S. Sudan must be ready for war or separation
By Awolich de Nyuat
September 15, 2005 — The recent signed peace agreement (CPA) was a great sign of hope for the new phase in our country. Our people have once again taste the freedom of movement and enjoy sleeping without having to worry about bombs raining on them while asleep. Our people have once again seen the glimpse of peace and development and are going through a process of reconciliation. The developments soon after the signing of the CPA were promising with the government showing good signals towards improving its trashed records before the international community.
When Dr. Garang was inaugurated all the Sudanese people came out in masses to express their readiness for peace and for a change in their country. There was no longer discrimination Africans and Arabs it was about all the Sudanese people who stood in sun to welcome a person and a movement whom they’ve seen as the symbol for a change and for peace and unity. All the Sudanese jubilated Southerners and Northerners alike so it was a clear symbol of the United New Sudan. It was clear in our minds that all bad things which happened to us were after all worthy but given the situation soon after the signing of the peace agreement, people were ready to reconcile and forgive the government which had worked had to their destruction.
After all the jubilations and hope, the tragic death of our leader befell us and thereafter, we lost hope on that Saturday night of July 30th. It was the worse day for all the Sudanese mourned except may be those enemies who had wished him the fate who might have celebrated. The next step was unclear and people had no clear idea what the best course of action would be. Some debated to start the war immediately, some wanted to know what happened first and some were unconscious for days if not weeks. It was like the end of the world for Southerners if not all the Sudanese.
Fortunately, our leadership trained and determined to deal with any crisis of any magnitude stood up to face the challenge and the leadership went on to reassure the people that even with this unbearable tragedy the people’s movement would uphold their cause and that the movement was more united than ever before and not vanished whatsoever. I couldn’t go to sleep until I heard the voice of our mother Rebecca Nyandeng De Mabior who became the heroine of the people on that day. I was relief after I heard her voice and the voice our leader Salva Kiir Mayardit and that of our Governor Pagan Amum. The leadership asserted that the CPA was still alive and that the visions of the movement will not be forsaken and it will not betray people’s cause.
The movement swiftly acted in a crisis meeting to elect Lt. General Salva Kiir Mayardit as an immediate successor an action which amazed many world leaders and which brought some worries in the other parts of the world. It was surprising to the other world leaders because they had thought that power struggle would be an obstacle to his appointment and that crisis would widen. This view was not surprising however because our movement was prone to such crisis but what the analysts had not seen was that the death of our leader was in fact a test of our resolve and as such, it became a uniting factor. The movement acted clearly and upheld people’s expectations and hope. That alone was a good sign that people’s cause was intact and all the provisions of the SPLM were in place.
Bad signs so far
The government of Sudan responded fairly well to the crisis after the death of Dr. Garang by words of mouth but the activities thereafter in Khartoum were indicative of the reality of the relationship between the people in the South and in the North. To go back further, on Wednesday May 18th, about 23,000 displaced Southerners in Soba Aradhi were forcefully displaced again in their camp to a desert area. When the refugees clashed with the police, the government of Sudan sent about 6,400 police force on the week of May 24th 2005 to forcefully remove the refugees and about 17 innocent lives were lost. This incident was a sign of bad faith from the government.
How could a government which genuinely needs peace mistreats the very people that need unity made attractive them? It was a clear message to the Southerners that even with the coming of peace, the government doesn’t care for them and does not even respect their rights. The SPLM protested formally to show that they can’t see their people harassed and remain silent. The government is not yet prepared to make the unity attractive nor does it genuinely seeks peace but given the mounting pressure they had to accept the peace deal unwillingly.
The man who called himself a president of Sudan has never ever visited the people of the South Sudan under the SPLM control areas to show a sign of good faith and concerns for the people’s suffering. Instead, all he did was to send low ranking officials working on the constitutional draft to Rumbek and that could be it. That I think is a sign of bad faith. If president Bashir wants reconciliation and forgiveness, he should have come to Rumbek or Yei to talk to people and reassure the people in the South particularly after the death of Dr. Garang. What is he up to now, no one knows.
Do people in the South called him their president, well I don’t know I heard he is the president but whether he is my personal president I doubt it. How can I call him a president when he doesn’t even recognize the suffering of those southerners close to him in Soba Aradhi and Jebel Aulia? Unity does not come as automatic reaction of the people in last minute of referendum, it is a process that needs to be nurtured and worked for. The best person to do this is the president of the Sudan Omar Al Bashir. The president probably needs to be reminded that the Southerners have two choices to stay or go each of which is important.
The question that ought to be asked is who loses when the country separates into two and who wins then? Probably when put in terms of winning or losing the president may understand. Their faked mourning on the death of John Garang had not unnoticed it left nothing but skepticism from Southerners about the intentions of the government. The best time for president Bashir to influence Southerners was soon after the death of Dr. Garang but now it is too late people know for sure that Bashir doesn’t care and would never care about the people in the South.
Power Sharing
The current delays in the formation of the government of National Unity is another sign of bad faith from the government in Khartoum. All the ministries given to the SPLM are problematic some ministries are reduced to almost nothing and some are not being given to the Southerners particularly ministries revolving around wealth including energy and mining and finance. The government wants to control all these ministries. Wait a minute, do we have a section in the CPA that talks about power sharing? So is the document not powerful enough to be abided by or is it an indication that Khartoum is not ready to welcome the SPLM to the government and share power and wealth? Something is wrong here and we the ordinary citizens of the Sudan and the Southern Sudan in particular need to know why the NIF party wants to control all the wealth and powerful ministries?
One thing needs to be clear, without wealth sharing and power sharing protocols, no agreement would have been reached. Refusal to give SPLM energy ministry could have a great impact even on this signed agreement unless all the provisions of the CPA are abided with. The government in Khartoum should give the Southerners the ministry of Energy, should fund the SPLA forces which are part of the national army and must release funds due to the government of South Sudan. The CPA is very clear and we the people in the South are very clear there is no compromise when it comes to the provisions of the CPA. The government should stop the old tactics because those tactics have reached their expiration dates ever since. We demand a new government sooner than later with all political parties included and all provisions of the CPA applied fully and clearly without vagueness or un-clarity of any single function of the government.
Does our generosity means that people are misreading our minds? We didn’t ask the government in Khartoum to pay for all the destructions it caused during the war and all our wealth stolen during all the war times. We are ready to forgive and forget yet the government keeps reminding us of the past. If the government of Omar Bashir does not want to share wealth or power, what are waiting for knowing what we know so far? If it doesn’t work a month into the interim period, do we think it will work after six years? I don’t believe it will hold. I was not there when the Addis Ababa agreement was abrogated but it might be leading to that direction so far. I wonder if the government of president Bashir thinks southerners would forget the hardships they went through to a point were they will stand by while their God given rights are being abused and eroded. Never. We the people of the South Sudan are determined, willing and committed to stand up for our rights and under no circumstances would we vanish or forsake our God given rights.
Conclusion
Finally, knowing what we know of the regime in Khartoum, we must be ready for the return to war or eventual separation. I wish not and God prohibits that it is not the case but I am afraid the people in Khartoum are not ready to accept us as equals but as probably second or third class citizens and that alone is enough to trigger discontentment. I personally as much as I hate war, the signs are indicative of the same trend following the 1972 agreement and the 1997 peace from within. This is worrisome because if that is the case, Sudan will never ever be peaceful unless there is a serious change of hearts and attitudes in Khartoum.
I think the government has premeditated the violation of this agreement somewhere along the road and if that is the case, it is a tragic miscalculation from the side of the government given the bitterness our people have for the lost of their leader. It is needless to say that we the people in the south under no stress and duress would we shrink before our enemy and compromise our freedom and our rights. So buying time from the side of the government will not and cannot change our hearts to compromise to sign into a second class citizenship whatsoever. The years could be long and the road may be too rough and the direction may be unclear but our vision to be free in our own land in our own terms will never die and never vanish.
My last statement to all compatriots is that vigilance, unity and resolve are not only required, they are mandatory knowing what we know so far. The death of our leader Dr. Garang is a true test of our resolve and our ability to keep our vision alive on our own. The signs are great so far because our leadership is working hard to keep it alive so must we. For the sake of our lives and of the future of our children, the light of our freedom must shine throughout the day and night in every corner of the world where southerners are present. Let us not falter for the only valuable possession human being has is the right to be free in one’s own land.
– Awolich de Nyuat, is an anthropology student at The University of Vrmont – USA