United South Sudan better than a federated tribal states

By Luke K. Dak

Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., once said, “A man who won’t die for something is not fit to live”.

June 12, 2007 — After enduring stormy months of the savage and vicious barrage of negative criticism, character assassination, and unrelenting assault, orchestrated by the forth most corrupt regime in modern world history, the leadership of both the government of Southern Sudan (GOSS) and the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM) have finally surrendered and allowed themselves to be over taken and consumed by baseless and unfounded accusations of alleged corruption relentlessly carried out by the National Congress Party (NCP) and it’s affiliated media.

Apparently, the campaign, which has since subsided, was categorically, a smear tactics and dirty tricks, aimed at silencing the southern leadership, and to put them on a defensive position, on issues of utmost importance to the destiny of the people of South Sudan and the implementation of the CPA. These negative ploys could also be conspicuous messages to the South that the North has taken enough criticism and are out for a collision course and if you dare repeat the past, we will unleashed our sharp-teethed media, to hunt you down at will.

Presently, “if you think nothing good comes out of evil, you better think again”. In an unprecedented scale, southern Sudanese Diasporas, especially in North America, stood united and have not bought into the venomous campaign against the struggle. In fact, these senseless attacks solidified their beliefs that northern Sudanese negative campaign was not directed at any one particular Southerner, but all Southern Sudanese, regardless of their origin and tribal background.

President, Salva Kiir Mayardit, whom, I hope history will judge well, is a good man and a leader who possesses a great deal of qualities anyone would ask of a politician. However, he came to power at a tumultuous time, and faces a tremendous amount of challenges, and an audience whose patience is understandably, running out. Obviously, he must have been overwhelmed with tremendous corruption allegations, which took away his focus on other pressing issues, questionably state of affairs.

Clearly, it could not have been a coincidence, that President Mayardit, in his May 19th address to the Southern Sudan Legislative Assembly (SSLA) in the Juba University compass (a crime scene of a fresh tribally motivated savage murder of a young man and a potential leader of tomorrow), absolutely failed to denounce, nor condemn the tragedy. Surprisingly, the eminent threat to the unity of the people of Southern Sudan, tribalism, was nowhere to be found in one of his lengthy speeches. Consequently, what happened in the compass of Juba University is a chilling alarm and a sad illustration, which has highlighted tribalism as the undeviating danger that we must eradicate if we are to be a nation. This must be done promptly, if indeed, there were to be a window of hope, for a nation and a country in southern Sudan.

Additionally, we are all aware that no silver bullet, or a magic solution to root out tribalism once and for all. But, through our collective approaches we can cure the pandemic of tribalism. The GOSS also enact tougher and enforceable laws that would make it a serious crime, punishable by up to prison time, heavy fines and compensatory damages on any individual, government departments, or organizations, that may discriminate against anyone base on their origin or tribal background. It’s doable.

It was utterly shocking to read the description of the tragic murder that happened at the Juba University compass from the Juba Post Daily editorial as conflict “between a Nuer and an Equatorian students”. Folks, this is the lowest form of journalism. There’s no such thing as a Nuer, a Dinka, or Barri Students. They are all Students, period.

* Luk Kuth Dak is a former Anchorman at Radio Juba and former Governor’s Press Secretary, Upper Nile Region residing in the U.S.A. and can be reached at: [email protected]