President Bashir: Unfortunate visit to South Sudan

By Steve Paterno

February 28, 2010 — To the Surprise and the disappointment of the people of South Sudan and the rest of the world, it is announced that President Omer al-Bashir of Khartoum is visiting South Sudan, and his visit will include Juba, Torit, Magwi, Yei and Yambio; the districts of LRA atrocities and of recent, the states where there are self-style candidates pitted against SPLM flag bearer candidates. To be exact, the reason for President al-Bashir visit is to campaign in the Sudanese upcoming general elections and legitimize himself as a President. The visit also pose the question on whether it’s meant for al-Bashir to uplift his own candidates or would be allies for elections in those specific areas he is visiting.

For starters, President Omer al-Bashir is a Sudanese dictator ruling from Khartoum for the last two decades. He took power in a bloodless coup in 1989. Since taking power, President al-Bashir instituted Islamic rule throughout the country, despite the fact that Sudan is a multicultural and religiously diverse country. After all these facts, President al-Bashir went on to wage war against the South Sudanese, the Nubas, the Eastern Sudanese and the Western Sudanese, now popularly known the Darfuris. In the Nubian North, al-Bashir is working to decimate the historical cultural setting of the Nubians by building series of dams to submerge the area. Fortunately or unfortunately, President Bashir ended up being charged for crimes against humanity, war crimes and genocide, for his actions only in Darfur, not to mention crimes he committed in other parts of Sudan, where unimaginable lives faced merciless death under his cruel rule.

Worldwide, President al-Bashir is considered, an internationally indicted criminal on the run. The International Criminal Court (ICC) based in the Hague, already issued a warrant of arrest against President al-Bashir. Since the international warrant was issued out for al-Bashir, in March of 2009, President al-Bashir carefully managed to elude arrest. For example, he could not travel, with exception to a number of neighboring and Arab countries, where his safety is still in danger as he could be arrested at any moment if he is caught.

As for the areas in South Sudan where al-Bashir is about to visit, he does not get love there either just as he is hated internationally. For example, in Juba, President al-Bashir is considered along the lines of generations of the brutal systemic governments of Khartoum. Khartoum has been treating the people of Juba as enemies since time immemorial. In August, 8th 1968, Khartoum unleashed their vengeance upon the people of Juba. The Khartoum soldiers were ordered to burn down the entire civilian residence. The dead were counted more than 2000, and their bodies were dumped along Juba-Yei road—gruesome those bodies were shown to th rest of the people.

This was not the end of the ruthlessness of Khartoum regime as President al-Bashir tried to prove to the people of Juba that he can do them more harm. For example, in 1992, President al-Bashir carried out one of the most despicable undocumented massacres of all times. Thousands of South Sudanese residence of Juba, which among them included army, police, prison and wildlife officers disappeared in a ghost house, infamously known as white house. Those who barely escaped the lion’s den at the time are still alive and remain defiance against al-Bashir brutal regime, calling themselves resistance movement or people’s struggle. Those Remanence of the dead cannot stop short of dealing away with President al-Bashir, once given an opportunity.

Coming to the town of Torit , which is almost the same as Magwi, as the two places are not far apart, the memories are as just bitter for president al-Bashir to spit it up. After a long history of oppressions against the people of South Sudan, in 1955, the people of South Sudan in Torit rose in arms against the repressive regime in Khartoum. This incident set the flames for South Sudanese struggle against oppression. President al-Bashir knows this very well, and the people of Torit must deny him the privilege of trying to portray a different image than who he is in reality; by telling him that the struggle against the oppressive Khartoum regime must continue.

For the last several years, President al-Bashir embarks in a campaign to kill, kidnap, and destroy South Sudanese in Equatoria and currently in Yambio by proxy. He strategically deployed the Ugandan rebels of Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) in the areas; make it his off-shoot to accomplish his job in South Sudan . Today, the Sudanese state of Western Equatoria where Yambio is located has the most displaced persons. Thousands of people in the region are out of their homes, because of the terrorism of LRA. Ironically, it is interesting on who President al-Bashir is wishing to visit when most of the populations are in hiding, because of the fear that President al-Bashir is responsible for their suffering.

Yei is one of the areas that can tell how the struggle for the liberation of South Sudanese people came about. When President al-Bashir was mobilizing his “Jihadists” to conquer South Sudan , unfortunately, most of them “Jihadists” met their tragic ends in Yei. The South Sudanese people struggle, through Sudan People Liberation Army (SPLA), fought some of the fiercest battles in Yei, where President al-Bashir regime showed a crack, as all of his armies were either killed, captured, or escaped in the battles of Yei.

As a conclusion, let’s not expect more for President al-Basher’s visit in these localities of South Sudan , for he will not get it that easy. Nonetheless, in case he survive those visits, one doubt whether he can survive, a lifelong international arrest warrant hanging on his neck. Let the count down starts for al-Bashir!

Steve Paterno is the author of The Rev. Fr. Saturnino Lohure, A Romain Catholic Priest Turned Rebel. He can be reached at [email protected]