Nuer urges UN Security Council to save peace in South Sudan
Press Release
Nuer Supreme Council (NSC)
October, 12, 2009
The Nuer Supreme Council strongly condemns armed hostility in Bentiu, capital of Unity State, between the SPLA armed forces which led to innocent civilian deaths. We are also appealing to the international community to intervene to save peace in South Sudan by addressing the problem of Taban Deng Gai. Contrary to the position taken by the SPLA army in Juba, the clashes of October 2nd in Bentiu town between bodyguards of the Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the SPLA and troops under the command of Governor Taban Deng Gai were politically motivated and designed.
Ever since the appointment of Brig. Gen. Taban Deng Gai, Unity State citizens have been living in fear due to abuse of power by the State Government. The Governor has turned the SPLA forces in the State into his private army to intimidate his political rivals and those who oppose his mismanagement of the State’s funds. The Government of South Sudan (GoSS) has capitulated since 2005 to his financial extortions and allowed him to turn the army of the South into a private army. The Governor paid and equipped the SPLA forces in the State and commanded them as he wished. He bought cars to most senior officers and gave them bonuses whenever they carried out his orders to arrest his political opponents.
The Interim Constitution of South Sudan and the SPLA White Paper passed into law by the South Sudan Assembly do not permit any Governor to use the SPLA Army as a private army. According to these legal documents, a Governor of any State cannot pay a national army and give them orders to do his dirty work against political opponents. South Sudan is the only place in the World where the Governor of Unity State has turned a regional army into a private army.
Many peace-loving Southerners including the Nuer Supreme Council are troubled by the uncivilized aggression against civilians in the process of Governor Taban Deng Gai to neutralize Paulino Matip. Rivalry between Matip and Taban goes back to the 1998 when Taban Deng Gai assumed the governorship of Unity State through a Presidential Decree although the people of the State elected Paul Lily earlier as the Governor through democratic processes. When the citizens of the State protested against such undemocratic appointment, Taban Deng responded with military might which resulted into a full blown confrontation with Paulino Matip. The military confrontation led in part to the collapse of the Khartoum Peace Agreement, which was signed in April, 1997.
In Southern Sudan, Governor Taban Deng is known as a human agent capable of paving the way for the collapse of any peace. He is a scheming politician who could be used by enemy of peace against his own people. Now the people of the South are deeply concerned that Taban Deng may collapse the CPA as he did to the Khartoum Peace Agreement in 1998.
When President Salva Kiir appointed him as the Governor of Unity State in 2005, he promised his supporters that he would never leave the State to anybody again or he would leave it completely destroyed beyond repair. Taban then started plans of taking over the SPLA army via bribing the leadership of the GOSS with Unity State’s oil share. The senseless lose of lives in Unity State occurred since Governor Taban Deng Gai took office, including the assassination attempt of State Minister of energy Angelina Teny, in December 2008.
Prior to the attempts of Governor Taban to disarm the bodyguards of Deputy Commander-in-Chief, 1st Lt. Gen. Paulino Matip on October 2nd, the Deputy Governor of the Unity State and the Chief Security official contacted the United Nations Mission in Sudan (UNMIS) and informed them about Governor Taban Deng’s plans to disarm the Deputy C-in-C. On October 1st, the UNMIS officials went to the resident of Paulino Matip in Juba to inform him about Taban’s plans and cautioned him not to respond for the sake peace. The UNMIS advised Paulino Matip not to worry and leave the matter to the UN to address. The new SPLA Chief-of-Staff, 2nd Lt. Gen. James Hoth, was in attendance when the UNMIS briefed Paulino about Taban’s intentions to wage war against Paulino Matiep in the pretext of disbarment. On October 2, 2009 waged aggression as planned and it was confirmed that 22 people lose their lives regardless of the UNMIS promise to prevent it. Victims of such senseless aggression were innocent children, women and some ordinary SPLA soldiers who could have died in the frontlines against the enemy should another civil war occur.
Unfortunately, in the face of such uncivilized lose of civilian lives, the GOSS chose the opposite. The Commander in Chief of the SPLA, 1st Lt. Gen. Salva Kiir, succumbed to the blackmailing of Taban Deng and allowed him to use the SPLA as his private army to target political opponents and civilians. In the press conference he conducted on October 3rd in Juba, President Kiir stressed that the Governor of Unity State should not be expected to pay the salaries of members of independent units. The President admitted that Taban is the financier of SPLA forces stationed in Unity State in violation of the SPLA White Paper and the Interim Constitution of South Sudan. The intellectual community of the South was caught off guard by the admission of the President because if Taban Deng is authorized to be the financier of the SPLA army, it follows that Taban is either the shadow C-in-C of the SPLA army or Salva Kiir has yet to learn his constitutional duties. It is unconstitutional that Governor Taban Deng Gai could be the one to pay an army which is allocated 60% of South Sudan budget by the Assembly.
Therefore, the international community must forcefully intervene to achieve the followings recommendations:
1. The removal of Governor Taban Deng Gai is a prerequisite for peace to prevail in the entire South Sudan. When Taban Deng Gai ran away from the Unity State in 1998, the people there enjoyed relative peace and started to live normal lives. The return of Taban to Unity State in 2005 is a threat to regional peace because any military confrontation can lead to the collapse of the CPA.
2. The UNMIS forces in Unity State should be mandated to protect civilians from Taban’s private army in case the Governor continues to rule with impunity and blackmailing.
3. The UN Security Council needs to address the leadership failures in Juba. Currently, insecurity in the South is worse than Darfur because the leadership of the SPLM has no direction and crippled by corruption. The collapse of the CPA would trigger humanitarian crisis in the region and it’s the responsibility of the UN and the World Superpowers to take seriously leadership failure in the South as a threat to international peace.
4. The UN carry out an independent investigation prior to Oct 2, 2009 incidence in Bentiu, Capital Unity state and bring those who collaborated with Governor Taban Deng in carrying that malicious attack on civilians to justice.
For contact and concerns:
The Secretary General
Nuer Supreme Council (NSC)
Calgary, Canada
Email: [email protected]
Tel: (403) 249 -5601
Lado
Nuer urges UN Security Council to save pPeace in South Sudan
Nuer’s chaoes would come to haunt the south and thus it must be solved peaceful as per their call.
It is well known that Nuer prefer Arabs to govern them instead of the SPLM.
Their defection some years back must not be allowed to come back to mislead the southsudan history.
We must use forceful or political mean to tame them.
” Nuer’s history is pegged on betrayal of the south’s cause”.
This must be reversed by instilling the habit of restrain and reasoning into their culture.
GOD HAS MERCY ON NUER!!!
Monyde Bai
Nuer urges UN Security Council to save peace in South Sudan
Below is an article which demonstrates vivdly the anxieties and backward looking all mentalities which are responsible for the havoc Nuer is rigging Jonglei state as it is scholarly narrated by one of South Sudanese whose homeland is closer to Nuer areas. J. Ojoch draws from his community experience, personal experience and the unfolding events in South Sudan Jonglei state. He specifically detailed how the violent is being driven by unfounded fear of domination and anxiety for unseen or unheard revenge from Nuer neighbors.
The Nuer plight against marginalization By James Ojoch* Are the Nuer the pure champions of equality and fairness? Hell knows. Dec 4, 2005 — The Nuer have voiced their dissatisfaction with the formation of GoSS (Government of Southern Sudan) and GoNU (Government of National Unity) that they were insignificantly represented. In other words, they were and are marginalized. This is evident in the Open Letter by the SPLA/M Caucus Nuer in the Southern Sudan Legislative Assembly to Gen. Salva Kiir Mayardit on 10/26/2005. This letter is floating everywhere. All other Nuer platforms are in chorus with a very strong grudge against the Dinka Elite. In their eyes the Dinka tribe has cornered them as a revenge for the events of 1991 and also for the frequent changes of positions back and forth in between Bashir and the SPLA/M. The legacy of those changes is the SSDF which Bashir still uses as a sharp leverage needle pricking the SPLA/M to weaken it. Also the SSDF uses Bashir in the same way. The Nuer expect that the pressure by SSDF and Bashir will overcome the marginalization. But what the SSDF doesn’t want to tell is that Bashir is an enemy to both SSDF and SPLA/M. Bashir is interested in foiling the CPA. However the Nuer threat is that if the SSDF is not accepted by the SPLA/M as equal there will be chaos and CPA will crumble dead. Another threat is that if the Nuer aspirations are not met the Nuer will quit from SPLA/M to join other parties taking the minorities with them. That is the gamble to loosen the SPLA/M. That withstanding, the Nuer have a point to ask for equal rights and representation. In fact this interim period should accommodate ethnic groups for smooth implementation of the CPA. Accordingly the SPLA/M must also find ways to get the SSDF on board to seal off the hostility for the sake of peace. Getting SSDF on board is not a defeat but a good gesture. Doing so will isolate Bashir who is now enjoying the company of the SSDF. SPLA/M is struggling with two bad guys. It would have been Bashir sitting in that position. While the Nuer have the right to claim for rights and equality, are they democratic in their treatment of other people? While the Nuer feel the pain of marginalization and “Dinkanization” do they have mercy on minorities whom they hope to carry along to other parties? Obviously no minority will sail away with the Nuer. The minorities know how much suffering they endure under the Nuer tyranny. The Nuer is interested in building a big Nuer empire accross the Southern Sudan landscape. It is obsessed with outdated idea of conquest as the main goal of life. To justify their claim for equality and freedom they abhor the Dinka presence in the Moro and Mundari country where the Dinka are a cause for loss of life these days. It is a good point. But the Nuer are very brutal against the Anyuak, the Shilluk, the Murle, the Burun and the Dinkas in their borders. The Nuer have forcefully occupied lands of all these tribes and call it their own even during this time of peace. The Shilluk Kingdom was devastated by forces of SSDF dominated by Nuer with the Arab gun. The Nuer have built homes in Obel and Doleib Hill which are Shilluk domains. People like John Luk Jok, Timothy Kueth Luak etc, had their intermediate in Obel School. They know it is Shilluk land. Today they are the colonizers. The Nuer marginalization of the Anyuak is extreme. Again with Arab gun the Anyuak country is devastated and is still under siege. Today, the Nuer call Akobo their country by force. All peoples of the Sudan including the enemy Arab know it is the Anyuak land. The Anyuak IDPs want to go home. They cannot because the Nuer have built on the homesteads pushing the Anyuak of Akobo further inland. If the loss of government representation is painful to the Nuer the loss of land should be more painful to the Anyuak. Yet the Nuer are against marginalization by the Dinka. Do they really deserve to cry? Talking about representation in government, Akobo commissioner is a Nuer. All deputies are Nuer. In Jonglei State Government and Assembly Akobo is represented by Nuer. The Anyuak commanders have been dispersed away from Akobo by the Nuer to silence the Anyuak voice. These actions were and are not by accident. It is a well planned brutal assassination of a tribe. Yet the Nuer are thirsty for equality and representation. The big SSDF is also thirsty when it has been the main cause of delay of Southern Sudan liberation. There are several clans of Nuer in the Anyuak land today. But the main clans are the mor and the Gon. While they both have occupied the lands they fight day and night for the share of lands. They cannot mix and stay together even while in their mainland in Lou. The whole Nuer territory is full of trouble. Gajook against Gajaak. Gon against Mor, Jikany against Lou and crisscross fights. Cieng Nyajengni clan is a refugee group chased away by the another clan because of blood feud. The Upper Nile and Jonglei States are in chaos created by the Nuer. With all the pains that the Nuer inflict on other tribes they claim to be more democratic and champions of peace and equality. If the Nuer think that the Dinka Elite caused them problems, it is the Nuer Elite causing problems to the Anyuak. People like John Luk Jok, Timothy Kueth Luak, Tap Kota, Wal Duany, James Sejin [ including Riek Gai Kok who is part of the bunch around Bashir] are the think-tanks behind the strategies of occupation of Akobo and to make sure the Anyuak don’t exist there forever. Luk Jok, Riek Gai Kok and others like Nyang Keak, Nyang Dak, Loang Puot, Gatreay Luak, Taban Luak, [sorry some have passed way], learned their first ABC in Anyuak vernicular in Anyuak schools because they were aliens to the region. Today they call themselves the real Akobo citizens without shame. The Anyuak and the others do not oppose the Nuer claims for rights and representation at all levels of government. It is up to the GoSS to judge whether those claims are legitimate. The message to them is therefore for them to stop marginalization of others if they are also looking for justice. They should vacate the Anyuak and other peoples’ lands unconditionally. They should reverse the old ideology of colonization. The time for colonization is over with the British in 1956. If the Nuer and the SSDF want a good gesture from the Dinka and SPLA/M they must also show the rule of law to others. Let the people of Southern Sudan see this: Lou Nuer alone have created three counties in the middle of nowhere to get more seats in government. This is a typical cheating. On top of acquiring three counties in Lou area they have taken away Akobo county. All four counties are represented by the Lou Nuer. The Lou Nuer cannot say there are no Anyuaks fit to be appointed. The fact is it was a design to seal off the Anyuak they [ Lou Nuer] are the ones manipulating that part of Jonlei State. The message to the GoSS is to protect the minorities against the brutal majorities like the Nuer. It is a responsibility of the GoSS not to wait too long to issue a decree that all ethnic groups who are IDPs or occupiers of other peoples lands must go back to their origins of 1956. If the GoSS needs Abei to be part of the South then it should not difficult for the Southern nationalities to go back home. The Governor of Jonglei, Philip Thon Leek, is doing a great job by trying to find ways to bring back the Dinka IDPs from Equatoria and planning to disarm unauthorized people in the Jonglei State. He should also move further and quickly to effectively protect minorities evicted by tyrants from their ancestral lands for them to go back to rebuild their lives. The time now is for peace and development. The peace and development will not happen if the inter-ethnic antagonism still exists. Unnecessary suffering must cease. No Southerner must suffer at the hands of another Southerner. J. Ojoch is a Sudanese based in the USA. E-mail: [email protected]
Time1
Nuer urges UN Security Council to save peace in South Sudan
Dinka, Azande, Madi,Bari,Shulluk,Balanda,Acholi, Toposa, Murle,Jur chol, actually all tribes including Arabs all wants UN to help in rebulding and give assistants to current GOSS not just to Nuer or one tribe alone please.There is no special tribe in Sudan.
William Nyuon
Nuer urges UN Security Council to save peace in South Sudan
Gatwech
you are always right in your arguments when you comments. They will never accept it even if you telling them hundreds of time. Blah blah abt the greatest Naath .. blamming DR GUANDIT GAT MACHA for signed KPA. DR MACHA brought PEACE IN our Countyr.
about article:
The Interim Constitution of South Sudan and the SPLA White Paper passed into law by the South Sudan Assembly do not permit any Governor to use the SPLA Army as a private army. According to these legal documents, a Governor of any State can not pay a national army and give them orders to do his dirty work against political opponents.
the question is why MR BIG FISH Kirr give Taban Deng Gei (the Governor of Unity state) right to paid the salaries and equippement to our National Army (SPLA forces) in the State and commanded them as he wish? corruption? Big Yes
i would like to thnaks Nuer Supreme Council (NSC) for showing their double stand about this incident. let UN Investigate it and see who is who before it going too worst.
God help South Sudan …. amen.
murlescrewed
Nuer urges UN Security Council to save peace in South Sudan
No tribe has the power to dictate how South should be governed. I will not go as far as attributing this seditious article to all Nuer. There are a few lost souls compromised by jallabah regime to instigate Nuer into committing the same foolish mistake that their leaders did in 1991. Let’s be clear that it is the South that would lose and North gains if anything like 1991 happen again.
South is run based on laws that govern all civilized nations. If Salva Kiir sees that Taban is unfit to serve as governor, he will be relieved of his post immediately. However, there is nothing to indicate that he has not been a successful governor. All this complaints against him are motivated by power struggle among Nuer elite. Riek, Matip, and all former nyagat have allied themselves together to second-guess the effectiveness of Taban’s leadership. By extension, what they are trying to do is undermine the sovereign decision of Salva Kiir.
Dada
Nuer urges UN Security Council to save peace in South Sudan
First and foremost, the Nuer Council of Elders claim that Governor Taban is a threat to the CPA, but I would like them to answer the following questions if they are really concerned about the CPa and more so the Nuer People
1. Can they actually post all the minutes of the meetings proceedings and deliberations that gave birth to the so Called ‘Nuer Council’ with all its members since we want to actually know who gave them the role of being the official spokes council of the Nuer Community!!
2. Who is currently funding the activities of the so called Council, can they post the sources of the funds and how they have been used in the recent times?
3. Has any of the members of the so called Council ever set foot in Bentiu? And if yes, did they ever visited Gen Matips residence in Bentiu since they conclude that atrocities were committed against him??
4. If they actually visited the residence, can they bravely and frankly describe what they saw there??
5. Has any of the so called ‘Nuer Council’ ever come to console the bereaved members and more our own brothers who are led to fight against each other? if yes, when and how did they come to Bentiu??
If the above questions are truly answered and facts prove wrong the information that we currently have, then the so called Nuer Council is leading another crop of Militias in Nuer Land which is being bred for unknown reasons, but lest they be warned that, the our ever gallant SPLA is on the look out and let them set foot in our peaceful land and they will see for themselves.
Laraka Machar T
Nuer urges UN Security Council to save peace in South Sudan
NUER SUPREME COUNCIL IS AN ILLICIT ASSOCIATION
Oct 30 2009
Nuer Community and Unity State Students Association- Uganda
On October 13 2009 the so called Nuer Supreme Council published a paper which we considered totally in contrary to what is currently on the ground, what the Nuer like, what the people of Unity in particular want.
On behalf of Nuer Community Uganda in general and the people of Unity State in particular I would like to bring in the attention of the people of Southern Sudan and the World as a whole that we Nuer have no Central authority or some sort of top hierarchy mandated by the Nuer people to talk on their behalf or this federal kind of organization as shown by these hackers of social title.
In fact it is biasness and lack of personal accountability from the group that is mainly from Canada to assume responsibility which they are not entitles to perform. However the Nuer Community Uganda remains vigor and curious to know properly who the Nuer Supreme Council is, who assign them to act on behalf of Nuer, and what have they achieved in the rich long history of Nuer that is full of excitement and courage?
The answer to all these questions is just a big NO.
Therefore I would surely tell the people of Southern Sudan in particular and the Nuer community wherever they are, that such indiscipline group with malicious ideas can bring lack of trust and sincerity in the community (Nuer). As you may have hard in their articles, it is Taban Deng who is always their subject of the matters and the entire government of Southern Sudan headed by Salva Kiir. So they turn the community into whatever direction they want to look at and later adjust it back to another one. Contrary to what they say, Nuer Community as a whole and government of Salva Kiir/ Riak are not enemies but good friends.
We never wanted to be use for personal benefits by such group as the commercialization of politics in the world today is eminent.
Significantly, the military clashes happened in Oct 2 this year in Bentiu town the capital of Unity State was almost condemned by everybody including Brigadier Taban Deng the governor of Unity State, the President of the government of Southern Sudan Lt General Salva Kiir Mayardit, Vice President Dr Riak Machar Teny and the entire Southern Sudan government, but to Canada group, this is not enough and would want the intervention of United Nations Mission In Sudan (UNMIS) which they did. The airlifting of General Pualino Matip’s platoon from Bentiu to Juba was done by them. This is more than what the UNMIS is supposed to do.
However United Nations Mission in Sudan is unlike the Canada group it is not entitled to perform any task that is not officially given to them by the government. The group unrealistically requested UN Security Council in the name of Nuer to reshuffle the state government and get rid of Taban Deng. This request is full of indiscretion and inadequacy of what to tell the World about Unity State more specially the UN Security Council.
None the less, peace is indispensable and is meant for everybody to enjoy as long as economic, political, social and technological progress are prevalent. It is not for one person such as Pualino Matip, Taban Deng or any other person that fall in that category. It is for all, thus no one is entitled to destabilize others because he or she have the power to do so. The keeping of big number of redundant soldiers in a private resident and not military barrack is a truly fair judgment of the matter. Actually General Pualino Matip is SPLA deputy Commander in Chief and his powers are unlimited in making any single SPLA soldier’s body guard, why specifically those ones in Bentiu? I am told that the army in his resident holds missiles, for what? And to who is he in tension with? The answer to these questions is that General wants to cause unquantifiable mayhem to the people and the State government elements that disobey his impingement of strange commands intolerable to the State government. Perhaps Pualino and his army never feel the clashes; he and the perpetuators shall pay indemnities for the loss lives and property to mention but a few.
Considerably the present of Pauline’s platoon in the middle of civilian resident with dangerous missiles is clear indication of threat to Taban and his government to leave power to Nguen Manytuel which is totally utopian and will never be reach unless with different means such as reconciliation and cohesiveness among the rivals.
I did not want to sound cynical but geared by this deplorable/ appalling influence of intruders in the affairs of Unity State which brought more harm than good.
The fact that governor Taban has been kind to SPLA soldiers mainly in frontline areas such as division four in western Upper Nile, Upper Nile itself (Malakal) and areas of Abyei is noble achievement that few State governors does. Federalism is another form of effective governance that contains the element of devolution of powers and constitutionally proves the State governor to be the Commander in Chief of the army in that particular area. So what is wrong with Taban Deng supplying his division with necessary equipments they needed.
Additionally Unity State is among the States that have suffered heavy military interference since the State was declared independent in 1994. Under Sudan Army and shortly the aftermath of Khartoum Peace Agreement when General Pualino Matip took arms against it, this led to the abolishment of the Peace Implementation process and later on resulted in the escape of Dr Riak Machar to Kenya and the opening of new chapter for South Sudan struggle. I am saying all these to let those who practically don’t know about the matter and to have a clue about it.
Lastly but not least I would like to assure everybody present in Southern Sudan today that Pualino is the “grand author of our problems” says Oliver Cromwell. Therefore we are calling upon the Canada group to keep quite in matters concerning Unity State and Nuer Community in general unless agreed upon.
For contact use the following numbers:
+256-77-345-4067
+257 715161172