Sudan peace must heal no matter what

By Angelo Achuil

November 16, 2007 — “The CPA is moving like a drunken person, struggling going forward,” Kiir said. “But it is still holding. It has not fallen and it will not fall,” said Salva Kiir during his Washington visit this past week.

It is very important and encouraging to hear Salva Kiir’s confidence in CPA. The words of a leader can save a nation or send it to war. For CPA (Compherensive Peace Agreement) to prevail in Sudan, one got to believes first that it (CPA) got to be! Because if its ideas are true and important, why should it not become real? Idea precedes Action.

I honestly believe that CPA is the best thing that ever happened in Sudan since I had been I live (1980-2007). Since 1980-2007, there was always ground attack or airstrike in Wau, Juba, Kurmuk, Kapoeta, Pachalla, kajokaji, Abyei, Buma, Jebel Nuba, etc by Khartoum. Mass killing here today and annihilation there tomorrow. The number of people were murdered daily, weekly, monthly, or annually was never accounted for either in Equatoria, Jonglei, Kordufan, or Bhar el Ghazal because nobody got the time for that- being always on the run. How many had been graduated in Bongo (Pil-pam- Ethiopia) 1980s, came back and disappeared? If there is anybody who had not lost family member in North-South civil war, then that person will never know the price of the CPA, or its implications.

In the time, anybody would come, rape South Sudan of anything and ran away. Even the Uganda LRA (Lord’s Resistance Army) rampaged south Sudan when everything was a chaos and took advantage of the confused population, especially our Equatorian children and women (esp. Acholi) and used them to destroy their own, and Khartoum loved that- so as to tax the strength of the SPLA and keep it pre-occupied with them.
The period of 1980s-2005 was a time in South Sudan when any group would take off in the middle of the day and annihilate another town, and nobody could hear about it for months and even years!

Now however, we got the CPA, and it must not, and shall not “Fall.” The south was made desolate, a waste, grave yard by the criminal government of Khartoum. But thank God that we now have time to cool down because of CPA. There is now at least no bombs falling down everyday on the South although the key points of the CPA are not implemented yet. CPA is the desire of all humans, that’s why it can’t fail.

I used to never to pray Omar Hassan Ahmed al Bashir honestly because I never liked him (not after his destruction of my home in Bhar el ghazal), but I recently realized that if there is somebody in the whole world who needed God so bad, it got to be Omar Hassan Ahmed al Bashir- considering that he earned for himself the title “The world’s worst dictator.” This is why I pray that God can help him and his elusive advisors to do what he knows needed to be done for peace in Sudan. “Paradise magazine’s yearly list of the planets’s 10 world living dictators has named Sudan’s OMar Bashir as the head of the world’s most ignomious class”
•Wallechinsky (Surveyor) developed his list by consulting such human rights groups as Freedom House, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and Reporters Without Borders.”

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But regardless of the past, CPA’s success could shed some light into world’s record of Mr. Bashir’s terrible credit history. He would at least be remembered when CPA is mentioned. This is why CPA is a formidable test of reputation for both the SPLA and the “coup” government of Khartoum. A test for SPLA if they can attain what they want, and for Bashir if his words can ever be trusted. Besides Bashir, I also pray for Salva Kiir everyday that God will give him wisdom to protect his life and send His angel to protect always at home or during travels, so that they don’t kill him and report later to us that hati there was a bad weather or something. I am tired of hearing those cliche. My belief is that CPA can NOT fail, and it had better not fail! Because its failure would mean “us” falling into hoplessness or more war.

The author is based in the USA. He can be reached at [email protected]