Athor’s Interim Administration demand is ridiculous

ByIsaiah Abraham

May 20, 2010 — This topic has refused to go away, and readers should bear. General George Athor Deng, a renegade SPLA general who is widely believed to have masterminded the massacre of SPLA men at Doleib Hill Military barrack 20 days ago and currently engaging Southern forces in his hideout around Pigi, Fangak, Ayod and Nyirol counties has stretched his conditions for talks from the removal of Jongeli Governor to the removal of Gen. Salva Kiir Mayardi in Juba. This was aired through UN sponsored local radio known as Miraya FM on Thursday last week, and the Minister there has warned the radio sternly. I don’t think it would be ok to close that radio at its services to the people. But H. E. Minister Paul Mayom Aketch has a case!

Back to the argument; Southerners couldn’t believe their ears, as the status then was that the General was seeking negotiation and meaningful talks meant to clear the air about the alleged arrest and his subsequent exculpation (free from blame) about charges linking him to the cowardly attack on innocent soldiers at Doleib Hill Barrack. Until that interview, he has insisted his innocence. He was almost to be believed. We from that Thursday are made to re-consider our perspective about Athor intention, yeah?

Who in his right mind here could still doubt that Gen. George Athor is no more interested in talking but upset, conspiracy and plots? Who again can deny that Gen. Athor wasn’t behind Deleib Hill attack? I for one was fooled until that interview. He had even called our president blind; that is a loaded word, besides being crude abuse. I started to question myself whether that is the man whose roots are traced to Duk Padiet in Bor, where a kind hearted man called Philip Thon comes from. My conscience however came to the rescue in making this assumption: Gen. George should applauded for being frank and open and this is why: he has delivered two important messages that are general and specific. Whether that was a joke or not, the matter requires more study. One is that he has said he isn’t alone but a daring spokesman standing in for others behind in the army and in the political Southern setups, especially within the SPLM camp. I doubt this statement but it must not be thrown out of the window.

Secondly and this is related to the above and possibly his generous message to Juba leadership, the general said there is a plan already in the making and therefore fair for the Commander In Chief (C in C) of our forces to watch his shoulders and stop pursuing him there in the forest. To put it loosely, the general wanted the head of our government to put his house in order first before its too late. What that means in relation to his cold blood killing of soldiers on duty is anybody guess’s.

If that is the case then (from the prima facie) we got to arrest/answer this question: who are these people he alluded to be in his team, looking for the over turn of the election and the overthrow of the SPLM system? In another word, who is who in Athor’s camp, the person or people who is/are momentarily quiet but stand to support General in his drive to change the system? Well, my guess could be wrong or right, but the likelihood could be ‘SPLM Independent’ candidates, a group that claim to be agents of change and are ‘with the people’. These men and women are everywhere at different times, but now they have made their case loud and clear that they are here as challengers to the SPLM system. Independent candidates have all along associate themselves to the SPLM party, and doubt whether the triumphant ones are still close to the party as we speak. Others are real, but not all of them.

By then we heard some of them promising to return to the party once they are elected; did you hear them coming back to that party and if yes, where? Those defeated by their erstwhile colleagues still have the courage to cry wolf that they are cheated out of their victories in the just concluded elections and therefore fair to resort to other means of change. For them to resort to peaceful means then there has to be re-run- fresh elections. I don’t think that is a way to go. This is an insult to Southern conscience. Majority of them lost democratically. To use force to intimidate a system is known as treason. In my humble submission even as we suggested peaceful resolution as the first option, the two sides (the military and the talking) should go hand in hand. The general will be tied and run out of ideas on his hit and run tactics (ambushes) in the few months to come.

Weeks leading to elections, we had suggested that independents candidates are moles within the party and soon after elections, we shall see their color clearly. We weren’t taken seriously and now we have a reason to think again about the so-called ‘SPLM Independents’ among us. I had a feeling that they should be ‘harrassed’ (shame not arrested or killed) and the term used known as ‘disowned’ be modified to separate genuine SPLM from chaffs. With the exception of Western Upper Nile State (someone called it Unity State ) and Central Equatoria State, the independent candidates were fairly beaten. Gen. Athor was the first to lose badly, and he knows it. Why make noise to confuse our society further into division?

Others are after their personal interests only to anchor on fiascos in the two states mentioned above. Our leadership shouldn’t pay damn attention to criminals who shed blood of innocent soldiers with no proper justification. He has continue to spill the precious blood of those who are fighting for our rights, and even goes bragging to the international that he has killed this number and that number. How stupid are we when some among us cheer him when he continuous to kill his own people. Someone had proposed ugly that since he is a fighter, he shouldn’t be touched, because he can kill more. That is balderdash!

Gen. Athor isn’t invincible to the SPLA, only that our C In C is father enough to use proportionate force to cordoned and eventually persuade him to come to his senses. How long do you think will he continue to dodge Gen. Peter Boll Kong? Am afraid this man will kiss the ground in shame in a little while; the blood of our soldiers he is killing for no reason will haunt him! He had hoped and wished him and his family good life afer independence, bathing in their glorious past, but unfortunately these are gone for eternity.

I heard a catch word from independent candidates that they are for change. May be there is a need for change, but is the time ripe to do it? No! Again you change a system by persuasion (election) or in obsolete and worse cases through a coup de tat from the headquarters. Its even painful and indeed unforgivable for brother Athor to unabashedly take the responsibility of destroying the system has personally built; just in the name of change. SPLM truly could be rotten, but who is clean to throw the stone first? Gen. Athor has been at the top in the army, what changes did he do there when soldiers go on for months without their salaries? How does he justify his holier than thou attitude when he has built for himself two bungalow houses in Juba and a huge one at Korfulus; where did he get the money from? He is rich, arrogant and bullish; he must be shunned by peace loving Southerners. He became an enemy to our people. He has committed a crime, a stupid act at best; real Southerners ought to distant themselves from this murderer.

Wait a minute: what fraudulent election are these people talking about? They (Independent Candidates) were heard and voters rejected them, is a defeat a crime to go world over and allow yourself to be prostituted by the UN against your own people? If Dr. Lam resort to court cases, who’s Gen. George to call for annulment of the election and the dissolution of the people’s government? Dr. Lam has more and is tested, but he knew that elections are just elections and any small difference or mistake committed by a few can’t amount to burning of the entire house. The demands made by non compos mentis and muzzy general therefore are irrational; there is no way the SPLM leadership could waste time talking his terms.

Keep him surrounded, contained and whip him lightly as an errand brother; after all he is going to starve there under a tree. But make sure you take into account the issue of those who pretense to be SPLM but are hyenas inside. Their plan is to weaken our Front and allow the enemy in Khartoum to re-group and thwart the ultimate objective we have been waiting for. Mr. President and Guandit Dr. Machar, my thump to the way you handle our internal affairs. You have spoken and behaved very maturely, only if deaf out there could listen. Go ahead and form an inclusive government (Dr. Lam Akol should be made the speaker of the Southern House) with your full eyes fixed for January 2011. Don’t pay much attention to Athor, development and services but political destiny for our people. Thereafter, we shall chart out concrete pillars of progress when we know the Arabs are forever gone. The point: leave no stone unturned until the general faces justice he has denied his soldiers at Doleib Hill! Long live the people of Southern Sudan, down to enemies of peace!

Isaiah Abraham lives in Juba, he is reachable at [email protected]