It is unfair to censure Sudan’s Salav Kiir
By Samuel Ajuong Makuer
Sept 23, 2005 — It is an innate characteristic of human being to react towards events surrounding him or her! As expected, the long-waited formation of the Government of National Unity in the Sudan (GONU) have faced mixed reactions from condemnations to hails.
Most of the praises and wows seem to have been expressed by the international community, foreign governments and the National Congress Party (NCP) for its significant gains of the most important portfolios, especially in the economic cluster, whereas the woe, angst, and disappointment have been felt greatly by the Northern Opposition, marginalized citizens in general and by the Southern Sudanese population in particular for the conceited and egoistic attitudes the NCP has exhibited during the distribution of the federal ministries.
Even though the bitterness is legitimate, it is unfair to censure the First VP President Gen. Kiir for the loss of energy and mining ministry to vainglorious NCP and portray him as naive and callow. Some critics, especially the Khartoum Monitor, the only Southern Sudanese English news paper publish in Khartoum, have over-reacted and called Gen. Kiir to step down. I think the idea of him to step down is unpopular and it would have been unwise for Gen. Kiir to have done so for a number of reasons.
First, The SPLA/M had fought for more than twenty-one years during which millions of precious lives had been lost not just for oil, despite of its importance, but because of the reestablishment of a new system in which all citizens be treated equally irrespective to color, race, sex, creed and belief, however, when the international pressured the SPLA/M, the movement relinquished some of the crucial demands pertinent to the foundation of that utopia system in the Sudan. Instead the SPLA/M bargained for the right of self-determination in which the Southern Sudanese would vote in six years either to remain in a united Sudan or opt for the secession as stipulated by the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA).
Second, since the current national unity government is provisioned by the CPA, it would have been a gross breach of the CPA itself had the First VP President resigned and ultimately it would have unwelcoming ramification.
* Samuel Ajuong Makuer is a Sudanese lawyer living in Canada