Who’s silencing southern Sudan leadership?

By Luke Kuth Dak

April 18, 2008 — I have learned since my days in high school at( Shendi) that the Islamic Extremists- Muslim Brotherhood -groups must not be underestimated for a host of good reasons: Firstly, they are very organized and devoted to mastering what it takes for them to achieve and accomplish their goals and objectives. Secondly, they are financially more well-off than all the Sudanese political parties combined. And thirdly, they not only arm themselves with guns, knifes and sticks, but also with education at it’s highest level in various fields from very well respected institutions World wide, especially from the West.

To see evidence of this, we need to look no further than the current” foxes” that have been running Sudan with an iron fist for two long decades of brutality, murder and more. The majority of them- if not all- are brilliant men who have worked furiously for years to achieve this horror that threatens the unity of the largest country in the continental Africa.

In addition, we should not forget very quickly how they manipulated former dictator Jaafar Numeri, an alcohol abuser and a communist. They lured him into Islamic extremism, crowned him as an Imam and consequently declared the imposition of the notorious September Islamic Sharia Laws in 1983 that ultimately let to the end of his sixteen-year tenure and the resumption of the second round of civil war between the two parts of the country, leaving behind over two million southern lives. In short, this is a group of extremist,hatemongering, power- hungry who would do anything to further their goals and objectives including using God when it serves their interests even if it means licking boots of the powerful as they did with Numeri.Their only problem, however is that they can’t govern, and if northern Sudanese haven’t figured that out yet, then they probably deserve what the have got!

Regrettably, The same scenario is about to repeat itself. It’s now becoming apparent that the South Sudan leadership is following the foot steps of it’s previous successors in the government of South Sudan by buying into the smear tactics and dirty tricks of alleged corruption from a terrorist regime that falls on the short list of the United Nations(UN) of the most corrupt governments in the World. The game’s crystal clear, and any Southern Sudanese who fails to see the objective of the vicious campaign, does not live in the World in which we live. The main and central objective of this brutal and persistence assault is in indeed to silence the Southern leaders and divert their attention from matters of utmost importance to the people they are trying to lead the promise land, e.g. Abyie, border demarcation, development, census and more importantly the upcoming elections and the 2011 referendum which will decide the fate of whether Sudan will be under one umbrella or separate states!

Meanwhile, Lt.General Salva Kiir Mayardit,the Chairman of the Sudan Peoples’ Liberation Movement (SPLM), the First Vice President of the Republic and President of the Government of South Sudan (GOSS), is always tRying to make a difference in the lives of the people of the South, even though he took this job at a tumultuous time in the wake of the aftermath of the untimely departure of the Movement’s founder, late Dr. John Garang de Mabior.Yet, he has shown an amazing array of personal gifts, abilities and a remarkable quality of presence even in the face of the most brutal dictators Omar al Basheer and Ali Othman Muhammad Taha. However, the number two most powerful man in Sudan-supposedly, anyway, is showing signs that the vicious attacks by the extremist National Congress Party media is finally taking it’s toll on him.

Any observer of the Sudanese political landscape must have noticed that his latest speeches have all but centered on the so-call war on unfounded and unmerited corruption accusations, at the expense of all else of the most urgent challenges facing the despaired people of South Sudan. Long gone is the war on tribalism which remained to be an eminent threat to the unity and stability of the region.

The same can be said about the SPLM giant Pagan Amoum, the Secretary General and Minister of cabinet Affair who- until not too long ago,use to delight us with his fiery press conferences, no longer takes the stage, and the last time anyone ever heard from him came when he was visiting the State of Unity in the company of racist and war crimes fugitive, Abdul Rhaim Muhammand Hussien, the Minister of Defense in the so-called government of national unity Now,who would have ever thought, even in their wildest dreams that Ustaz Amoum would refer to a murderer as “a brother and friend”, not to mention the hands shaking, hugs and smiles! Also, what happened to once out- spoken Deng Alor, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, the one that use to keep Abyie issue on the front line? Why all of sudden he confines himslef in the darkest corner in his ministery, while Mustafa Othman runs it’s affairs that he had to accompany him in his first official visit to Washington? The answer is so ovious. As mentioned above the extremists do their homework in studying Southern Sudanese both mentally and personally: give them some phony minsterial positons and the rest is history.

More so than ever, the uncalled for silence that has engulfed the Southern political arena is a devastating blow to anything and everything our brave people have fought for since the declaration of the so-called Sudan independence in 1/1/1956. The extremists terrorists are passing on their agenda- in broad day light- without checks and balances.
Those of us most familiar with the northern terrorists know that, the one and only way to deal with National Congress Party of Omar al- Basheer is to give them a taste of their own medicine by being tenacious, smart, articulate and tactful. Silence, is certainly not one of the options!

All of us know Sudan’s a divided nation on racial and religous lines. The story of race here is one of generations.Saddly, to this day in age however, northerners still believe that southerners are inferior and not worthy of respect. With that mentality, frictions, resentment and inconfidence will only deepen, thereby making unity all the more difficult- if not impossible to achieve. Let’s face it, if northerners were treated that same way by southerners, I believe they would be bitter and resentful,too.

Finally, if unity ought to be given a chance this time around, the oppressors should pick up the tab. Whining and blame games will not bring about unity which is not there to begin with.
I hope Dr. Martin Luther King,Jr. will allow me to borrow his quote: ” Our hearts and souls begin to die, the moment we become silent about issues that matter.”

Luke Kuth Dak is a former anchor at Juba Radio.
You can reach me at: [email protected]