The untidy path to normalization in Southern Sudan

A Direct Challenge to South Sudan Transition

By Duop Chak Wuol

October 7, 2007 — Some would wonder why I have chosen the word normalization – I have chosen this word because normalization is desperately needed in Southern Sudan. Returning from some state of abnormality is considered normalization – is also has specific meanings in various fields. My article will address Sudan’s most challenging issues, particularly in the Southern Sudan – facts, past events, doubts, theories and much more will also be revisit. South Sudan is a historic, beautiful, and a place that is in diverse cultures, and natural resources. The creation of an effective nation is not an easy job. There are justified reasons for believing that democratic rule is a necessary condition for enjoying other human rights.

Southern leaders are on the verge of uncertainty. This region, for the most part of its history has not been under government rule for a very long period of time. For South Sudanese, government is something they will get use to but this doesn’t mean that the people of South Sudan are not capable of running their affairs. These people have been capable of running their own internal affairs since before the Turko-Egyptian invasion of 1821 which later turned to be the Turko-Egyptian occupation in the same year. As a result, these unwelcome foreigners have ruled both northern and southern regions of Sudan and set up their messy rules, leaving the people of southern regions with no hope. The Turko-Egyptian were treating southerners unfairly, they also allied themselves with the Sudan Arabs leaders which left African leaders in the Southern part of the country worried and at the same time restricted their public services. Some of these historical leaders ended disappearing and never found – this is an act of one super group acting against the will of others.

On January 9, 2005, the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) between the SPLA/M and the Khartoum government was signed – this led to the formal recognition of Southern Sudanese autonomy. It was a magnificent achievement. With the word autonomy included in the peace document, one would argue that leading South Sudanese to their peaceful destinies would be a major challenge for anyone. This argument can surface almost anywhere and most of all it is an obvious question any one would like to ask. This argument can ultimately be a reminder for the South Sudanese of shameful things that were once imposed on them by the Arabs. It must, however, be pointed out that the Arabs were doing their best to subjugate southerners so that they can destroy the identity of Sudan. We also have to take a closer look at how South Sudanese have been mistreating themselves even when they were at war with their enemy, the Arabs. I will be addressing some of the issues later which I believe have contributed to problems with in the South.

The Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) created the Government of Southern Sudan (GoSS). This is the government Southerners have been denied for so long, fought for, cried for, and millions of lives have been lost for. New rules and regulations are being established in place of natural laws (at early stages). Landownership has been redesigned and normal life has been reinvented or returned. Law and order has been delivered (at least to some extent). Children will now have opportunity to get an education. A health care system will also be available – it is the Government of Southern Sudan (GoSS) doing all these things. South Sudanese are far behind in nearly everything compared to rest of the world. This is because of such a brutal war, the Sudan civil war – a war well fought by the Sudan People’s Liberation Army/Movement (SPLA/M). Although the Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA) was poorly equipped, it was able to defeat its well armed enemy, the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF), from Southern territories, and help relieve the pain already suffered by Southerners. This war was a global incident but widely ignored by prominent world leaders who cited inconsistencies within the movement – among them were the leaders of the United States of American (USA) and the United Kingdom (UK). One of the speculated theories was that SPLA/M was very close to Eastern Hemisphere nations – or the movement was aided by unfriendly countries to the west. Leaving them with no outside help and no other place to turn to, the people of Southern Sudan have greatly suffered. As a result, Southerners’ qualities, honesty, morality, existence, and cultural values, just to mention a few, were systematically destroyed by Arabs as a result of political exclusion. Leaders of South Sudan must be united against the Darfur crisis which is now costing innocent lives. This is no different than what was done to southerners by the Arabs before the CPA.

Philosopher John Locke theorized that “nothing was made by God for man to spoil or destroy”. Based on his theory and moral speaking, we can argue that there is no religion on earth who has endorsed either the war or violence. We can also conclude that any war or violence conducted by the name of any religion is a shame and inhumane. An act of violence or war is an act a peaceful nation or man would not endorse.

The unjustified killing of millions of people of South Sudan by the Arabs Government in Khartoum is unacceptable. Political marginalization and discrimination of Southerners were the first factors in the Southerners struggle against the Arabs. But the Islamic religious law, sharia, and oil have been recently viewed as critical issues and therefore have greatly fueled the conflict. Decision makers in Khartoum are ‘wisely selfish” when it comes to oil issue. This is the point where Arabs treat the lives of Southerners worthless – it is also where the Arabs dominated government has no mercy for its own fellow Sudanese. There is a saying that goes “take care with the end as you do with the beginning, and you will have no failure”. Based on this saying, one can tell that Arabs have seriously failed due to their unequal treatment of Southerners as second class citizens in their own country. In other words, Arabs have failed to apply logical reasoning rather than empirical methods. They have forcefully imposed their interests within Southern regions and enforced them without consulting the people of South Sudan – this is how they run their government. Moreover, they were using a well-designed discriminatory way of recruiting Southerners. They recruited people whom they said “were right for the job” and not people who were right for the country”. It was a purely barbaric act and they should have known better than this. If Arabs were working for the goodness of the whole country, then this is the question they should have asked in the first place: “what is right for the whole country”?

South Sudanese Physical and Invisible Enemies

There were also conflicts within Southern regions which still exist –these Southerners conflicts could be a result of war delusions. I am well aware that these conflicts have been the center of southerners’ desires, and therefore contributed to their sufferings. These conflicts ranged from sub-clan to tribal – they resulted in uneasy relationships among the people of South Sudan, and pitting various communities against one another. Southerners should blame themselves for these conflicts. Things that could easily be solved are major causes of southerners’ conflicts, but wartime prejudices, competition, and survival may also be blamed for these deadly conflicts. These internal conflicts among Southerners have created a “living hell”. These people are deeply divided, and haves and have-nots are more important in their daily interactions. These petty conflicts must be quashed.

Herein lie some of the main problems which, if people have not changed may have an adverse effect in their future. South Sudanese have engaged and/or are engaging in a fierce fight with “invisible enemies” – and if I’m not mistaken then they are either “morally wrong” or “career dead” or both. These are some of the examples of “invisible enemies” that I have just mentioned: it is easy to find people very dismissive for no clear reason. Blaming, jealousy, and self interests are at the highest – leadership addiction is skyrocketing, and admitting the truth is “ill-thought”. A human can only be a good citizen if and only if he/she abides by the rules of law of his/her own country. But we have to consider the fact that humans are still in their evolutionary process which makes it sometimes even harder for them to recognize their well-being as well as their existence. I wish some days these uncivilized activities among the people of Southern Sudan will somehow be forgotten.

For the sake of the newly founded nation, South Sudan, the people of this young nation must reject all the circumstances which could destroy their future, and they must also be good at maintaining their identity at all costs – they must not expose to the outside world their internal problems that they should solve themselves. To be effective in confronting their enemies, they should live side by side. Support their leaders who are now facing difficult jobs. They ought to correct their leaders’ mistakes in a respectful way, and should not use the “blame game” as their vision to correct their mistakes – this is not a polite way of doing business.

Enemies of Peace and Success

In most parts of the globe, there are individuals who always put their self-interests at the highest. Having said this, I have to remind you that as citizens of South Sudan, you have all the rights to do or say whatever you want to do or say, but remember these destructive individuals who are always enemies of success/peace will endeavor to undermine the “will of the nation”. They will attempt to do nonsense that a good citizen cannot do to his/her country. Most of these people may have no clear visions. They often use the “blame game” as their basic tool when confronting others – they are easily irritated. For the most part, deceiving others for their own self-interests will be their top objective. These people, most of the time grabbed others into their problems in an attempt to cover-up their buried feelings. These folks always see themselves as perfect leaders, negative challenges are also helpful to them, and they are very happy when doing these unrealistic things – but they usually failed. Any government should not let these individuals act on its behalf because they will create a “hostile environment” to the nation.

Southern leaders must be firm and confident. As true leaders of the people of South Sudan, their ultimate goals are to safeguard the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA), protect the people of South Sudan from oppressions, protect their interests, be good at maintaining their identity in all approaches, and lead them into their “free and happy society” where justice will be equally served. The rocky relationship between Southern and Northern MPs within the Government of National Unity (GONU) is a clear indication that CPA is like what I called “secretly-planned-mission-clock-set”, ready, which at any time, if chosen, can explode. South Sudan Members of Parliament (MPs) within the Government of National Unity (GONU) must be at all times ready – collapse of the CPA may occur – this could lead to another war – this is with worry endings. For the goodness of free South Sudan, the people of South Sudan must refrain from these uncivilized acts that have deeply divided them, ruined their relationships, and almost caused them to lose their values. I personally appeal to the leaders of Southern Sudan from federal to local levels that your leadership path is filled with thorny issues both in the South and North. These issues are not easy to deal with and therefore you must work hard to overcome them.

* Duop Chak Wuol is a South Sudanese originally from Maiwut County. He is currently living in Colorado, USA, he is a student at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs, and he can be reach at [email protected]