Minister should apologize to Southern Sudanese in the Diaspora
By Francis Chagai Bol
AUg 23, 2006 — Central Equatoria state education minister Dr. Lokulenge Lole should apologize to the Sudanese in the Diaspora for referring to them as people who sit on their computers doing nothing as I quote below.
“When you read the internet these days and you read the attacks on government, on individual politicians in southern Sudan I feel very sorry. Sorry in the sense that somebody sits on his computer in New York doing nothing, he has not even seen southern Sudan and he becomes an expert of analysis of the situation in southern Sudan.”
To me as an individual, I could not under stand the reason why the Minister called the people who fought the war since it began on May 16th, 1983 to the end as people who have never seen anything in the southern Sudan.
.How does the minister define the term, The Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM. Does he define it as Salva‘s People liberation Movement with out people of the Southern Sudan? Have the SPLM/A become an aristocracy for few individual people like himself? Let the Minister know that his speech is unjust and it does not represent any single mainstream principles of SPLM/A.
When I grew up as Jec el meer Red Army under the wise leadership of Commander Pieng Deng Kuol and other comrades such as Ajang Alaak, Maker Thiong Mal, and Jurkuch Barach in Ethiopia and else where. I used to hear from them the most important things of which we were fighting for. One of them is freedom, democracy, and equal socio –economic opportunities. Repeatedly, I heard the same things from our late Leader Dr. John Garang de Mabior, Lt General Tut Nyang William Nyuon Bany, Commander James Wani Igga as well as our current President Lt. General Salva Kiir Mayardit.
Comparing that time all along with today state of affairs in which Dr. Lokulenge, is shutting up every body’s mouths in what we call he called “sitting on the computers doing nothing.” Freedom of press is a right of any citizen in civilized democratic societies in the World. No matter, whether you are sharing the same ideologies or not you could still have the right. However, being over whelmed with frustration and emotion is not the best way of disarming your critic against the government policies, but you can disapprove them by making progress and action. Yet no progress has been made at all according to what the people say in the Southern Sudan.
And that is why you see more criticisms surging from people from time to time and that may expand out beyond control sooner or later, should the government of South Sudan continue wasting our precious time with Lord God‘s army of Joseph Kony of Uganda. Instead of following the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) with Bashir’s government in Khartoum.
Attacking the government and individual politicians in Southern Sudan., first of all I think those who attack the government or individual politician within the SPLM/SPLA leadership circle are not guilty to do so because it is a democratic right of a citizen to criticize their government if it is not effectively delivering. Unless we are living in the state the British prolific writer George Orwell described in his book, “1984.”He can read George Owell’s 1984 to adjust his behaviors toward democratic values.
Dr. Lokulenge was giving his knowledge to Kenyans at Moi University when these Southerners he shut up today were fighting for the privilege he is now enjoying. I believe if the war breaks out again today, he can still run back to Eldoret to continue his teaching. The exiles are not enemies of peace as he cautioned his students but they are playing the role of an eye in the body. The exiles want to make sure that CPA is implemented to the letter and spirit. That is why they would always criticize the government when ever it goes wrong.
There is proof that there is corruption in the government of South Sudan. Even the president himself has admitted several times that there is corruption. Honorable Nhial Deng Nhial resignation is attributed to rampant corruption and ineffectiveness of the government in delivering the services. Elijah Malok statement during the late Dr.Garang memorial ceremony in Juba means that there is something more sinister within the government rank and file.
Once again the minister should apologize to restore his moral image in the eyes of the students and the South Sudanese in the Diaspora he scared and intimidated from reading from the internet which is one of the world breakthroughs in information technology. In fact the statement is a mockery of his position as a minister of education as well as a teacher.
* Francis Chagai Bol is a former SPLA member of red Army Battalion who is now a student in Canada.
He can be reached at [email protected]