Open Letter to Salva Kiir Mayardit
By Bill Andress
August 14, 2005
Dear General Salva Kiir:
No one wishes to rise to power through the tragic death of a
great leader. Through no wish of your own, following the
accidental death of Dr. John Garang de Mabior, great
responsibility has been thrust on you. It is fair to say that
the future of South Sudan (and perhaps all of Sudan) is squarely
in your hands. You can make a just and lasting peace a success
or allow it to fail. Yours is a heavy burden, awesome
responsibility and unprecedented opportunity.
Our goal, as I am sure is yours, is a just and lasting peace for
all Sudanese. All of the disenfranchised and marginalized
peoples of Sudan now look to you as their hope for the future.
You are in a position to seek justice for all Sudanese, and we
as members of Sudan Advocacy Action Forum look forward to
supporting you in this. We will continue to monitor the
situation in Sudan and try to keep the focus of the United
States and the international community on a productive future
for your country. We offer our prayerful support and assistance
in this most difficult task and wish you a smooth transition to
the position of representing your people.
We believe that you have several significant challenges. Among them are:
– Stopping the genocide in Darfur.
– Holding the peace together.
– Reconciling the people in the South
– Building institutions for governing the South
– Making the process open and democratic
Only then will you effectively be able to begin the process of
rebuilding. Many of these challenges demand that you focus much
of your attention in the South; however, this need is no reason
to delay your forcefully addressing the continuing genocide in
Darfur. Diversion and stalling have long been tactics that the
NIF has used to achieve its strategic goals. Most recently the
protracted delay in signing the CPA while the United States and
Britain focused on it allowed the NIF and Janjaweed to complete
the destruction of the lives and/or livelihood of almost 3
million African Darfur people. They must not be allowed to
employ such tactics in the future.
You have the reputation of being a natural consensus-builder.
It is said that you are skilled at solving political disputes.
Those are powerful personal attributes. Those who know you
report that: you are modest and humble – a stabilizing
influence; you seek a collegial style, and are focused on action
and not words. You are reputed to be of a reforming mind,
opposed to corruption, and one who seeks transparency in
governing.
Some say that your military background does not equip you to
deal at the national and international level. Gen. George
Washington, Gen. George Marshall and Gen. Dwight Eisenhower were
American examples of military men who became great statesmen.
So it appears that those critics have overlooked many who have
done just what you now can and must do.
Being mindful of the inherent weakness of South Sudan as an
emerging region for several years into the future, we see the
following as essential short term measures:
? Major reconciliation efforts within South Sudan must begin
immediately. You are internally divided. For very good reasons
there is much mistrust today. That mistrust is not healthy and
must be addressed openly.
? It takes only the casual observer to note that the
international community no longer is focused on Sudan, yet
international resolve to stop the NIF from pursuing its racist,
ethnic, religious-based injustice against its own people is
required for a just peace to succeed. Keeping the continuing
genocide in Darfur visible on your agenda will help retain the
attention of the world community on all of Sudan.
? The inadequate size and mandate of the A.U. forces in Darfur
is apparent. The same mistake must not be made in the South.
Deployment of a large U.N. peace support operation with a
mandate for military intervention to enforce the peace in the
South is needed. This must be an in-place force…no paper
tiger. It must both monitor and react to enforce the peace when
needed.
? Relief should be focused where it is needed – to support
refugees in Darfur, refugees returning from displacement, and
victims of drought and natural disaster. Other aid should be
focused on capacity building in the South so as not to become
permanently relief-dependent. A rapid increase in commitments
for capacity building and relief is essential.
Not through your own doing, but because of a tragic accident,
the vast responsibility for these tasks has fallen squarely on
your shoulders. We pray that you will succeed, and we continue
to pray and advocate for a just and lasting peace in all of
Sudan.
– Bill Andress, Moderator, Sudan Advocacy Action Forum