Leadership Crisis in South Sudan (2)
A Nation’s Cry for Help
By Luke Kuth Dak
July 3, 2007 — A very big fan of the United States’ (US) Constitution would enthusiastically say the legal concept of presumption of innocent and that an accused is innocent until proven guilty, is the best concept lovers of freedom can model in their legal systems, most importantly the freedom of speech that’s often taken for granted, especially in places like the South Sudan.
In the aftermath of the notorious and inflammatory press conference by the Ambassador, John Ukec Lueth, the Sudanese Charge de Affairs to the USA, whatever your politics is or what you see as an acceptable diplomacy, there seems to be an overarching expression of disbelieve and feeling of lost in trying to comprehend the message that Mr. John Ukech intended to deliver to the world regarding the newly US imposed sanctions on the Sudan. Many Southern Sudanese are still at loss trying to make sense of what it is that one of their brightest sons had drastically expressed in a very radical point of view on matters closed to the hearts and minds of his constituents.
The questions being ask are: What could be so wrong so fast, that Mr. Lueth, who until a couple of years ago called the agony facing the people of Darfur as a genocide, where he believed it is an ethnic cleansing being committed by the Arab Muslim North against the Black African in the southern and western parts of the Sudan? Secondly, What’s behind the change of hearts for Dr. Lam Akol Ajawin, the Foreign Affairs Minister, an amazingly smart man, with blood and historical links to the Shuluk Kingdom, and for El Shiek, Riek Gai Kok, the Presidential Advisor and Vice Chairman of the National Congress Party (NCP) Southern Division, whose hated anything to do with the Arab and Muslim culture that he cemented in the minds of his child hood friends and school mates? Thirdly, What does it take for any of these people who continue with their assault on anything and everything South Sudan stands for and believe?
Well, if you are a Southern Sudanese and you ask these question, I say to you respectfully, that either you are in divorce with the reality, or in a dangerous underestimation of the capabilities of the NCP, in terms of corrupting and buying hearts and minds of not only the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM), but also, the United Nations, the African Union, the Darfur Rebels, and the government of the Southern Sudan. For instance, two weeks ago, The Government of National Unity (GONU) vehemently rejected to participate in International Conference on Darfur initiated by France newly elected President, Nicolas Sarkozy. The France Conference on Darfur was attended by the Worlds super powers, the United Nations, the Arab League and some European Countries. The African Union (AU), an organization that’s not supposed to take sides, followed the Sudan’s suit, and refused to attend the meeting not even as an observe. Doesn’t that raise eyebrows! The A U has set a very poor example by becoming a “co-defendant” to the World’s fourth corrupt government. Dr Salim Ahmed Salim, the head of the AU, and his co-conspirators will never need to work a day more when they leave their current positions but face international justice for crimes against humanity. Southern Sudanese are making a deadly mistake in underestimating the capabilities of the NCP and the Islamic National Front (NIF), in terms of corrupting and bribing them.
For the first time in our nation’s history, the country is being govern some of the most talented, educated, trained elites, with defined objectives, realistic goals, clear vision, and a rigid determination to achieve their goals and objectives. Taking these people for granted is simply not an option.
There is a quote in Arabic that says: “If two thieves disagreed, the stolen surfaced”. El Shiek Dr. Hussan Abdalla al Turabi, the architect of the Islamic movement and an insider who must be taken very seriously, in numerous occasions said that ” the Bashir’s Party has already bought Southern Sudanese politicians”. Recently, Ustaz Muhammad Ibrahim Nugud, the Secretary General of Sudan National Communist Party, in an exclusive interview with Sudan Tribune said that ” they are just using delaying tactics, and they are also actively bribing and corrupting the SPLM members.
Truly, things happen for a reason. As I was preparing this article, and for no apparent reason, I found myself reading the Bible, and here is what I found: Almost 2,000 years ago the Bible stated ” Those who are determined to get rich fall into temptations and snare and many senseless and hurtful desires which plunge men into destruction and ruin. For the love of money is a root of all sorts of injurious things, and by reaching out for this love some have been led astray from the faith and have stabbed themselves all over with many pains. ” 1 Timothy 6:9,10.
A couple of weeks ago, a distinguished Sudanese Journalist and renowned academic, based in Washington, D.C. quoted the Sudan Ambassador, John Ukec Lueth as saying that the South Sudan Liaison Office in Washington, D.C., is ” a burden. ” and Ustaz, Ezekiel Lol Gatkuoth, the office Chief, as ” below his standard”. To the Ambassador’s information, Ustaz, Lol Gatkuoth’s family, like any other family in South Sudan paid a hefty price for the liberation cause, a well educated individual who speaks and writes four Languages fluently (Nuer, Dinka, English, and Amharic). He also an American educated. Ustaz, Gatkuoth brings to the table a wealth of knowledge, decency, and trustworthiness to the work of diplomacy. There is no way where Ustaz Lol Gatkuoth can be less qualified than Mr. John Ukech Lueth.
Surprisingly, the long awaited and anticipated reshuffle in the GONU is overdue. The NCP/NIF will never compromise the Southern Sheiks, who are serving their interest and more, for uncertain and probable southern hard liners. But, the fact remains that President Salva Kiir Mayardit has no control over who go and who stays as far as the Central Government is concerned. His Excellency, Mayardit only option to do this is to give up the prestigious Ministry of Foreign Affairs with it Minister Dr. Lam Akol, for to the NCP, for a much needed Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry and the Embassy in Washington D.C., for a South Sudan Liaison Office in the United States of America. The beloved people of Southern Sudan do not need a phony prestigious ministry. They are desperate for services, period.
* The author is former Radio Juba Anchorman residing in the USA and can be reach at [email protected]