Bishop urges South Sudan to shun tribalism
February 27, 2011 (JUBA) – The Leadership of the Episcopal Church of Sudan has called upon southern Sudanese to throw away the issues of tribalism ahead of the region’s independence.
In January South Sudan overwhelmingly voted to secede from the north. The plebiscite is part of a 2005 peace deal, which ended decades of civil war, which saw fighting between groups in the South as well as against the Khartoum government.
The statement was made on Saturday by the Arch-Bishop of the Episcopal Church of Sudan, Daniel Deng Bull, while giving speech during the last prayers at the funeral rites of the late southern minister Jimmy Lemi Milla.
Milla was killed in early February, days after the South’s vote for independence was announced. His death is thought to be related to a personal dispute.
The bishop said that South Sudanese should concentrate on nation building rather than killing one another. “Let’s shun tribalism to pave ways for sustainable development in the region.”
“The sadden[ing] assassination of the late minister of cooperative and rural development early February should not cause division among the community of Pojulu but, the dead should unify the family”, he said.
The archbishop asked Milla’s family to overcome the temptation to seek revenge against the family.
At the same service the bishop of Aweil Diocese also encouraged the family of the late minister to stay in peaceful relationship that will neglect hatred, but bring permanent peace among the Pojulu community.
“Tribalism will finish the image of people of [the] South, the vote that you have casted for self determination will not be modesty in the eye of other neighboring country”, he says.
Milla, the former South Sudan minister of cooperative and rural development was shot dead 9 February at his office with his body guard. He was allegedly shot by his in-law.
The last funeral rites were attended by the senior government officials, including the regions vice president Riek Machar, the minister of peace and CPA implementation, Pagan Amum, the minister of health, Luka Monja, and presidential advisor Joseph Lagu Yanga.
(ST)
Ahmed Chol
Bishop urges South Sudan to shun tribalism
Tribalism is a problem. Athor’s issue needs to be settle peacefully otherwise we will not taste the fruits of what we fought for.
the following message is for SPLM leadership.
Kiir should find all ways to end this Athor’s Rebellion peacefully
Yes SPLA can protect civilians but don’t seeks to extinguish fire! with fire!.
Solving this conflict by military confrontation will give us a LRA situation in Uganda which we don’t want at all.
Again, you will not be able to finish this rebellion overnight by force as some of our top ever drunken officers think. Generals, it will take years, lots of years without progress in South Sudan if you seek military solution with Athor.
Yes, Garang kept kept him close, but why? Because he (Athor) is revered fearless guerrilla fighter with adept military ferocity. With a battalion, he can destabilized the whole south.
Athor as a single man has nothing to loose, since most of his supporters/forces are not even Dinka. It is South Sudan that will be stuck without any progress because of insecurity and the destruction he will cause. What happened in Fangak was just the beginning. Athor’s rebellion will be funded by enemies of S. Sudan and this will prolonged the war in the south. The rebellion may even grow stronger and bigger since anybody dissatisfy with GoSS can join it any time.
Even though Bashir was powerful, he wasn’t able to defeat SPLA just because he had MIGs and Antonovs. Same thing is true in Darfur, there will never be a military solution there, only a peaceful negotiation will bring peace. So don’t be deceived by the helicopters and gunships just bought recently by SPLA. They won’t bring us peace.
Generals, think twice before you all agree to issue orders. You may win the battle, but you will definitely loose the war!, the war of security and development in the South which is our ultimate goal.
An hour of negotiation can spare a country years of war.
Ahmed Chol, whatever begins in anger, ends in shame
Jur Tier
Bishop urges South Sudan to shun tribalism
If the southern politicians could absorbed some of the most helpful information posted on this website daily, changes would have been made in the South of the African largest country – South Sudan. No doubt, as to my understanding, that a pure road to independence has not opened yet with the conflict in Jonglei taking the lives of the innocent civilians on routine bases. The time is running out for the Goss to bring that disturbing issue to an end.
HERE IS HOW I VIEW THE ROOT OF THE CONFLICT
Goarge Athor, as he named himself, is one of those whose aim
of taking up arms was to rule Sudan ( the most illusive ideology) which was in the minds of some short-sited fighters like himself. Therefore, having lost the post of governorship in the Jonglei to current caretaker, Kuol Manyang made him feel that he wouldn’t have any better chance in the South than the one he just lost. To the Khartoum regime whose aims is to destabilized the breaking away region, it is becomig a piece of cake as another conflict is being sown in the breaking away South. Here, the chances of Athor’s forces are getting wider and stronger as he is receiving funds from the Khartoum government.
GoSS need not to take any chances and it should lunch a massive crackdown on Athor’s forces in order to avoid a srong build up. If it is delayed, then we need to prepare for the worse.
Jeti
Bishop urges South Sudan to shun tribalism
Thanks, Bishop Daniel Deng for raising the main problem of the South. The issue of tribalism is very common in Equatoria region. If they don’t it then it will not them anywhere. Among themselves, they like finger pointing at each other that he/she is a Moru, Zande, Kakwa, Bari, Baka, etc. Tribalism is even preached in Equatoria churches by the church leaders. Hell to them if they don’t leave!
Rev John Khamis Kamunde
Bishop urges South Sudan to shun tribalism
Thanks Arch-bishop Daniel Deng,and Bsp of Aweil for the nice advice to the entire South Sudanese,and particularly to the families of the late minister.
Indeed TRIBALISM has became the strong weapon of satan to destroy us here in the South.But the problem here is that,there is no action among us which show the unity we are talking about.Look at how some of us named our self here in this ST forum,this is atrue example of preaching hatret and tribalism.
Arch-bishop,I personly know you as aman of prayer please declayer a day of prayer,and invite all of us to All Saints Cathedral so that we may fast and pray for the issue of Tribalism.
We want God to intervien and cast all sorts of dis-unity,hatret,tribalism among us.We believe in God’devine power and change.
Just look at our South Sudanese community,we claimed to be christians,but come and see on sundays most of our people are jsut doing thair business without going to the churches.
Thanks for those who put God first in their life by offering their time on sundays for prayers.
Madingthith
Bishop urges South Sudan to shun tribalism
Allow me convey my sincere thanks to Dr Daniel Deng Bul the bishop of ECS and other bishop of Aweil for preaching the crackdown of chronic tribalism existing in South Sudan and I believe that our people have ill ideologists of encouraging this bad habit of employing close relatives in different institutions in South Sudan.
You southerners, we shall never be happy that we casted our votes for independence nation if we cannot abandon such acts of pratices tribalism wherever we may be.
I may appeal to His Lordship Dr Daniel Deng Bul to keep praying to Almighty God to change the idiot minds of people who own tribalistics as God of their ancestors.