissioner only caters for the interests of whoever appoints them so as to be subsequently re-appointed in the future.
The situation of Ruweng and Biemnom counties (being the only Dinka counties) which constitute about 22% of the state population only exacerbates the matters in respect of their minority status. Our community has been severely subjected to extreme dehumanising treatment and discrimination.

Despite the fact that more than 70% of the oil produced in the state is found in Ruweng County, we remained not only the poorest but a staggeringly marginalised county. For instance, many scholarships; development projects and training opportunities have been and are still being provided by the state government, yet no such benefits flow to Ruweng County. For instance there are about 40 scholarships granted to state students who have been sent to study in Malaysia, China, and many other Asian countries, but not even a single one of them has been given to Ruweng County. All this benefits have been flowing in fact to non-Dinka areas. The same can be said about national, regional and state ministerial positions; directorates; committees; jobs; only to mention but a few. There is no question therefore that we are now victims of internal colonialism since our community is being deliberately marginalised or excluded completely from the benefits of the struggle for which Panaruu has disproportionately contributed. A state that wilfully marginalises a section of its own population, however minute that section may be, only broods explosive political and social consequences that inevitably ensue, much to the detriment of development, prosperity and national harmony.
2) Lack of Political Legitimacy, Respect for Constitutionalism and the Rule of Law
Political Legitimacy
Mr. President,

It is important to emphasize once again that what is happening in Western Upper Nile State in general and Ruweng County in particular, defies the essential principles of political legitimacy and quite shockingly, the tenets of constitutional values. It is indeed a stark affront to the conventional understanding of the rule of law. Not only is the state run as a one man’s show but it is also fair to assert that there is no functional government but kleptocracy in Western Upper Nile and Ruweng County. Only one person and his cahoots are running the show of governing the state. His personal interests and whims are what matter in the day today running of the state. He is the treasurer, the finance minister, the resource manager, and economic planner among others. In other words, he is the supreme authority who dictates how to spend the content of the public purse. Helplessly and hopelessly, everyone else is nothing but a mere a spectator. All those who question his policies are declared persona non grata. Today, there are Ruweng citizens who are not even allowed to visit their relatives in Pariang because they have been permanently, and unconstitutionally, denied such inalienable rights. Only those who do not question the state’s shady and shoddy deals are the best people according to the merit-determining criteria.
Quite frankly, the current state administration is based on Patrimonialism which, involves an extreme form of personalised version of totalitarianism and dictatorship.
In our case, the state is run on the basis of one person’s own discretion rather than on the rule of law and constitutionalism. Citizens’ petitions are basically ignored. Apathy and indifference are the norms. The current state’s bureaucracy is an extension of the Governor’s household rule. He delegates powers, at his free will, to his sycophants and is bent on silencing those who may pose a threat to his insatiable desire to hang onto power with hooks and crooks. All the current officials in his government owe their appointments to his goodwill and generosity, a benevolent deity, the Alpha and Omega, who is the spring and fountain of life. He dispenses justice as he wishes. He is justice himself. Anybody who obtains justice does so as a result of individual petitions to him and of his discretionary clemency and generosity. In short, discretion has completely substituted legal rule, constitutionalism and the rule of law.

This is why commissioners are ranked such that those who are ready to rubber stamp clandestine; ghost projects or approve personal arrogation of funds, often receive the best recommendations while those who protect the interests of their people are relegated to the bottom of ranking. It is on this ground that the commissioner of Ruweng County has been erroneously deemed the best commissioner because he fulfills the criteria of a dream-team of the governor by suppressing the interests and complaints of his people with the sheer use of brute force using the state apparatus and security police as the case was in the recent Alilang incident just a few weeks ago. He has also allowed the state governor to grab the Ruweng land by allowing him to build his mansion on it, encourage the Jikany to relocate there and allow him to name it a Payam of Guit County despite the fact that it is located in the heart of Ruweng territory.

What has been happening in Ruweng County is actually a gross violation of human rights of the Ruweng citizens. Both the county and state authorities treat people as objects or rather as means to an end, not an end in themselves. That is why the community, in our early petition had asked your office to relieve the commissioner of his duties and with any replacement. It should be noted that this Commissioner has been in this office since 1994. This surely begs the question in respect of whether he is the only most capable and qualified individual to hold that office, when he does not even own a primary school leaving certificate. The people of Ruweng County for instance, in the April elections were forced to vote for candidates against whom they would have voted if elections were free and fair. Quite strangely, voting even continued to go on for three days after the polling process was officially declared over. Consequently, our people feel utterly disenfranchised at the expense of one person’s interest other than the greatest good for the community. This is the root cause for dissent as shown in our previous petitions or press release.

Under normal circumstances, dissent will be impossible when people are contended and feel that their interests are accommodated in the day today running of their activities. This being not the case in Western Upper Nile, there is little room for doubt that the communities of Western Upper Nile in general and Ruweng County in particular feel that the exercise of the incumbent state and county authorities lack political legitimacy, since they were not elected in the first place. Where subjects are not considered as worthy of attention and their interests tramped upon, they feel no sense of efficacy. Any authority thereof is illegitimate and may breed discontent, havoc and lawlessness.

The significance of the theory of social contract is based on the ‘general will’ of the public to consent to the decisions that affect their day today lives. Where there is no public consensus, there is no consent to the rule of the Leviathan. Our community cannot therefore continue to be treated as a peripheral entity and denied the benefits of the struggle for which thousands of our heroes have laid down their dear lives. We deserve a fair and just hearing.

CONSTITUTIONALISM:

Western Upper Nile State and Ruweng County, as aforementioned, have turned out to be the sample spots where the exercise of authority is vested in specific individuals as the sole nuclei of decision making, contrary to the conventional understanding that constitutional power should involve multiple or concurrent constitutional orders where power is dispersed across several; different, yet complementary centres of decision-making, albeit, with varying degrees of authority distributed across the society as prescribed by law. Constitutional democracy implies that the use of constitution, as the supreme law of the land, should regulate and limit the powers of the government actors and to secure the efficacy of such limitations in implementing decisions and that the legitimacy of any government be established by requiring that governmental powers be not exercised arbitrarily. This simply means that, every single action of a government actor should be accounted for.

Ruweng County, satirically dubbed by some of its citizens as “Pariang Republic” because of its propensity to operate outside the prescription of the law as enshrined in the federal and regional constitutions, is a territory that operates on its own none-codified constitution. The Ruweng Leviathan, the Commissioner, is the sole authority to make and will power. He has powers to despatch the police to arrest, beat and torture any individuals of his own choosing, normally by falsely accusing them of acting for NCP, or aligning with any other scapegoats of the day such as the so-called “renegades” (nothing could be further from the truth). He can also summon chiefs, lash them for failing to obey his unjust orders and fines people up to $1 000, contrary to the provisions in the Constitution that only the courts, the only neutral arbiters, can fine individuals and only up to a maximum of $250. Hence, $1,000, the prevailing legal penalty in Pariang, is four times as much.

THE RULE OF LAW

The principle of the rule of law implies that private citizens as well as public officials and government actors be held equally accountable under, before, in front of and in the eyes of the laws through clearly formulated and transparent processes. It also means that public agencies should be responsive to the needs of their citizens and that public information be made available to the general public as necessary, and finally, the freedom of expression and association be promoted for the good of all, not for the few privileged groups. In other words, it is the rule of law, not the rule of men that must be the supreme good.

In our previous petition or press release, we stated abundantly clear that the county authorities frequently carry out very egregious acts against innocent people without being held accountable; they receive project or ghost project money and keep it to themselves because there does not exist any transparent system in which the leaders are held accountable through auditing. The county authorities are the police, the judge and politicians and get involve in horrendous acts against innocent citizens with such an unimaginable boost of impunity. As we speak, a young man who was tied to a tree on one voting morning in April, from 6am to 6pm; simply for voting for another candidate, is still railing in the hospital with life-threatening injuries in Khartoum.

Everything is just pathetic. For instance, contrary to the right of association, citizens who congregate together during their free time are accused of conspiring against the government even when they are having fun or talking about important issues that affect their private lives. Even partying is an illegal activity in a community that fought vigorously and sacrificed so much for individual liberty and autonomy. Mr. President, we believe that it is not in the interest of your administration that such ruthlessness be allowed to reign. If there was time when your immediate intervention was urgently necessary, it is now, Sir. An immediate action is needed now to alleviate the sufferings of our people at the time when every community is, and is supposed to be, reaping the benefits of the Struggle.

SELF-DETERMINATION FOR THE RUWENG COUNTY:

Self-determination involves the right of a people to determine their economic, social, political and cultural destiny by virtue of their distinctiveness as a group. They can decide to align with others or remain autonomous as a unit.

During the condominium rule, Panaruu was part of Bhar el Ghazel but it was, together with Abyei, Twic and Alor, transferred to Kordofan in 1905, only to be transferred back, along with Twic and Alor, to the South in 1931 and placed under the administration of Western Upper Nile where it now still belongs. Yet we believe that the colonial administration had made a gross mistake, as evidenced by the harshness of history of disharmony that the community has experienced, as well as the existence of irreconcilable cultural differences, with the ‘dominant group’ in the region who have found it their perpetual habits and a holy mission to engage in political marginalisation of the Ruweng people. The colonial administration would have done us a lot of good if they had returned us to Bhar el Ghazel instead. This would have been in accordance with the principles underlying the process of states formation.

There is no reason to go into details except briefly stating the fact that the art of states formation, nation building and development requires that communities which are culturally less heterogeneous, linguistically linked and/or peacefully coalesce with one another have a reasonable chance of creating cohesive structures for their common good. This is very important for economic, social and political progress.

It is on this basis that we argue that the Pachong Framework of 1999, in which Panaruu, Jok (Abyei), Twic, and Alor were put together was, and still is, a commendable framework that should be given more attention than it did receive in that meeting of and by members of the National Liberation Council. It was a good step in the right direction.

3) Invasion, Land Grabbing and Confiscation of the Ruweng Territory

It a hard fact now that parts of the Ruweng County lie in wrong hands and no more elaboration is necessary. In any event, such territories have been actually or potentially lost because the SPLM/A has marginalised our community. One of such self-explanatory examples, as stated above, happened when Gov.Taban, without consultation with the Ruweng county community, secretly commandeered our legal rights and signed an illegal pact with the Enemy to annex Ruweng territories to Southern Kordofan. He did so with much impunity even when it is clear that such an act, in a free and democratic society, constitutes sedition. It is obvious that had this section of the state been part of Nuer territory or a home to any of the most senior SPLM/A leaders, Taban, a renowned ethnic extremist, would have never under taken such a move without any consultation with your government or with the community. When the matter was raised to you, you scornfully responded that it was up to the community to take up arms and fight for it against the north.

Mr. President, such a blatant statement was not only divisive, but signalled the fact that our community is insignificant to your leadership and that their interests are not your interests. Whether that is the style of your leadership or whether you had a bad day is not part of our enquiry. What is important is that you have simply placed a wall between our community and your leadership as well as the rest of the country. The South cannot afford any more to lose its territorial integrity when it is capable by any means, to retain what is rightfully hers without submitting to the NIF’s rhetoric, boosted by the supplies of Russian, Chinese and Iranian missiles.

Another element of the Ruweng invasion is the fact that the governor has already confiscated some parts of the southern section of the Ruweng County. Gov. Taban has forcefully occupied Wan Danluel (located at the northern part of River Bhar el Ghazel, at the southern part of Ruweng County) built his mansion there, encouraged his jikany Nuer and militias to erect buildings on it and named it a Payam of his native Guit County, and called the town Manga. There he has stationed his own militia, made up of Jikany militants, and paid by the SPLA, ostensible as an SPLA unit, but intentionally to safeguard it from its rightful owners, the Panaruu. When the issue was raised, the Nuer community dared the Ruweng community to take it back by force if they so wished. It is not in dispute that it was Taban who instructed his Jikany brothers to take such a stark position and to say or do what they did though he had faked a trip such that if there was a fight as it could possibly have happened, he would appear clean and innocent. Indeed it almost led to a bloody confrontation but our community was guided by the Dinka philosophy of “kan kooc” which specifies that one should not take recourse to violence when an alternative solution could be more viable. It was for this reason that our paramount chief, Malwal Minyiel Ayuel, raised this matter with you in a meeting, Mr. President, when you visited the state but your reply was that, the most important border problem was the one with the north, not internal one.

Mr. President, we believe strongly that the government is and ought to be a multi-tasking entity and should not rank priorities, especially when budget is not significantly at issue. All that was necessary in this regard was the word of mouth but you felt that it would be a waste of your words and time to make a declaratory statement on this burning issue. Yet, postponing such pressing and contentious issues does not only perpetuate injustices but also encourages internal schisms. ‘Justice delayed is justice denied’, so said the late American civil rights leader, Martin Luther King Jr., 47 years ago.

As we speak, Governor Taban and his ‘accomplices’ in Western Upper Nile, operate on a wrong map, in which the much of the Dinka areas have been annexed to Nuer counties. It is a map that has been drawn by force despite objection by the Ruweng people since it clearly violates official boundaries.

Mr. Taban has sought for a long time to marginalise our community and has in fact succeeded time and again. He does it through divide and rule policy or making sure that those who stand up for the right of the community are never ever given a chance to do so. For instant, Justices Theji Aduot and Appolis Tiop de Monyluak, in their capacities as legal counsellors, were accused of spoiling the community by speaking up against injustices when they were working in the state. For mere suspicion or for fact, Mr. Taban, with the collaboration of the former Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development managed to transfer these young lawyers away from the site of their community so that he, the governor, could continue to play his tricks with no one insight but only his accomplices.

We also take issues with the SPLM and GOSS leaderships. In one of your famous statement (in your letter to Hon. Benjamin Mijak and other Panaruu MPs, 2008) which deeply portrayed your attitude towards the community, you stated that it was upto the Panaruu community to take up arms if they wanted to fight for the border issue. Mr. President, even the most ardent cynics, who are often ready to dismiss community complaints as cranks, will agree that your attitude towards our community was an open textbook here. Nevertheless, we continue to believe that such a statement was only a lip-synching utterance and that it was not the official position of your government to isolate our community. It is however, now plain that the fact that it was even spoken, in the first place, is symbolic of your government’s lack of concern. We agree that we are victims of apathy and indifference of the GOSS towards the Ruweng citizens.

But it should not catch anyone by surprise that this community is capable of thwarting anyone that threatens its survival, for it is capable of defending its territorial integrity at all costs. We in fact, for centuries, have done so. We have done so against slave traders between 16th-20th centuries, and did so against Murahaleen (1983-2002) as well as defended it against those who thought they could exterminate us out of Dinkaphobia. We therefore still have the capability to do so, however powerful an invading force may be. For indeed when it becomes an issue of struggle for sheer survival, then even seeking assistance from the devil, as Italian’s Mazzini once succinctly put it, is justified. In an Ottomanian saying expressing the same sentiment, it has been said that clinging to a serpent in order to save oneself from drowning, should not evoke blames.

Thus far, we do not want to go down in history as a people who denied our people of South Sudan their right to self-determination. This is why it is imperative for us to continue to present our grievances through dialogue and amicable forums. But if your leadership continues to push us to the brink Sir, so be it. At the moment however, we are appealing for your intervention, to resolve this border issue before the situation goes out of control. It is a matter of pressing urgency.

The presence of Jikany County deep inside the Ruweng territory is a grim and constant reminder of bitter memories arising from Dr. Riek’s systemic and deliberate discrimination against Panaruu while he was the Zonal Commander of Western Upper Nile, beginning in 1986. Dr. Riek’s zonal policies were biased against Panaruu people. One such typical example relates to the outbreak of the kala-azar disease in Western Nile in 1987. At that time, Riek Machar deliberately began to implement his systemic discrimination when he decided to locate the three Kala-azar clinics only in Nuer land: one at Bielbar, another at Duar and yet another at Leer, to treat Nuer nationals, all made with the intention of depriving the Ruweng people with such a badly needed medical rescue. Ruweng County is located in the northern part of Western Upper Nile on the northern part of River Bhar el Ghazel. Yet as far as Ruweng County is from Western Upper Nile, it was still inevitable that sick people be carried by shoulders all the way to Nuer land. And since kala-azar is a contagious disease, everyone who helped carry a kala-azar patient ended up being sick himself and indeed inevitably died of it. Riek did not provide even alternative mobile clinic services to the Ruweng community in spite of his awareness of the gravity of the situation. To add more oil to the flame, patients from Panaruu were admitted in a separate ward, usually never treated or looked after like their Nuer counterparts. In contrast to the Nuer patients, more than 90% of them, despite the existence of life-saving medicines, died in the hospital. At the later days, most of the patients who managed to reach those clinics ended up being slaughtered at their hospital beds when Riek declared his infamous Nasir Coup against Chairman Garang. Now, as part of Western Upper Nile, we are once again under the control of our erstwhile enemies who wanted and continue to want to exterminate us. Surely, nothing could be more painful than being under the control of dumb cousin who has decided to be your perennial enemy!

4) How the SPLM/A Has Historically Marginalised and Humiliated the Ruweng Community.

Mr. President,

We would like to make it unequivocally clear that Panaruu people have neither bitter feelings nor vendetta against the SPLM or SPLA. However, as a matter of history, stating that the SPLM/A has hitherto marginalised and humiliated the Ruweng community is, in our opinion, another understatement on our part, since we are a community that has degradingly suffered untold mistreatment in the hands of the SPLM/A, our disproportionate contributions in the liberation notwithstanding. One typical example of such an unfair disregard of the Ruweng interests occurred in 2008. Briefly put, it concerns the border dispute that was miserably botched by the SPLM/A; and the state governor, Mr. Taban Deng Gai. That is, when the border issue became a major stumbling block, in the implementation of the CPA, for example, in northern Bhar el Ghazel, a military force of our gallant Peoples’ Army was despatched. And among those who paid the ultimate price, 15 brave Ruweng youths, that is about 30% of all the SPLA soldiers who heroically paid the ultimate sacrifices to defend the South’s border on the Aweil side, were heroes born and bred in Ruweng County. They laid down their lives because they deeply believed that every inch of Southern Sudan’s soil is worthy bleeding and dying for. Yet, when a similar incident occurred on the Ruweng side of the Southern border, the SPLM and Governor Taban Deng Gai signed a clandestine agreement that saw Roorlou (Karsana) and Gongyak (Bamboo Area) given away to the North. Not even a single SPLA leader made an attempt for confrontation to defend the Southern border on the Ruweng side. Mr. Taban did not only violate the constitution by overstepping his constitutional limits but indeed disregarded the feelings of the Ruweng community by acting without attempting even a tinge of consultation with the community. His behaviour was a typical depiction of wanton and reckless disregard of constitutional arrangements that bar him from unilaterally acting without consultations with the relevant authorities. Border issues are never a state responsibility, they are federal’s. Yet he did and remains at large. Notwithstanding his uninformed; bold and perhaps self-deprecating conspiracy, he juicily got away with it, of course with the backing of the SPLM/A leadership. This act, certainly, constituted a major betrayal: an unacceptable failure to fulfill the promise of the liberation for which our Pariang brothers have disproportionately paid in life and limb.

Mr. President,

Such a blatant betrayal, against the people of Pan-Ruweng (Pan-Ruu in short), is not new. For instance, at the inception of the Movement, Mr. Wilson Kur Chol joined the SPLM/A with the rank of major and was indeed senior to almost all the SPLM/A founding leaders. This was a significant humiliation for the Ruweng community even when their son, Mr. Thon Deng Buol-buol was the first man to fall by paying the ultimate price, on the eve of the Revolution in Bor Town, on May 16, 1983. Needless to mention, Commander Wislon Kur Chol was killed in cold blood. But Wilson’s demise was not the first tell-tale sign of our community’s betrayal by own brothers in the South. Mr. Peter Wien Monyjuet and Mr. Giel Kur Akook also died in mysterious sets of stories. The latter was conspired against, and subsequently poisoned by some his colleagues, yet we were told a different story altogether. Mr. Wilson Kur was a gallant soldier, a fighter, a liberator and a strong minded military leader who strongly believed in the justness of the cause of our common struggle. This fact was made manifest when he was given a dramatic chance to escape from prison (along with those of Kerubino, Majier, Arok etc) but he refused to run away like his fellow inmates, proving, once and for all, that he was innocent beyond a reasonable doubt. His triumphant return to the Movement was the envy of many who, as a result, jealously got rid of him in, yet again, mysterious circumstances.

As if that was to be the end, a similar degrading treatment has been repeated with Hon. Benjamin Mijak Dau who has been not only demoted but utterly humiliated and is now fighting for his survival. In this regard, Mr. President, you have simply allowed interpersonal grudges to creep into the way of national harmony by discarding our only senior leader in the Movement, sadly, by demoting him from being a senior member to being a nobody and without replacing him with anyone from the community. Hon. Benjamin Majak’s demotion is not just a personal humiliation to him. It is also a humiliation to the entire Panaruu Community. Yet Mr. President, if you were serious about this community’s representation, Benjamin could have been substituted with someone else from the community, assuming that he has proven unreliable, which is not the case anyway. Simply put, you do not believe that this community deserves any substantive representation.

Mr. President,

It is self-evident that this community has made magnificent contributions in the ongoing Struggle and pursuit of liberty, justice, dignity and equality for all citizens of our country, not just of South Sudan. Some of the famous SPLA battalions from Panaruu include but not limited to Bilpam, elephant, Adiit, Agreb, Cobra, Gol and Lazim (which you heroically commanded), Jongo divisions and many more others. These men fought without looking back and 99.99% of their bones now lie forgotten in our soil and in unmarked graves in South Sudan today, but it is a right cause and sacrifice we are proud of.

What is more, even when the entire South was engulfed by flames defection and senseless coup (after the infamous 1992 Nasir Coup) and the whole Upper Nile was thrown into confusion, Panaruu remained steadfast to the noble cause of the Struggle. Ruweng County, like Bhar el Ghazel then, continued to provide conscripts and mobile forces to replenish the SPLA with fresh blood, the only county in the entire Upper Nile to do so at the time. Yet when it is time for sharing the national cake for which we have significantly made immense sacrifices, you simply decide to push our community to the periphery! What a betrayal!

We are not even asking for schools or hospitals or management positions in or from your government. You have categorically made it clear that we are not part of your government. But here, we are simply asking that we should be given the right to choose our county leaders or that our land be left intact. Is it too much, to ask you to give us the right to choose our own leaders or the right to retain our own land? We hope that after receiving this note, you should be able to understand the staggering magnitude of this situation and that you will be able to reverse these damaging patterns of discrimination and humiliation, both at the state and national levels.

CONCLUSIONS

For woe, rather than for weal, the interests of the Ruweng people in Western Upper Nile seem to have been sacrificed by those who play political gimmicks at the expense of a community that does not surely deserve any of the inhumane treatment it has been receiving under the regional, state and county administrations. These political gimmicks have actually or potentially led to gross rise of untold forms of injustices. Yet the community’s genuine complaints, with substantive proofs of short term and long term consequences, domination, as well as marginalisation, including the right to vote and choose the community’s political leaders, have continued to be dismissed as cranks.

Indeed depriving the people of Panaruu of economic, political and social equality has become a sacred crusade for which some people or groups are ready to do anything, using any means, including gerrymandering, to achieve it. The Ruweng people are victims of their own image: the image of resilience despite the staggering odds related to their location at the bleeding edge of the South-North border, the image of remaining steadfast to the pursuit of justice, equality and dignified existence as the main threads of our common Struggle. We are also victims of our own image in the sense that we have refused to submit to witch hunting and believe that our destiny lies with and in the SPLM/A. These characteristics and others are what have set us apart from the rest, and clearly explains why our county has often remained committed to the objective of the SPLM/A. It is this image that has become the source of envy against our community. They want to destroy what we have built, yet we cannot accept to burry our heads in the sand when our rights are grossly violated in a broad day light. This is why we have written to you, Mr. President, this very petition.

We are also asking the SPLM and GOSS leaderships to bring this bout of sufferings to an end. Enough is enough! The Ruweng people want to be free and happy like any other community in the South. No oppressed people can claim to be truly free unless they can also free themselves from internal shackles of unfair political domination and economic marginalisation. It is a travesty of justice and logic, especially for a people who have steadfastly subscribed to the ideals of national liberation, to be treated with this much scorns and disdain.

Now that we have peace, it rests upon our shoulders as citizens to look far behind our backyards and foster respectful and peaceful relations among communities again, more than before; a relationship whose foundation is based on collective dream and common destiny and promising vision of providing life and hope again to our people who have suffered untold sufferings throughout the civil war. But, to ensure a successful march towards a better future in Ruweng County, we call upon you once more, Mr. President to relieve Col. Miabek Lang Miadeng as commissioner, and appoint a new and fresher face who will restore, dignity, justice, and equality for all, because the current Commissioner is a man who has ganged up with his community’s bad wishers and sacrifices his community’s interests, by doing anything to purchase power from his external power conferring-and-benevolent authority. He gets everything by a touch of dishonesty.

To close our note to you, we would like, Mr. President, to leave you with the following YouTube video links (which only give a sample of the staggering sufferings endured by the Panaruu community for more than 20 years), one in which Dr. Garang spoke about the sufferings of the Ruweng County. They are only a tip of the iceberg.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rgZ1aal478s
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VRzVyGypybs

Signed by:
1. Ayuel Dau Deng Agieu.
2. Lwal Baguoot Kiir
3. James Monyluak Mijok Thon
4. John Kuol Makuach
5. Ngor Kur Mayol
6. Abok Kiir Dau
7. Mijak Dongwei Koch
8. Kur Chopbany Kur
9. James Adiok Mayik
10. Guor Miabok Michar
11. Philip Tolewut Michar
12. Palath Miaker Diar
13. Simon Chol Mialith Kiir
14. Santino Miagak Dau Kuol
15. James Koch Yool
16. Gabriel Monyluak Miakol
17. James Achuil Kuol
18. James Ahoor Miabil
19. Wien Miarial
20. Wuor Deng Lueth
21. Francis Monyjiek Mijak Kiir
22. Charles Chol Tiop Miyom
23. James Monyluk Miabek
24. James Lubo Mijak
25. Dau Dengyom
26. Stephen Mijok Dongwei Akiir
27. Peter Miarial Miabek
28. Moses Miyen Mialou
29. Andrew Miyen Miaker
30. Chok Choch Kur
31. James Chol Achut Kur
32. Miaker Pieng Jau